Geoffrey Sinclair Raymond (1921 or 1922 – 4 January 2011) was an Australian television news presenter. He is best remembered for his work with the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

where he anchored ''

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

'' in Melbourne from 1973 to 1984.

Career

Raymond began his career as a copy boy for Melbourne newspaper '' The Herald''. He then joined radio station 3DB in the 1940's as a newsreader where his profile grew. In 1956, Raymond was working at 3UZ as chief announcer where he was instrumental in establishing the station's news service. After a brief stint at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

in England, Raymond returned to Melbourne to read the news on television station

HSV-7 HSV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the Seven Network, one of the three main commercial television networks in Australia, its first and oldest station. It launched in time for the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbou ...

after Eric Pearce left the station to join

GTV-9 GTV is a commercial television station in Melbourne, Australia, owned by the Nine Network. The station is currently based at studios at 717 Bourke Street, Docklands. GTV-9 is the home of the Australian Open tennis coverage. History GTV-9 was ...

. At HSV-7, he also hosted the discussion program ''Answer Please''. He also co-hosted a HSV-7 program called ''Take It East'' with Nehama Patkin. Throughout this period, he also played a role in HSV-7's coverage of sport, calling Victorian Football League matches alongside Michael Williamson between 1959 and 1962. He then joined ATV-0 where he read the news from 1970 and also hosted his own weekly current affairs program ''The Raymond Report'' in 1971. Raymond then joined the ABC as its chief newsreader on its Melbourne television station

ABV-2 ABV is the call sign of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television station in Melbourne, Victoria. History The station began broadcasting on 19 November 1956 and is transmitted throughout the state via a network of relay transmitters ...

in 1973. Raymond was also a keen photographer. In June 1980, photographs that had been taken by Raymond during two trips to Israel, Egypt and Jordan in 1979 formed part of an exhibition at the B'nai B'rith Centre in Sydney which was officially opened by Senator

Peter Baume Peter Erne Baume, Order of Australia, AC (born 30 January 1935) is a retired Australian doctor and politician. He was a Australian Senate, Senator for New South Wales from 1974 to 1991, representing the Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal Par ...

. Raymond said he hoped that his photos would in some way help relations between Israel and Egypt. He had first displayed the photos in Melbourne in 1979 at an exhibition officially opened by

Roger Shipton Roger Francis Shipton (5 August 1936 – 18 January 1998) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served in the House of Representatives from 1975 to 1990, representing the Melbourne seat of Higgins. Early life ...

. While at the ABC, he also appeared at various events such as the National Book Council awards dinner in St Kilda in 1980 and the

Carols by Candlelight Carols by Candlelight is an annual Australian Christmas tradition that was popularised in Melbourne in 1938. The tradition has since spread around the world. It involves people gathering, usually outdoors in a park, to sing carols by candlel ...

event at Caulfield in 1981. Raymond retired from television in February 1984. The appointment of Ralphe Neill as Raymond's successor was met with opposition from ABC staff and led to a 12-day strike. Thirty-four staff from

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

walked off the job on 13 July 1984 in protest of the way Neill had been appointed to replace Raymond, claiming the normal procedures for such appointments had not been followed. Staff from ABC Radio joined the strike a week later. The strike ended on 25 July 1984 when it appeared an agreement had been reached between staff and management although the ABC Staff Association refused to divulge details. ABC management later said Neill's appointment had been eventually accepted by staff. After leaving television, Raymond moved to

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

to manage the Tabua Sands Hotel tourist resort. In 1986, Raymond returned to Australia to manage the Ferntree Tavern near Mount Wellington in Tasmania. Raymond died in England at the age of 89 on 4 January 2011. His death prompted various tributes from television identities including former colleague David Johnston.

References

{{reflist Australian television newsreaders and news presenters Seven News presenters