John Mathison OBE JP (29 September 1901 – 12 October 1982) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

He was famed for his skills as a chairman and well known for his "unmistakably Scottish" accent, eloquent speeches and dry sense of humour.

Shortly after arriving he married Agnes Anderson, a fellow Scottish emigrant whom he had met on the voyage.

A short while later he briefly worked as an industrial insurance salesman before joining the Christchurch Tramways Board as a conductor in 1924, later becoming a tram driver.

The strike was protesting 12 layoffs (including Mathison himself) when the Christchurch Tramway Board looked to cut expenditure in the face of financial problems from falling ticket revenue.

[2] During the strike Mathison left the tramways and accepted employment, to much criticism, at the Christchurch Star-Sun newspaper where he worked as a publisher for many years.

[4][3] He stood as the Labour Party's candidate for Mayor of Christchurch in the 1968 election, but was beaten by councillor Ron Guthrey.

As Minister of Civil Aviation he was responsible for the arrangement that safeguarded New Zealand's interests in Tasman Empire Airways.

[12] Mathison was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1973 New Year Honours, for services to politics.