Jack Luxton
John Finlay Luxton QSO (14 August 1923 – 29 August 2005) was a New Zealand dairy farmer and politician. He was a Member of Parliament for the National Party from 1966 to 1987.
Biography
[edit]Luxton was born on 14 August 1923 in Waitoa, the son of Lily Maria Luxton (née Finlay) and Arthur John Luxton.[1] After completing his education at Hamilton Technical High School, he was a dairy farmer in Waitoa.[1][2]
In 1945, Luxton married Margaret Joyce Ritchie, a schoolteacher, and the couple went on to have four children.[1]
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966–1969 | 35th | Piako | National | ||
| 1969–1972 | 36th | Piako | National | ||
| 1972–1975 | 37th | Piako | National | ||
| 1975–1978 | 38th | Piako | National | ||
| 1978–1981 | 39th | Matamata | National | ||
| 1981–1984 | 40th | Matamata | National | ||
| 1984–1987 | 41st | Matamata | National | ||
Luxton became prominent in the Waikato branch of Federated Farmers, serving as a Dominion councillor before his election to Parliament.[2] He continued a family involvement with the Tatua Dairy Company as a director for several years. He entered Parliament as the result of the 1966 New Zealand general election as the National Party member for Piako and then, after boundary changes for the 1978 election, Matamata.[3] He represented the predominantly rural electorate for 21 years to 1987. He was elected Chairman of Committees in 1976, a position he held until National's defeat in 1984.[4] Interested in Pacific Island affairs, he led a government-sponsored tour of eight Pacific nations in 1976 to investigate the potential of increasing New Zealand involvement in local industries there.[5]
On Luxton's retirement from politics in 1987, his son John Luxton succeeded him in the Matamata (later Karapiro) electorate, from 1987 to 1999.
After politics, Luxton was actively involved in his family's horticulture block at Katikati.[5] He died in Morrinsville on 29 August 2005, at the age of 82.[6] His wife, Margaret Luxton, died the following year.[7]
Honours and awards
[edit]In 1977, Luxton received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal.[1] In the 1987 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services.[8] In 1990, he was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.[1]
Notes
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 Taylor & Coddington 1994, p. 234.
- 1 2 Gustafson 1986, p. 327.
- ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 213.
- ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 252.
- 1 2 Falconer, Phoebe (5 September 2005). "Obituary: Jack Luxton". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 October 2026.
- ↑ "Jack Luxton dies". Waikato Times. 29 August 2005. p. 3 – via Newztext.
- ↑ "Burial record details: Luxton, Margaret Joyce". Matamata-Piako District Council. Retrieved 12 October 2026.
- ↑ "No. 50950". The London Gazette (4th supplement). 13 June 1987. p. 33.
References
[edit]- Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
- Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
- Wilson, Jim (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840–1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.