Sir Angus McMillan Tait

1 Nov

Angus Tait's Christchurch-based Tait Electronics developed an international reputation for radio communication equipment and became a significant exporter.

Tait, whose first job was in an appliance store before joining the Royal Air Force, cut his teeth on the wartime development and maintenance of radar.

Back in New Zealand, he identified a business opportunity when the Post Office introduced mobile radio-telephones for vehicles and in 1951 he built the first Tait mobile phone. The product found a ready market in the ambulance and fire services.

The company went into receivership in 1967 but Tait refused to give up and set up a new company with some of the old staff the following year. He never looked back.