Graham John Davy (4 October 1936 – 18 June 2018) was a New Zealand

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

and sports administrator. He won one national athletics title, and served as the chair of directors of the New Zealand Sports Foundation.

Biography

Born in the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

suburb of

Herne Bay Herne Bay is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in South East England. It is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government ...

on 4 October 1936, Davy was the son of John Baxter Davy and Georgiana Alleyne Davy (née Litchfield). He was educated at

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 ...

, and went on to study at

Auckland University College , 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 ...

and Seddon Memorial Technical College, qualifying as an accountant. In 1960, Davy married Janette Catherine McKenzie, and the couple went on to have three children. As an athlete, Davy won the New Zealand national 100 yards title representing

in 1960, with a time of 9.6 seconds. Davy served as secretary of the Auckland Amateur Athletic Association, and in that role in 1972 he helped

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

get a job with Winstone Ltd that enabled Lydiard to assist athletes and coaches throughout New Zealand. The same year, Davy was the athletics team manager for the New Zealand team at the 1972 Olympic Games in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. He was involved in the formation of the New Zealand Sports Foundation in 1979, and served as a director and chair of the directorate of that body. In 1981, he became the inaugural president of the Pacific Conference Games Federation. He was the director of athletics at the

1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1990 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Partic ...

, held in Auckland. Davy died on 18 June 2018.

Honours and awards

Davy was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II) is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is p ...

in 1977, and the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

. In the 1986 Queen's Birthday Honours, Davy 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 sport. He was also a life member of Athletics Auckland.

References

1936 births 2018 deaths Sportspeople from Auckland People educated at Auckland Grammar School University of Auckland alumni Auckland University of Technology alumni New Zealand male sprinters New Zealand sports executives and administrators New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Athletes from Auckland {{NewZealand-athletics-bio-stub