Obituary, George Mason

George was an accomplished research scientist and environmentalist and an extremely generous benefactor to the University of Auckland, providing crucial support to our research staff and students in the natural sciences for more than 25 years. In 2016, George’s generosity to the University led to the establishment of the George Mason Centre for the Natural Environment, which researches how to reverse ecological damage and restore the environment.

Growing up in Bayswater on the North Shore during World War II, George helped his family by planting and tending vegetables and flowers. At the University of Auckland, he studied toward a Bachelor of Science with majors in Botany and Chemistry, graduating in 1952, and a Master of Science in Botany, graduating in 1956. George was a fervent member of the University’s Field Club, engaging in field trips to remote areas of Aotearoa New Zealand such as Major Island, Lake Waikaremoana, and Mt Egmont (now Mt Taranaki) and writing about the trips for the Field Club’s journal Tāne.

After his study in Auckland, George began an eventful career as an innovative research scientist in the agrichemical industry, becoming the holder of numerous patents. He first worked as an assistant chemist with the firm Ivon Watkins Limited (later Ivon Watkins-Dow Limited, then Dow AgroSciences) in New Plymouth, who supported him in his wish to complete a PhD at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis). George’s PhD research investigated the action of certain herbicides on plants. 

After graduating with his PhD in 1960, George returned to Ivon Watkins and became their research manager, developing his expertise in formulating pesticides. George retired from Ivon Watkins-Dow in 1986 but founded his own company, Taranaki NuChem Limited (later Zelam Limited) in 1988. The company developed several successful crop protection products and timber preservatives.

Extremely devoted to Taranaki, George resided there for over 65 years, serving as chairman of the North Taranaki branch of the Forest & Bird Society and climbing Mt Taranaki more than 100 times. Inspired by the example of his cousin, Dr Brian Mason, a mineralogist at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. and a major donor to the University of Canterbury, George decided to philanthropically support environmental research. In 1995 he established the George Mason Charitable Trust as a vehicle for promoting the study of science at schools and universities and encouraging environmental projects focusing on the Taranaki region. He launched the Puke Ariki-George Mason Charitable Trust Scholarships in 2002, which support postgraduate students from any New Zealand university researching the geology, flora, fauna or general environment of Taranaki. So far, ten University of Auckland postgraduate scholars have been assisted by these Scholarships and gone on to careers in related fields.

Holding fond memories of his own study, George decided to gift much of his wealth to the University of Auckland. For more than 25 years, he provided crucial philanthropic backing for many research projects in the natural and environmental sciences, supporting both established academics advancing ambitious projects and postgraduate students just beginning their research careers. He supported fourteen University of Auckland Masters students via the George Mason Scholarship in Marine Science and several doctoral students via the George Mason Scholarship in Biological Sciences. The UC Davis Link Scholarship he established also allowed four doctoral students to gain invaluable academic experience on exchange at the University of California. Not least, in 2023 he funded the creation of a new Lectureship in Marine Restoration Ecology.

In 2016 George’s outstanding gift of $5 million dollars allowed the University of Auckland to create the George Mason Centre for the Natural Environment. The Centre has greatly increased the quality and quantity of environmental research conducted at the University, with its scholars tackling pressing issues facing New Zealand, such as fighting kauri dieback, tracking the movements of endangered whales, protecting our kelp forests, investigating the feeding habits of seabirds and reducing microplastics in our waterways, while also engaging in effective community outreach centering on sustaining the environment.

George’s strong desire to project and rejuvenate the environment meant he was highly engaged with the work done by people he assisted at the University. Even into his nineties he often met with lecturers, professors and students at the George Mason Centre and the wider Faculty of Science, encouraging and inspiring their efforts. 

George also funded scientific research at the University of Waikato, Lincoln University and Victoria University of Wellington, supported research at Te Papa Museum of New Zealand and set up secondary school scholarships, including one at New Plymouth High School and another at Takapuna Grammar School in honour of his brother Warren. 

In the 2020 New Year’s Honours list George was made an ONZM for his services to conservation, philanthropy and the community. Additional honours included the New Zealand Plant Protection Medal in 2010 and the Forest & Bird Old Blue Award in 2013 (for his support of environmental and ecological education in Taranaki). The University of Auckland awarded George an Honorary Doctorate in 2016 in recognition of his immense contributions to ecology. The University is extremely proud to have George as an alumnus and tremendously grateful for all his kind support of our staff and students. 

George’s enthusiastic and extensive philanthropic support made possible the careers of a significant number of New Zealand’s geologists, geochemists, marine and plant biologists, forestry experts, and avifauna specialists. His personal assistance of other researchers and his own scientific innovations have greatly advanced New Zealand’s current collective expertise in ecology and have undoubtedly improved Aotearoa New Zealand’s ecosystems and biodiversity, helping us toward a healthier and more sustainable future. 

George will be remembered by University of Auckland staff and students with great fondness and the University would like to extend its deepest condolences to the Trustees of the George Mason Charitable Trust for the loss of their beloved and highly esteemed friend and colleague.