Everything about Rex Mason totally explained
» This article is about a New Zealand polititian. For the comic character of the same name see Metamorpho.Henry Greathead Rex Mason (
3 June 1885 -
2 April 1975) was a
New Zealand politician. He served as
Attorney General,
Minister of Justice,
Minister of Education, and
Minister of Native Affairs, and had a significant influence on the direction of the
Labour Party. He was one of New Zealand's longest-serving MPs.
Early life
Mason was born in
Wellington, to a
South African father and an
Australian mother. He attended
Wellington College (where he was
dux) and
Victoria University, from which he graduated with
MA in mathematics and an
LLB. Moving to
Pukekohe, he became a
lawyer.
Political career
Mason was elected
Mayor of Pukekohe in
1915. He was left-wing in his political outlook, and joined the
Labour Party on its foundation in
1916. In the
1919 general election, he was Labour's candidate for the seat of
Manukau, but was defeated. Later, he shifted his attention to the seat of
Eden — he contested it in the
1922 election and
1925 election. He finally won Eden in a
1926 by-election, assisted by the fact that the
Reform Party's vote was split by a defeated nominee,
Ellen Melville.
Throughout his parliamentary career, Mason remained highly involved in the organisation of the Labour Party. He served as its president from 1931 to 1933, and played a major role in policy formulation. Mason was regarded as a
social democrat rather than a
socialist, and he played a part in moving the Labour Party closer to the political centre. He did, however, believe that the state should have exclusive control over the country's financial system, influenced by
social credit monetary reform theories. Other causes supported by Mason include the establishment of a comprehensive old-age pension system and the granting of full state services to
naturalised immigrants (the latter making him extremely popular with his electorate's substantial
Yugoslavian community).
When Labour won the
1935 general election, Mason became
Attorney General and
Minister of Justice, reflecting his legal background. When disputes arose between the party leadership and
John A. Lee's more radical faction, Mason remained on good terms with both sides — while he sympathised with some of Lee's points, particularly regarding monetary reform, he didn't join Lee's breakaway
Democratic Labour Party. Mason later served as
Minister of Education (where he worked closely with
C.E. Beeby to implement educational reforms) and as
Minister of Native Affairs. In 1941 the Public Service Commissioner
Thomas Mark died in (or just outside) the minister's office, during an confrontation with Mason who wanted the resignation of the head of a department.
He wasn't returned to Cabinet after the
1946 election, but returned to fill a vacancy the following year. After Labour lost office, he continued to agitate on a number of issues, notably
decimal currency. After Labour won the
1957 election, Mason returned to his original roles of Attorney General and Minister of Justice. He was also made
Minister of Health.
Rex Mason represented the seat of
Eden in the 22nd parliament (1926-28),
Auckland Suburbs in the 23rd to 27th parliaments (1928-46),
Waitakere in the 28th to 33rd parliaments (1946-63), and
New Lynn in the 34th parliament (1963-66).
Mason eventually retired from politics at the
1966 election, under a certain amount of pressure from colleagues who wished to "rejuvenate" the Labour Party. Mason was now in his eighties, and was one of the longest serving New Zealand MPs ever, with a career of 40 years from 15 April 1926 to 25 October 1966.
Personal affairs
Mason married Dulcia Martina Rockell on
27 December 1912, and had three children. Through his wife's influence, Mason become interested in
Indian religion and spirituality, and beliefs derived from it (particularly
Theosophy). He was a
vegetarian and a
teetotaller.
Mason died in Wellington on
2 April 1975, aged 89.
Further Information
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