John Bollons

John Peter Bollons (10 November 1862 – 18 September 1929) was a New Zealand marine captain, naturalist and ethnographer. For many years he captained New Zealand government steamers, including the NZGSS Hinemoa, which undertook lighthouse work and patrols through New Zealand's subantarctic islands. Bollons Island, in the Antipodes Islands, is named after him. In 1928 he was appointed a Companion of the Imperial Service Order.

Early life

Bollons was born 10 November 1862 in Bethnal Green, England, the son of a London cab master.

Natural history and ethnography interests Bollons had a great interest in natural history, collecting various specimens on his journeys. He corresponded regularly with natural environment scientists and sometimes collected specimens for them. The rescue of the castaways of the Dundonald coincided with the 1907 Sub-Antarctic Islands Scientific Expedition whose participants were travelling on the Hinemoa. He was very well regarded by the members of the Expedition as he regularly pointed out and ensured they visited areas he was familiar with and thought might interest them. One of the participants of the expedition—botanist Leonard Cockayne—later named a plant, the Veronica bollonsii, after Bollons. In 1946, Bollons' widow donated an album of photographs to the Alexander Turnbull Library; the album comprised photographs taken by Samuel Page on the 1907 scientific expedition by the Hinemoa to the subantarctic islands, and had been given to Captain Bollons by the members of the expedition.

Bollons was also highly interested in Māori culture, especially fishing traditions. He often used his voyages around the New Zealand coastline and islands to conduct fossicking trips. He spoke Te Reo and the love of this language was reflected in the fact that all of his children had Māori middle names. He collected a large number of Māori and Pacific artifacts and natural environment specimens. The Bollons Collection was purchased by the Dominion Museum. The museum also holds collections of shells, birds and also a valuable collection of New Zealand bird eggs collected by Bollons.

Bollons' reputation as an amateur ornithologist was widespread, and he donated a number of eggs to the American Museum of Vertebrate Zoology in 1923, and provided significant information on the breeding practices of albatrosses.

Recognition and presence in fiction

In the 1928 King's Birthday Honours, Bollons was appointed a Companion of the Imperial Service Order; the award was given on retirement to administrative and clerical staff of the Civil Service throughout the British Empire for long and meritorious service. Bollons Island, in the Antipodes Islands, is named after him.

Bollons was the subject of Captain John Niven, a fictionalised biography by Bernard Fergusson, who lived in New Zealand for a time when his father served as Governor-General.

Personal life

He married Lilian Rose Hunter, the daughter of a master mariner, in 1896 in Invercargill, and in 1911, the family moved to Wellington. They had four daughters and four sons: Thomas Tangaroa (b. 1896), John Tutanekai (b. 1897, Alan Awarua (b. 1900), Liliian Hinemoa (b. 1903), Desmond Maui (b. 1905), Kathleen Rawhiti (b. 1908), Patricia Maimoa (b. 1909), and Nancy Awatea (b. 1914). Bollons died in Wellington after developing pneumonia following hernia surgery on 18 September 1929. He is buried at Bluff, and a memorial was erected in All Saints' Church, Kilbirnie, which was unveiled by Governor General Sir Charles Fergusson.