Alan John Sayers (6 December 1915 – 19 August 2017) was a New Zealand journalist, photographer and athlete who worked for ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'' prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. When the war was over he was invited to join the ''

Auckland Star The ''Auckland Star'' was an evening daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, from 24 March 1870 to 16 August 1991. Survived by its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Star'', part of its name endures in ''The Sunday Star-Times'', created in ...

'' where he was the first reporter in New Zealand to receive a personal by-line. In 1953 he was an official journalist on the tour of Queen Elizabeth II to the Pacific Islands and New Zealand.

Early life and family

Sayers was born in the Auckland suburb of Royal Oak, the son of Mary and Horace Sayers, a builder. He was educated at Royal Oak Primary School and

Auckland Grammar School Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

. His son, Greg Sayers, is an

Auckland Council Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is ...

lor.

Sporting career

Athletics

While at Auckland Grammar Sayers competed in the 1934 Melbourne Centenary Inter-Collegiate Games and won a silver medal, becoming the second fastest schoolboy quarter-miler in the British Empire. In 1938, although recovering from a serious car accident, he competed in the British Empire Games in Sydney, winning a bronze medal as part of the men’s 440 yards relay team.

Rugby

Sayers won national 440 yards track title in 1937, represented

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

and played

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

for one season, during which he scored a total of seven tries in a senior game on

Carlaw Park Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, New Zealand, Parnell, a central suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It neighboured the Auckland Domain's Northern end. It was primarily used for rugby league and had a peak spectator capacity of aro ...

, a record yet to be beaten. He coached track athletes, a number of whom won national titles, broke records and represented their country.

Yachting

In the world of yachting he was chairman of both the Auckland P-Class and Starling Associations, the largest youth classes in New Zealand. As patron of the Manly Sailing Club, Whangaparaoa, he was partially responsible for the building of a new waterfront clubhouse including the raising of $70,000 towards its construction. He was also patron of the Hibiscus Coast Waterwise Society. Naval Officer

Military service

At the beginning of World War II Sayers enlisted in the 9th Heavy Artillery Regiment but was seconded into the

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...

(special branch), where he served as an intelligence officer reporting on enemy activity in the South Pacific. He was a member of the Kings Empire Veterans and the Silverdale RSA.

Later life and death

In August 2011, at the age of 96, he was entrusted by Sir

Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program ''The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and for ...

, the only undefeated All Black coach with 37 games undefeated, to write his biography ''Fred The Needle'' which became New Zealand’s best seller during the week beginning 29 August 2011. He also gave the eulogy at Allen's funeral at the age of 96. In 2014, aged 98, Sayers published his second book ''Deadline,'' which received wide publicity in the media, including a segment on the Seven Sharp national TV programme and articles in the NZ Listener, The Rodney Times and other publications. He turned 100 in December 2015 and died in Auckland on 19 August 2017 at the age of 101.

Honours and awards

In the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours, Sayers was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to sport and journalism. As chairman of the Hibiscus Coast Action Committee he won a bylaw outlawing life-threatening nets set amongst swimmers in shallow water along the Arkles Bay foreshore, the only bylaw of its kind in New Zealand. His services to the community have been recognised by an Athletics New Zealand Award, a Kiwi Bank Local Heroes Award, an Age Concern Senior Achievers Award and an Auckland City Council Award. On 6 December 2015 Sayers celebrated his 100th birthday, which was acknowledged by the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sayers, Alan 1915 births 2017 deaths New Zealand male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1938 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics New Zealand journalists New Zealand biographers Male biographers New Zealand autobiographers Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand rugby union players Waikato rugby union players Rugby union wings Rugby union centres New Zealand rugby league players Rugby league centres Rugby league wingers New Zealand sports executives and administrators New Zealand centenarians People educated at Auckland Grammar School Men centenarians New Zealand military personnel of World War II Medallists at the 1938 British Empire Games