Sir Angus McMillan Tait (22 July 1919 – 7 August 2007) was a New Zealand electronics innovator and businessman. Tait had a childhood fascination for electronics and during and after high school at

Waitaki Boys' High School Waitaki Boys' High School is a secondary school for boys located in the northern part of the town of Oamaru, Otago, New Zealand, with day and boarding facilities, and was founded in 1883. , it has a school roll of approximately 400 students. The ...

, he worked in a friend's (Kempton Collett) radio store. He served with the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...

and also the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

instructing as a second lieutenant on

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

in Britain, during

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 ...

. After the war, he designed and built

mobile radio Mobile radio or mobiles refer to wireless communications systems and devices which are based on radio frequencies(using commonly UHF or VHF frequencies), and where the path of communications is movable on either end. There are a variety of view ...

equipment, although his first company went into receivership. In 1969, he founded Tait Electronics Ltd, now operating as Tait Radio Communications,

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

(New Zealand), with men who had decided to remain loyal and see him through; now his company is considered a world leader in mobile radio. He had persisted in keeping his manufacturing base in New Zealand, with 95 per cent of production exported to 160 countries. In the

1992 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1992 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

, Tait was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to manufacturing and export. He was awarded the

IEEE Ernst Weber Engineering Leadership Recognition Through its awards program, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers recognizes contributions that advance the fields of interest to the IEEE. For nearly a century, the IEEE Awards Program has paid tribute to technical professionals ...

in 1998. In the 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a

Knight Companion 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 technology, manufacturing and export. In 2003 he was the Inaugural New Zealand High Tech Award Winner. Presently, Tait's company employs in excess of 850 people. In March 2009, Tait was commemorated as one of the

Twelve Local Heroes The ''Twelve Local Heroes'' is a series of bronze busts located in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand on Worcester Boulevard outside the Arts Centre An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An ...

, and a bronze bust of him was unveiled outside the

Christchurch Arts Centre The Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora is a hub for arts, culture, education, creativity and entrepreneurship in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is located in the Gothic Revival former Canterbury College (now the University of Canterbury), Christchur ...

. He died in 2007, at the age of 88.

References

External links

Tait Radio CommunicationsCompany press release regarding Sir Angus Tait's death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tait, Angus 1919 births 2007 deaths 20th-century New Zealand businesspeople Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Waitaki Boys' High School Businesspeople awarded knighthoods