John Haines Borland (9 March 1925 – 21 February 1990) was a New Zealand school teacher, field athlete and athletics official. He represented his country in the high jump at 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 ...

, and served as president of the

New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association Athletics New Zealand (ANZ) is the national governing body for athletics in New Zealand. This includes responsibility for Track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking. History The organisation was founded in 1887 as the ...

from 1970 to 1971.

Early life and family

Born in

Rangiora Rangiora is the largest town and seat of the Waimakariri District, in Canterbury, New Zealand. It is north of Christchurch, and is part of the Christchurch metropolitan area. With an estimated population of Rangiora is the 30th largest urba ...

on 9 March 1925, Borland was the son of Robert William Borland, who was appointed a

Member 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 ...

(Military Division) in the

1946 New Year Honours The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginnin ...

. Johnny Borland was educated at

Christchurch Boys' High School , motto_translation = I Seek Higher Things , type = State school, Day and Boarding school , gender = Boys , song = The School We Magnify , colours = Blue and Black , established = , address = 71 Straven R ...

, and went on to study at

Canterbury University College The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...

and the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

, where he was awarded a Diploma of Physical Education. Borland married Eva Cynthia Peirson, a physiotherapist, in 1953, and the couple went on to have three children.

Athletics

High jump

Borland won three national high jump titles: in 1946, 1947 and 1950. His best winning jump was in 1950, with a height of . He was also the New Zealand universities high jump champion every year from 1945 to 1952 except 1947, and was awarded

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

in those years. In 1949, Borland won the Australasian universities high jump championship. At 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 ...

, Borland represented New Zealand in the high jump. He finished in fourth place with a best leap of , a New Zealand record, the same height as the silver and bronze medallists and below the winning height.

Administration and coaching

Borland was involved in athletics administration. He was a New Zealand selector between 1957 and 1961; manager of the New Zealand athletics team that travelled to Australia in 1960; and served a one-year term as president of the

in 1970–71.

Later life and death

Borland worked as a physical education teacher at

Gore High School Gore High School is one of two secondary schools in Gore, New Zealand, the other being St Peter's College, Gore. It is located on Coutts Road in the west of Gore. Notable staff *Johnny Borland – high jumper, athletics official *George Jobbern ...

, and later lived in retirement in Dunedin. He died at his home there on 21 February 1990, and his ashes were buried at

Andersons Bay Cemetery Andersons Bay Cemetery is a major cemetery in the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located to the southeast of the city centre, on a rocky outcrop which forms the inland part of Lawyers Head, a promontory which juts into the Pacific Ocean. The ...

. He had been predeceased by his wife, Cynthia, in 1982.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borland, Johnny 1925 births 1990 deaths People from Rangiora People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School University of Canterbury alumni University of Otago alumni Athletes (track and field) at the 1950 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games competitors for New Zealand New Zealand male high jumpers New Zealand sports executives and administrators New Zealand athletics coaches New Zealand schoolteachers Burials at Andersons Bay Cemetery Sportspeople from Canterbury, New Zealand