Watch: Why Sir Bob Jones punched a journalist
Sir Bob Jones has
died aged 85
, but while he was leading businessman of his era, one of Jones' most notorious moments came when he punched a journalist.
Robert Edward Jones, born in Lower Hutt on November 24, 1939, was a New Zealand knight, a businessman, an author and a politician.
In 1985, he infamously punched the TVNZ reporter and the whole ordeal was recorded.
"As we arrived overhead, he left the river and we landed on the river bank," Vaughan said in an old interview.
"But before we could speak to him, Mr Jones ran out of the trees and towards the camera."
Jones punched Vaughan after he was found by reporters in a helicopter while out fishing in the Tongariro River.
The landed punch left Vaughan with blood gushing down his face, while Jones also knocked over the camera man.
Jones was convicted of assault and fined $1000, and asked the judge if he could pay $2000 to do it again.
The reporters were on a mission to find Jones for comment, after his party announced they were taking a 18 month recess.
"For better or worse, being punched on the nose by Bob Jones was a defining moment in my 40-year career as a television journalist," Vaughan said in 2020.
Vaughan died in August last year aged 77 after a short battle with cancer.
Jones' court cases were legion, ranging from defamation suits to disputes over property contracts.
But Jones had a social conscience, and helped fund many groups, from women's refuges to the New Zealand Ballet.
He was also a lifelong boxing fan and appeared as a commentator and expert. He was a
former manager of Kiwi heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker
.
Jones received a knighthood in the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to business management and the community.
A spokesman for Robert Jones Holdings said Jones died peacefully at home surrounded by family after a brief illness.
"The family ask for privacy and will not making any further comment," they said.
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