Ken Newton was a foundation judge of the Gold Coast regional media awards, which ran for many years to honour the best work done in print, radio and television.

In this year of record entries, he worked alongside Harry Gordon, former editor in chief of the Herald and Weekly Times and Queensland Newspapers (and author), and Barry Ferber, who now spends most of his time in the USA but was then manager of the Gold Coast's first radio station.

This is one of moments which was unplanned - indeed considering our marital status and high morals of the City Council - and should not have got into print.

Ken Newton was in charge of publicity for a big tourist promotion visit to New Zealand. The Dominion Newspaper wanted a pic of the girls wrapped in furs (instead of the familiar Gold Coast bikinis), on top of Mt Victoria in Wellington in mid winter. You can just imagine how cold that was.

Ken stood by while shots were taken and then the photographer wanted the furs off momentarily so that he could get the girls in a picture before the goosebumps became too prominent.

At this moment in time when the front page picture opposite was snapped, Ken had rushed in galantly to protect the girls from the wind while the photographer changed lenses.

It was the picture which made the front page. All in a days work.

The picture which didn't make it in another New Zealand paper during the same tour was one of Ken, naked.

Don't worry, it was never taken but the offer was there. The Sunday Mail out of Auckland was running a page three "tits and bums" series on males, which they called the "Sunday male". They thought it would be a nice twist to have the girls wrapped in furs and Ken naked. While he was savouring that flattering offer, the photographer offered the big carrot "We pay you $10 as well". That was in the days when the capital of New Zealand was 25 cents, so the offer was kindly refused.

During the first ever American Society of Travel Agents convention in Australia, Ken Newton was in charge of a Gold Coast media team whose job it was to canvass about 100 visiting travel writers from around the globe.

He wined and dined them, issuing press statements and invitations like confetti. Quite a few took him up on the offers and the result was an outstanding amount of publicity for the Gold Coast around the world.

One of his greatest triumphs was to arrange a visit by the senior travel writer of Playboy Magazine and he wrote a great piece.

At this big cocktail party, attended by 2000 people, Ken accompanied Gold Coast Mayor Sir Bruce Small (in the hat).

 

 

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