John Luxton’s legacy supports Māori into agriculture

The late John Luxton from Waitoa was a successful and accomplished dairy farmer, businessman, company director, international agricultural development consultant and Government Minister.

Following his wishes, John’s family wanted to focus his legacy on manifesting his respect for Māori and his desire to open doors for them into agriculture and other primary industries, so that ultimately everyone prospers. They have now set up the John Luxton Legacy Fund at Momentum Waikato to realise this vision.

Donations to the John Luxton Legacy Fund are invited from anyone who also wishes to provide scholarships and other support for members of Waikato Tainui and Hauraki iwi to access education and training in agriculture and other primary industries.

Mary Scholtens, John’s wife, has penned the following biography to tell the story of John’s life, and how his experiences and vision shaped the mission of his Legacy Fund.

Hon Dr Murray John Finlay Luxton CNZM QSO, known as John

By Mary Scholtens, John’s wife, on her behalf of herself and John's children Nicola Luxton, Sarah Mellor, Richard Luxton and step-son Ed Scholtens, and their families.

John Luxton was a fifth-generation New Zealand dairy farmer. His family has a century of association with the Waikato-Piako area.

He was born in Morrinsville in 1946 and grew up on the family dairy farm at nearby Waitoa. He was the son of a dairy farmer and a schoolteacher, and the eldest of four children all born within four years.

He went to Hamilton Boys High School, where one of his achievements was playing as lock for the First Fifteen. He studied at Massey University in Palmerston North, obtaining a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree. It was there where he met his first wife Merryl.

Over his lifetime, John and his family built up a significant dairying business. He and Merryl bought their first dairy farm at Waitoa in 1972 with eight percent equity.

With their young children they embarked on several international consultancy project contracts, with John working as a dairy husbandry adviser for a UNDP/World Bank aid project in Tanzania from 1975 to 1977, and on a German Aid Agency dairy project in Malaysia from 1980 to 1984. As well as experiencing diverse cultures, these opportunities gave John a unique insight into different farming methods and vastly different economic contexts.

After a time back farming in New Zealand, in 1987 John was elected to Parliament for the National Party in the Waikato seat of Matamata, a seat that had been held by his father for the previous 21 years. National won the next election in 1990 and new Prime Minister Jim Bolger appointed John to Cabinet.

In early 1993, Merryl passed away from breast cancer. That was also the year that John became the last Pākehā Minister of what was then the government department called ‘Māori Affairs’.

John learned much from his relationships with Māori, from his time as Minister of Māori Affairs, 1993 to 1996, and in other his ministerial portfolios such as Fishing and Agriculture.

He was also involved as a Trustee of the Waitangi Trust in the early 1990s and with the Ahuwhenua Trophy competition, set up to encourage skill and proficiency in Māori farming.

He served as the inaugural co-chair of the Waikato River Authority, 2010 to 2020, a Crown-Iwi co-governance organisation established through Treaty of Waitangi settlement legislation to manage the health and wellbeing of the Waikato River for future generations.

He was also proud to be the inaugural chair of Pouarua Farms Ltd, 2013 to 2021, a large Māori-owned dairy operation near the township of Ngatea on the Hauraki Plains.

John’s passion for farming was clear from his broader public roles. From 2008 to 2015 he was the inaugural chair of DairyNZ, the public good organisation that aims to help farmers build profitable, sustainable and resilient farm businesses though extension, advocacy and science and research.

He was also one of the founders of the Open Country Cheese Company and the Kaimai Cheese Company, located near Matamata in the Waikato, along with former colleague Wyatt Creech.

He held several other directorships in the agri-business sector, including the Tatua Co-op Dairy Company, where he served two periods as Chair, and Wallace Corporation, a meat co-products business.

In the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours John was made a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services and in the 2017 New Year Honours he was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the dairy industry.

He was awarded the Sir Geoffrey Peren Medal by Massey University in 2013, and a D.Sc. by Lincoln University in 2016.

John read avidly about Māori history and at the end of his life was learning Te Reo, which he very much admired as a language and wished to speak proficiently both as a sign of respect, and to better understand those he interacted with.

His window into the Māori world impressed on him the values of honour, of community. He delighted in and respected the oratory, the symbolism, the wisdom of the kuia and the mana of the Māori Queen Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu. He had a true respect and admiration for Māori culture and for tikanga.

He also noted the reality of what it must be like to have to catch up from behind. He recognised the historical circumstances that resulted in many young Māori often being denied the same opportunities as their Pakeha contemporaries in other socio-economic groups. He was very aware of the privilege that his family’s position as landowners had given him. It is those who seek to learn, work in and contribute to New Zealand’s primary industries that this John Luxton Legacy Fund aims to assist.

John was a constant learner and valued education highly. Before he passed away, we spoke of his wish to make some on-going contribution to supporting individuals in agriculture and related primary industries.

John was at his essence a farmer. A man of the land, he was committed to raising healthy animals, producing nutritious and safe food, and protecting the environment. Like his father before him, he would often say that farming was the best career, and life, that one could have.

John decided to focus on his old constituency, and in particular the Waikato Tainui and Hauraki iwi that he had worked with over the years. He hoped that this gift will contribute to their success by encouraging young Māori to participate, be educated in and thrive in farming and related industries, which will in turn enable everyone to prosper.

We his family are proud to stand with our husband, father and grandfather to support this legacy.

John with his family - L to R: Sarah, Tait, Caroline, Ed, Mary, John, Charlie, Nicola, Vida, Isa, Charlotte, Richard, Oliver, Sam, Jack, Kian, Ariana and Claire.

Do you want to honour the memory of John Luxton, and/or support members of Waikato Tainui and Hauraki iwi into primary sector education or training?

You can donate at our John Luxton Legacy Fund page.