Jonathan Irving Mayson (born 1945) is a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

shipping executive and former politician who was a co-leader of the

Values Party The Values Party was a New Zealand political party. It is considered the world's first national-level environmentalist party, pre-dating the use of "Green" as a political label. It was established in May 1972 at Victoria University of Wellingto ...

in the 1980s.

Biography

Mayson was born in 1945 in

Oamaru Oamaru (; ) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast; State Highway 1 (New Zealand), Sta ...

. Growing up in

Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is ...

and

Dannevirke Dannevirke ( "Earthworks (archaeology), work of the Danes", a reference to Danevirke; or ''Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua'', the area where the town is) is a rural service town in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New Zealand. It is the ...

, his parents were Christian pacifists who he credits as instilling him with a social conscience. Aged 16 he became a sea cadet with the Union Steam Ship Company. In 1972 he got a job as a stevedore in

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

beginning a lifetime career in waterfront operations. He opposed the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and sporting contact with apartheid era

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, leading him to join the

upon its foundation in 1972, later becoming a co-leader of the party in the 1980s. He contested the electorate of Kaimai as the Values candidate at the

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

and

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

elections, where he placed fourth on both occasions. Mayson was elected a member of the Bay of Plenty Harbour Board on a Values Party ticket. In 1988 he became Tauranga's assistant operations manager. In 1991 he completed a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree before being employed as port operations manager in 1992 before becoming chief executive officer of

Port of Tauranga The Port of Tauranga is situated in Tauranga, New Zealand. It is the largest port in the country both in terms of total cargo volume, and in terms of container throughput with container volumes exceeding 1.2 million TEUs (Twenty Foot Equiv ...

in 1997. During his tenure as head of the port container volumes rose from 70,000 to 440,000 annually. In 1996 he was the navigator on a square-rigged replica of HMS ''Endeavour'' which retraced the journey of Captain

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

around New Zealand and Australia. In 2005 he retired as chief executive.

Honours and recognition

In June 2005 he was awarded the Taura Award for services to exporting. He was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to the shipping industry and to export, in the

2006 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2006 in some Commonwealth realms were announced (on 31 December 2005) in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Grenada, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, and Saint Christopher and Nevis to c ...

Personal life

In 2005 he was diagnosed with colon cancer and began chemotherapy treatment.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayson, Jon 1945 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand politicians Values Party politicians Leaders of political parties in New Zealand Unsuccessful candidates in the 1978 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1981 New Zealand general election Members of New Zealand harbour boards New Zealand chief executives Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit