Dame Mary Josephine Drayton (née Stock, 13 January 1916 – 14 September 2012), known as Joy Drayton, was a New Zealand teacher, academic and officeholder.

Early life and education

Mary Josephine Stock was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

in 1916 and educated at

Wellington East Girls' College Wellington East Girls' College (WEGC, Maori name: Te Kura Kōhine o te Rāwhiti o Te Upoko o Te Ika) is a state single-sex girls' secondary school which sits directly above Mount Victoria Tunnel, Wellington, New Zealand. Serving Years 9 to 13 ( ...

. She graduated from

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 ...

with a MA(Hons) in history in 1937 and went on to complete a DipEd at the same institution.Former Chancellors of the University of Waikato
retrieved 18 December 2012. On 14 June 1941, she married Ronald Wilfred Drayton at the Vivian Street Baptist Church in Wellington.

Education career

Drayton was a teacher at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New Z ...

from 1942 to 1944. She became principal of

Tauranga Girls' College Tauranga Girls' College is a state single-sex girls secondary school in Tauranga, New Zealand. It offers the NCEA system of qualifications. The school has a roll of students from years 9 to 13 (approx. ages 12 to 18) as of The current principa ...

in 1959, a position she held for 22 years. During that time, she added

Māori language Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...

to the curriculum, making the college the first state school to do so. She became a member of the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

Council in 1979, and served as Chancellor from 1988 to 1991. She was a member of the Hamilton Teachers' College Council from 1986 to 1991.

Political career

Drayton was a

Tauranga City Council Tauranga City Council is the local government authority for Tauranga City in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the 158,000 people of Tauranga. The last Mayor of Tauranga was Tenby Powell, who resigned in November 2 ...

lor from 1985 to 1992, having entered local-body politics campaigning for the building of a new city library. She was the deputy mayor of Tauranga between 1986 and 1989. She was a regional councillor on Environment Bay of Plenty from 1992 to 1998, including three years as deputy chair from 1992 to 1995.

Other activities

Drayton also served on the executive committee of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (1986–1998) and the executive of the Tauranga branch of the National Council of Women (1987–91). She was the chair of the Bay of Plenty Women's Refuge from 1982 to 1986.

Honours

In 1993, Drayton received an honorary doctorate from the

.Honorary Doctors of the University of Waikato
retrieved 18 December 2012. Drayton was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to education and the community, in the

1980 New Year Honours The 1980 New Year Honours 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. They were announced on 31 December 1979 to celeb ...

. In the

2000 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2000 for the United Kingdom and New Zealand were announced on 31 December 1999, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2000. The ''Honours list'' is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various or ...

, she was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

, for services to local government and the community. She was subsequently promoted to

Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

in the

2005 New Year Honours New Year Honours were granted in the United Kingdom and New Zealand at the start of 2005. Among these in the UK were knighthoods awarded to Mike Tomlinson, the educationalist; Derek Wanless, who led a review of the National Health Service; and ...

, for services to education and local-body affairs, and in 2009 she accepted redesignation as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit following the reintroduction of titular honours by the New Zealand government.Special Honours List, 1 August 2009
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; retrieved 18 December 2012.

Death

Drayton died in Tauranga on 14 September 2012, aged 96.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drayton, Joy 1916 births 2012 deaths Schoolteachers from Dunedin Victoria University of Wellington alumni Deputy mayors of places in New Zealand Tauranga City Councillors Chancellors of the University of Waikato New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit People educated at Wellington East Girls' College Bay of Plenty regional councillors