Alma Johnson: Face of 60s TV rode bus home after work

Alma Johnson was a continuity announcer from 1960, when New Zealand got television. Photo / Supplied

New Zealand's first woman television presenter became a household name in the 60s - but shunned the celebrity of it, saying she was just doing her public duty.

Alma Johnson was a continuity announcer and hosted evening programmes on AKTV2 out of Auckland from 1960, the year the TV service began in New Zealand under the Broadcasting Service.

AKTV2 opened in June, and Alma began appearing on the channel in August.

She presented a range of shows including ballroom dancing programmes and children's shows.

At the time, being a "continuity announcer" involved being the hostess of the show, saying "welcome to tonight's programmes", while sitting behind a desk with her name on it, she said during an interview before her death.

Johnson was known for her immaculate hairstyles, perfect diction and stunning on-camera presence.

She died at a nursing home in Remuera in Auckland on Friday, aged 85.

Radio and TV Broadcasters Club president Ric Carlyon said she did very well adapting to a medium that was new to Kiwis.

"Viewers didn't know quite what to expect, but here she was - she sort of came right through the screen into the living room," he said.

"She had many, many fans."

Carlyon said Johnson quickly became a well known TV personality.

"That was something she shunned, because she always said that she was just a public servant doing her duty, and there was nothing glamorous about it at all."

She was so unfussy that after her shift, Johnson used to catch the late-night bus home to West Auckland.

In television, she worked alongside fellow presenter Tim Evans-Freke, whom she later married.

On top of her TV career, she also became a highly regarded teacher of speech and drama.

Later, she became an examiner for the New Zealand Speech Board. Johnson is survived by son Tim.