Charles Richard Mayson (born 13 October 1941), generally known as Richard Mayson, is a former New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Biography

Mayson was born in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

in 1941, the son of Charles Samuel Mayson. He received his education at Nelson Central School,

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand, a feat achieved in part thanks to its original inception as a private school. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it r ...

, and

Hastings Boys' High School Hastings Boys' High School is a boys' secondary school in Hastings, New Zealand. The school is part of the Super 8. The school was founded in 1904 as Hastings High School. In 1922, it became Hastings Technical School under the leadership of Wi ...

. On 8 February 1964, he married Shirley Annette Schofield, the daughter of Edward Schofield. They had one son and one daughter. After school, Mayson worked as a farm hand (1957–1959), a labourer (1959–1960), a salesman and window display artist (1960–1964), and a radio salesman (1965–1970). He was a

New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) was a publicly owned company of the New Zealand Government founded in 1962. The Broadcasting Act 1976 then reformed NZBC as the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (BCNZ). The corporation was ...

(NZBC) advertising executive in 1970 and 1971, and a lay preacher in the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

. He joined the Labour Party in his youth and was a member and delegate from the party's

Grey Lynn Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914. Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of t ...

branch and later was secretary of the

Porirua Porirua, () a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Poriru ...

branch. He was a radical

Christian socialist A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...

. Mayson represented the

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

electorate from

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, when he was defeated by

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

Bob Fenton William Robert Fenton (9 October 1923 – 10 January 2013), known as Bob Fenton, was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Biography Fenton was born on 9 October 1923 at Napier, and was educated at Hastings High School. He served ...

. He had previously stood unsuccessfully for Hastings in the . During the 1975 election campaign Mayson received a threatening letter containing a live .22 caliber round, the third time he had received such a letter. The third letter stated "We've had enough of your kind of

Commie Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, distrib ...

lot abour... you're selling out on democracy and you will be the first to get a

.308 The .308 Winchester is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge widely used for hunting, target shooting, police, military, and personal protection applications globally. It is similar, but not identical, to the 7.62×51mm NATO ...

through your stomach." Mayson made a complaint to the police. After losing his seat in Parliament he travelled to

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

to visit former parliamentary colleague

Phil Amos Phillip Albert Amos (4 September 1925 – 8 June 2007) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He was of Māori (Kāi Tahu) and descent. Biography Early life Amos was born in Wanganui in 1925, the son of John Amos. He received his ...

who was living there. Mayson commented that Amos was living the life of a 20th-century version of

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, and an explorer in Africa. Livingstone was married to Mary Moffat Livings ...

. Mayson was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to 3,632 people. Background The New Zealand 1990 Com ...

. For his recreation, he enjoys tennis, squash, swimming, reading, and spending time with his family.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayson, Richard 1941 births Living people People educated at Nelson College People educated at Hastings Boys' High School New Zealand Labour Party MPs Unsuccessful candidates in the 1975 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1969 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates New Zealand Christian socialists