Raymond Boord was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.
22 Facts About Ray Boord
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Ray Boord's grandfather being one of the first European settlers in Rotorua establishing a farm in the 1860s.
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Ray Boord was educated initially at Rotorua Boys' High School and later at Feilding Agricultural High School, where he became prominent in debating and was dux of the school.
4.
Ray Boord was a talented sportsman representing Feilding Agricultural at both rugby and cricket.
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Ray Boord left New Zealand in May 1940 after enlisting in the army 21st Battalion.
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Ray Boord served in Greece, Egypt before being promoted to lieutenant first class in February 1942 then seeing action in the Second Battle of El Alamein.
7.
Ray Boord was wounded in action on 26 March 1943 and was Mentioned in dispatches.
8.
Ray Boord stood for election to the New Zealand House of Representatives for the Labour Party in Bay of Plenty in 1946, but was unsuccessful.
9.
Ray Boord won the candidate selection for the "new" seat of Rotorua defeating Paddy Kearins.
10.
Ray Boord won the seat and represented the Rotorua electorate from 1954 to 1960, when he was defeated by National's Harry Lapwood.
11.
Ray Boord was a Cabinet minister under Walter Nash, and was Minister of Customs and Minister of Publicity in the Second Labour Government.
12.
Ray Boord was Minister of Broadcasting and oversaw the introduction of television into New Zealand.
13.
In February 1959 the first experimental television transmissions were initiated, but Ray Boord ended them after just two weeks over concerns that they were generating too much interest form the public.
14.
Ray Boord was expecting his appointments as Minister of Publicity and Broadcasting, due to his experience as a Labour Party publicity officer, but questioned Nash as to his selection as Minister of Customs.
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The ploy did not work and the government was duly defeated in the December 1960 election at which Ray Boord lost his own seat.
16.
Ray Boord remained politically involved and was an extra-parliamentary confidante of Nash.
17.
Ray Boord was one of the first people to identify Norman Kirk as a potential future leader.
18.
Ray Boord was elected as a member of both the Bay of Plenty Harbour Board and Rotorua Borough Council.
19.
Ray Boord was hospitalised after he crashed his car on into a power pole near Okere on 24 May 1971 causing bruising and a concussion.
20.
Ray Boord was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services in the 1975 Queen's Birthday Honours, and in 1977 he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal.
21.
Ray Boord established the Francis Moss Boord Charitable Trust, in memory of his father, to provide funds for charitable purposes in areas including the development of public reserves and domains.
22.
Ray Boord died at his home in Rotorua in 1982, and was buried at Kauae Cemetery in Ngongotaha.