Peter Charles Sinclair (15 November 1938 – 8 August 2001) was an Australian-born New Zealand

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

personality and radio host.

Biography

Born on 15 November 1938, in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Sinclair rose to fame in the 1960s and early 1970s firstly on New Zealand radio and then as host of ''Let's Go'', ''Happen Inn'' and ''C'mon'', New Zealand's primary

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

television shows of the time. In the late 1970s, he reinvented his place in New Zealand television as presenter and quizmaster on ''

University Challenge ''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...

'' and ''Mastermind'', two popular television quiz shows which ran until the late 1980s. Sinclair's measured on-screen personality was suited to these kinds of interactive game shows. As a quizmaster he made the phrase "I've started, so I'll finish..." (originally coined by

Magnus Magnusson Magnus Magnusson (born Magnús Sigursteinsson; 12 October 1929 – 7 January 2007) was an Icelandic-born British-based journalist, translator, writer and television presenter. Born in Reykjavík, he lived in Scotland for almost all his life, al ...

on the British version of ''Mastermind''), a New Zealand cultural cliché. Sinclair also hosted the 1982 '' Mastermind International'' contest in New Zealand. Sinclair was also a noted writer, penning a novel called The Frontman and writing regular columns for the

New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand ...

newspaper. In later years he was a radio announcer from 1986, for Radio Avon, in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, the city he grew up in, which became C93FM, before moving on to

Easy Listening i Mix was a greatest hits radio station in New Zealand, broadcasting music from the 1970s in music, 70s, 1980s in music, 80s and 1990s in music, 90s. Mix was owned and operated by New Zealand Media and Entertainment. Mix is targeted at 35 to 54-y ...

98FM and finally

Classic Hits FM The Hits is a Hot adult contemporary music radio network, broadcasting to 26 markets across New Zealand. It was set up by Government broadcaster Radio New Zealand in 1993 by consolidating existing stations into a single brand and has been priva ...

, hosting the popular ''Lovesongs till Midnight'' programme. While still in Christchurch he helped raise money to build a Police Kiosk in Cathedral Square, for people who needed a safe place to go at all times of the day in case of emergencies. In his later years, he developed a passion for computers and was one of the first New Zealanders to become actively involved with the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

. He wrote widely on internet issues, software developments and content. In the

2001 Queen's Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 2001 was announced on 16 June 2001 for the United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland), New Zealand (4 June), Australia (11 June), Barbados, Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Sa ...

, Sinclair was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to broadcasting. Sinclair died in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

on 8 August 2001, from

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

, aged 62.

References

External links

''NZ Herald'' obituaryMagazine ad from the 80s featuring Peter SinclairPhotograph of Peter Sinclair
standing outside Alicat, Jervois Road, Auckland. Auckland Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Peter New Zealand television presenters Australian emigrants to New Zealand 1938 births 2001 deaths New Zealand game show hosts Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand writers New Zealand radio presenters Radio personalities from Sydney Television personalities from Sydney

Biography

See also

References

External links