Name John Morton | Role Author | |
Alma mater University of Auckland, University of London Died March 6, 2011, New Zealand Education University of London, University of Auckland Fields Conservation biology, Marine biology, Theology People also search for Mark H. Johnson, Uta Frith, John Morton Books You Are the Blessings, The Blessings Already A, AVR, Understanding Developmental Disorders, Biology and Cognitive | ||
John Edward Morton (1 April 1924 – 6 March 2011) was a biologist, scholar, theologian, and conservationist from New Zealand. Trained at the University of Auckland and the University of London, he became the author of numerous books, papers, and newspaper columns. Morton researched New Zealand’s ecology and marine life, and was a marine zoologist. He was also the presenter of the imported nature and science television programme, Our World.
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Early life
Morton began his zoology degree at the University of Auckland. In 1952 he completed his Doctorate of Philosophy (in Science), followed in 1959 by a Doctorate in Science at the University of London. During this time he was also a lecturer in the zoology department at the same university.
Career
On his return from London in the early 1960s, he became the first person to be appointed to the chair of the School of Zoology and Biological Sciences at Auckland University, a position he held from 1959 to 1988. He was considered at this time one of New Zealand's most talented up-and-coming academics, and was later regarded by many as one of New Zealand’s greatest marine biologists.
His teaching style and influence have been well-documented in A History of Biology at Auckland University 1883–1983. He believed in "humanising" complex scientific issues, and presenting them in laymen's language.
Morton was also regarded as one of New Zealand's leading Christian academics and believed in a unified view of science and religion. He told The New Zealand Herald upon his retirement in 1988 that "I find that my scientific work has confirmed my Christian convictions. To me biology and theology complement each other." In his 1984 book Redeeming Creation he acknowledged the influence of the French palaeontologist Teilhard de Chardin in forming the teleological view he expounded in his academic life.
Morton did much for conservation in New Zealand. In 1975, he was a leader in the establishment of New Zealand’s first marine reserve, Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve (which is near Cape Rodney and Leigh and includes Goat Island). He led the conservation movement to a series of victories in the 1970s and 1980s, which saved the last of New Zealand's mainland native forests, Pureora, Whirinaki, Waitututu and South Westland from logging.
He served on the Auckland Regional Authority from 1971 to 1974, losing his re-election bid after switching his party affiliation to Labour. In 1989 he became a founding member of the New Labour Party, which in 1991 formed a coalition with other parties called the Alliance.