Henry Donald Matson
5222 Aged 88
Don was the son of Allan Leicester Matson (2942) and, after attending Medbury School, was in Jacobs House from 1943 to 1946. In his last year at College he sat and passed three university accountancy papers but is better remembered by some for receiving eight strokes from the Headmaster Mr Richards after taking the blame on behalf of himself and two accomplices for shooting ducks in Hagley Park and cooking them over a Bunsen burner. His justification was that he and his friends were starving as a result of wartime food shortages. On leaving College, Don joined the family stock and station business H. Matson & Co in Christchurch. When in 1958 that business merged with National Mortgage & Agency, Don was appointed the New Zealand Stud Stock Manager. In 1961 he arranged for a plane load of stud stock to be sent to China, and so began a long association, with Don visiting many times on business and later as a tourist. Between 1949 and 1963 Don served in the Territorial Force of the Royal NZ Artillery retiring as a Major. In 1968 Don was appointed Waikato Branch Manager of National Mortgage. It was the company’s largest branch and included King Country, Bay of Plenty and Taupo. At the time of his appointment he was the youngest branch manager by 10 years.
When in 1972 National Mortgage merged with Wright Stephenson, Don spent two years as the merged company’s manager in London. He then returned to head office in Wellington and served as the New Zealand Livestock Manager and as a director of Wrightson NMA Ltd. He played a significant role in lifting the breeding standards of deer herds throughout the country, and he led the relocation of the world famous Wrightson Bloodstock horse auction centre from Trentham, Wellington to Karaka, Auckland. He retired from what had become Fletcher Challenge in 1987. After retirement Don operated his own property management company which he called H. Matson & Co. He taught himself winemaking and made his own Pinot Noir in the cellar of his house and gave it away to friends labelled as “Chateau Henri”. He was also the driving force behind the establishment of the Marsden Village in the Karori Shopping Centre. He loved to lead a good project.
Don was also a keen rose grower and an experienced yachtsman.
Don died in Wellington on 12 March 2018. His wife of 57 years, Patricia, predeceased him in 2015. He leaves two daughters Mary and Sara and a son Allan David Matson (9208).
Chronicle 2017
12
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online