Campbell Percy "Mac" McMeekan (29 July 1908 – 2 July 1972) was a New Zealand university professor, agricultural scientist and administrator. McMeekan was born in Otaki, New Zealand, in 1908. He received his secondary education at

Midhirst Midhirst is a small village in Taranaki, New Zealand, approximately 4 km north of Stratford, on State Highway 3. Inglewood is 17 km (11 mi) north of Midhirst, and New Plymouth is 35 km (22 mi) to the northwest. Dem ...

School and then at

New Plymouth Boys' High School New Plymouth Boys' High School is a single-sex boys' state secondary school in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand. The school currently caters for approximately 1300 students, including 210 boarders, on its site. The school often collaborate ...

. He had further training at Stratford Technical High School before starting at

Victoria University College Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

in agriculture in 1927. After a merger, he continued at the newly-formed

Massey Agricultural College Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

in Palmerston North from the following year, from where he graduated in 1932. He remained as a lecturer at Massey and then did further study at the University of Cambridge where he gained his PhD. He returned to Massey as a lecturer in 1938 and moved to the

Canterbury Agricultural College Lincoln University (Māori: ''Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki'') is a New Zealand university that was formed in 1990 when Lincoln College, Canterbury was made independent of the University of Canterbury. Founded in 1878, it is the oldest agricultur ...

in 1939. He was not a good fit at the conservative college in Lincoln and was attracted to an animal research station at

Ruakura Ruakura is a semi-rural suburb of Hamilton City, in the Waikato region of New Zealand. The University of Waikato is nearby. The area lies to the east of urban Hamilton and to the west of State Highway 1B (a variant of State Highway 1 which avo ...

in 1943. He lost his job in 1962 and then worked for the World Bank. He returned to New Zealand in 1966. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the

1958 Queen's Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1958 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate ...

. He had an honorary doctorate conferred by

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

in 1966. On 2 July 1972, he drowned in Auckland Harbour after his boat capsized. At , he was too heavy to be helped onto another boat. He had drowned after a five-hour rescue mission. McMeekan had been married twice and was survived by his second wife, and two children from his first marriage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMeekan, Campbell Percy 1908 births 1972 deaths New Zealand scientists People from Ōtaki, New Zealand New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People educated at New Plymouth Boys' High School People educated at Stratford High School, New Zealand Massey University alumni Academic staff of Massey University Alumni of the University of Cambridge Academic staff of Lincoln University (New Zealand) Deaths due to shipwreck at sea Deaths by drowning in New Zealand