Raymond, Cherry

Educated in Birmingham and at sixteen went to work in London in the theatre; family emigrated to Auckland after the war.

The New Zealand career in broadcasting started at 1ZB; then for New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation where she compiled women's programmes for National Radio and also produced some documentaries.

With the emergence of television in 1960 she was drawn into that medium as a presenter, interviewer, and directed a television series about expatriate New Zealanders called Close Up in Australia. Festival Report', a regular series of pro-grammes on the annual Auckland Arts Festival: 'Personality Squares'; and a number of current affairs and magazine programmes.

In the mid-1960s was asked to write a column for Woman's Weekly which she tried to make thought-provoking and controversial; through this column she became interested in legal and social reform issues for women.

She also began public speaking on similar issues as well as appearing on magazine programmes on television such as Beauty and the Beast 

Later roles included Public Affairs Officer for the Mental Health Foundation, President of ZONTA.

An emphatic feminist, she wa a past president of NOW. Auckland, was an adviser with the NZ Government delegation to the UN Conference for International Women's Year in Mexico City, was an observer at the UN Conference for World Population Year in Bucharest and again at the UN Conference for Human Settlements Year, Habitat, at Vancouver as regional representative for Australia and New Zealand.