Colin Milton Kay (30 October 1926 – 5 June 2008) was a New Zealand sportsman and politician. He was the 34th

Mayor of Auckland City The Mayor of Auckland City was the directly elected head of the Auckland City Council, the municipal government of Auckland City, New Zealand. The office existed from 1871 to 2010, when the Auckland City Council and mayoralty was abolished and ...

, elected for one term serving from 1980 to 1983, and chairman of the Auckland Regional Council from 1986 to 1992. He was also the triple jump champion of New Zealand in 1950 and 1951, and represented New Zealand at the 1950 Empire Games in Auckland.

Biography

Kay was born in Auckland in 1926, his father owned and operated a womenswear manufacturing and retailing business, and his mother was a homemaker. The family lived in

Remuera Remuera is an affluent inner city suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southeast of the city centre. Remuera is characterised by many large houses, often Edwardian or mid 20th century. A prime example of a "leafy" sub ...

, and Kay attended

King's College, Auckland King's College (Latin: ''Collegium Regis''; mi, Kīngi Kāreti), often informally referred to simply as King's, is an independent secondary boarding and day school in New Zealand. It educates over 1000 pupils, aged 13 to 18 years. King's was o ...

from 1939 to 1943, where he was a house prefect, and won a tennis championship and an intercollegiate high jump competition. His mother supported his sports, attending all his sports meetings, and telling him to dig a pit in part of the family tennis court so he could practice his jumping. Kay later enrolled in accounting at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, while not completing his studies he was active in athletics and played rugby. He worked at and later purchased his father's business. Kay was Jewish. Kay competed in the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...

in Auckland, coming 8th in the hop step and jump at 13.91m. He was the New Zealand triple jump champion in 1950 with a jump of 14.14m, and in 1951 with a jump of 14.31m. The University of Auckland Athletics Club successfully nominated Kay to lead the national team to the

1962 Commonwealth Games The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North Perth. T ...

team in Perth, where New Zealand won 32 medals including 10 golds. He achieved a goal to raise $150,000 for the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, and was on the board of directors for the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland. Kay founded the Auckland Joggers Club with

Arthur Lydiard Arthur Leslie Lydiard (6 July 1917 – 11 December 2004) was a New Zealand runner and athletics coach. He has been lauded as one of the outstanding athletics coaches of all time and is credited with popularising the sport of running and making ...

in 1962, and the annual Auckland Round the Bays fun run in 1973. With Douglas Myers in 1977 he jointly founded the New Zealand Sports Foundation, where he served as Governor for 16 years. He was a founder and the chairman of the Peter Snell Institute of Sport in 2000, and organisation with the objective of finding and promoting sporting talent in New Zealand. He was first elected to the Auckland City Council in 1971, and was later elected mayor of Auckland in 1980, succeeding

Dove-Myer Robinson Sir Dove-Myer Robinson (15 June 1901 – 14 August 1989) was Mayor of Auckland City from 1959 to 1965 and from 1968 to 1980, the longest tenure of any holder of the office. He was a colourful character and became affectionately known across New ...

. At the next election in 1983, he was beaten by

Catherine Tizard Dame Catherine Anne Tizard (née Maclean; 4 April 1931 – 31 October 2021) was a New Zealand politician who served as mayor of Auckland City from 1983 to 1990, and the 16th governor-general of New Zealand from 1990 to 1996. She was the first ...

. In 1986, he became chairperson of the Auckland Regional Authority (ARA). After the

1989 New Zealand local government reforms The 1989 New Zealand local government reform was the most significant reform of local government in New Zealand in over a century. Some 850 local bodies were amalgamated into 86 local authorities, made up of regional and territorial levels. Backg ...

, ARA became the Auckland Regional Council and Kay remained chairperson until 1992. Kay was appointed a

Commander 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 ...

in the 1990 New Year Honours, for services to local government, sport and the community. He died in 2008, more than one year after suffering a major stroke, and was survived by his wife and three sons. The main stand of

Mt Smart Stadium Mount Smart Stadium (formerly known as Ericsson Stadium) is a multipurpose stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the main home ground of the New Zealand Warriors of the National Rugby League, and occasionally hosts rugby union and internatio ...

was named the Colin Kay stand in his honour.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kay, Colin 1926 births 2008 deaths New Zealand male triple jumpers Athletes (track and field) at the 1950 British Empire Games New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Mayors of Auckland Jewish mayors Jewish New Zealand politicians New Zealand sportsperson-politicians Commonwealth Games competitors for New Zealand Auckland City Councillors New Zealand justices of the peace People educated at King's College, Auckland 20th-century New Zealand politicians