Legacy of former vice-chancellor Sir Colin Maiden

In 2006, Sir Colin Maiden wrote that his only disappointment in his time as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland (1971 to 1994) was “that I had never been able to convince the AUSA to support and help fund a swimming pool”.

Sir Colin, who passed away on 31 July aged 91, would be happy to know then that, later this year, an impressive pool will open at the University’s new recreation centre.

Sir Colin was only the second to serve in the new role of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland when he was appointed in 1971, and the youngest vice-chancellor in the Commonwealth. By the time he retired in 1994, he was the longest-serving.

He attended Auckland Grammar from 1947 to 1950 and went on to gain a Master of Engineering in 1955 from the then Auckland University College. A Rhodes Scholarship took him to the University of Oxford, where he completed his doctorate in 1957. He then took up research posts, first in Canada and then in California at General Motors, broken by a brief period lecturing at the Engineering School. His area of research was hyper-velocity in flight.

After he had returned to Auckland, he saw a need for improvement in the campus facilities.

“One of my first emotions on returning to the University was of disappointment in seeing how poorly off it was for student amenities. The Student Union complex … was nearly complete and provided adequate catering and bar facilities, a bookshop and Students Association offices. Also, there were student health, counselling and accommodation services, but no theatres or recreational facilities.”

In more than 20 years, he drove major changes at the University and instigated a massive building programme that transformed the campus and facilities. He strongly believed that good sporting and recreational amenities are integral to a complete education. (He had played in the first XV at Auckland Grammar School and was awarded a tennis Blue at Oxford.)

The old Maidment Theatre, the original recreation centre and the sports fields at Tāmaki that carry his name, Colin Maiden Park, all owe their existence to his desire for better facilities for an ever-increasing student roll and for the city in general. He also was a key driver for the Vodafone Tennis Park, working his connections to ensure the new facility was created for the sport he played with a passion long into his eighties. (Read the history of the Park, written by Sir Colin, here.)

Under his watch, the entire University’s administrative organisation, from faculties and committees to deputy vice-chancellors, was reformed. New buildings, such as Human Sciences, were constructed, student accommodation substantially increased, and subjects such as management studies and computer science were introduced.

In 1976, Sir Colin expressed his concern to the University Senate about the low proportion of Māori and Pacific students at the University. This led to the formation of a committee to improve the educational opportunities for Māori and Pacific and the introduction of grants, scholarships, and new start programmes. The committee also recommended a marae and, after frustrating funding holdups, Waipapa Marae opened in 1988. During the delay to its construction, Sir Colin says, in part one of his autobiography An Energetic Life, he was grateful for the support of the late Professor Sir Hugh Kawharu, Distinguished Professor Dame Anne Salmond and the late Merimeri Penfold CNZM. Just before the opening of the marae, Sir Hugh invited Sir Colin and his wife Lady Jenefor to a ceremony with Māori Studies staff, where he was presented with a korowai.

“I was overwhelmed by this gesture,” Sir Colin wrote. “And the cloak remains one of my treasured possessions.”

During his time as Vice-Chancellor, Sir Colin also served on several government committees and, after stepping down from the role, held directorships in a wide range of leading New Zealand companies.

Sir Colin’s life of public service included serving on numerous government boards, including ten years on the Board of Transpower and chairing the State Owned Enterprises board for seven years from 1997. Sir Colin also held directorships for many major New Zealand companies, including ANZ Banking Group, New Zealand Steel, and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, among others.

Among his many awards over the years, Sir Colin was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1997 and the Medal of the University of Bonn in 1983. He won the Thomson Medal from the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1986 and, in 1990, was made an honorary fellow of Exeter College, Oxford.

He was appointed as a Knight Bachelor for services to education and business management in the 1992 New Year Honours. In 1994, the University of Auckland presented him with an honorary Doctorate of Law.

University of Auckland Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dawn Freshwater, said: “Sir Colin Maiden made a significant and positive contribution to the University of Auckland over many years, and will be remembered fondly by many in our University community. The University extends heartfelt condolences to the Maiden family and appreciation for Sir Colin’s life, scholarship and leadership in so many fields.”

Sports connections

Sir Colin maintained contact with the University even after retirement. He also had a long association with the Auckland University Rugby Football Club and university sports in general. As recently as 2022, Sir Colin presented the Interfaculty Sports Championship award, the Sir Colin Maiden Shield, an event he had attended since its inception in 2013.

Albertine Eaton, sport development manager at the University who was in regular contact with Sir Colin over the years, said she had just sent him an email on 31 July with an update on the 2024 championship and also offered a personal tour of the new rec centre.

“So it was particularly sad to hear of his passing, later that day,” she said.

Eaton said at awards nights Sir Colin would always “tell great stories and impress the crowd with his latest anecdote from the tennis courts”.

“We were all so amazed that he was still playing sport and upholding the Sport and Recreation team values,” said Eaton.

“Each year, I would send him an update on how the competition was going and how his beloved ‘Engineering Eagles' were performing. He always emailed back, either confirming his attendance or sending his apologies, along with congratulations to me and the team for a job well done. For a man of his legacy and prestige, his responsiveness was deeply appreciated.”

She said he also had time for a personal touch. Once when she told him she was impressed with him travelling the world in his later years, he told her: “Never stop pushing yourself, Albie!”

Engineering connections

Sir Colin became a generous donor to the University, and many hundreds of Engineering students have benefited from the Dean’s Leadership Programme which he helped to found. A regular visitor to Engineering, he could be found surrounded by students eagerly listening to stories from his remarkable career.

Former Dean of Engineering Nic Smith, now Vice-Chancellor at Victoria University of Wellington, said Sir Colin had a big impact on him and University of Auckland engineering students over many years. “Sir Colin had an extraordinary life and he will be missed by so many of us.

“He was wonderfully wise and enormously energetic. He was a mentor and friend to me and many generations of students who participated in the leadership programme for which he was both the formal patron and, more importantly, the informal inspiration.”

In 2019 Sir Colin co-authored and launched a book he co-wrote with close friend Des Mataga, with whom he started at the Engineering school in 1952, four years after it moved to Ardmore. Two Inspiring Deans: TDJ Leech and CJG Dalton was a tribute to two deans who transformed the School of Engineering at Auckland University College. Said Des: “We decided that if we did not do something [writing about the deans], no one would, and as we were both in our mid-eighties, we had better do it quickly.” They wanted to show how Leech and Dalton’s influence helped to create the modern, world-class Engineering School that exists today.

In 2008, Sir Colin published his memoir, An Energetic Life. With so much more occurring in his life in subsequent years, he updated it and published An Energetic Life Revisited in 2020, breaking it down into early life, University life, energy research, and corporate life. In the mid-1970s he had been a key player in energy research and development projects, including the formation of the New Zealand Research and Development Committee, with prescient projects including the conservation and more efficient use of energy, and environmental aspects of energy use.

In his closing reflections, he paid tribute to his wife Lady Jenefor, with whom he celebrated 60 years of marriage in 2018. “Determining whom one marries is perhaps the most important decision in life. I have been so fortunate to have Jenefor by my side all my adult life, as my wife, best friend and supporter.”

Lady Jenefor passed away in October 2022.

Sir Colin had a big impact on so many at the University during his long stint as a Vice-Chancellor and in the decades since, and tributes from people across many faculties are being added to his memorial notice.

The University extends heartfelt condolences to the Maiden family and appreciation for Sir Colin’s tremendous input into the University of Auckland over many years.