John Bollons

John Peter Bollons (10 November 1862 – 18 September 1929) was a New Zealand marine captain, naturalist, and ethnographer. Born in Bethnal Green, England, he began his maritime career at 19, joining the crew of the barque *England's Glory*. After the ship wrecked near Bluff in 1881, Bollons settled there and worked on various vessels before obtaining his master’s certificate. In 1898, he became captain of the government steamer *Hinemoa*, which was involved in lighthouse supply, coastal charting, and patrols in New Zealand's subantarctic islands.

Bollons rescued castaways from the *Anjou* (1905) and the *Dundonald* (1907). He also surveyed and selected the site for the Cape Brett Lighthouse. His interest in natural history led him to collect specimens, including bird eggs, which he donated to museums such as the Dominion Museum and the American Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. A botanist named a plant *Veronica bollonsii* after him. Bollons spoke Māori and incorporated Māori middle names for his children, reflecting his passion for Māori culture.

He was appointed a Companion of the Imperial Service Order in 1928. Bollons died in 1929 from pneumonia following surgery and is buried at Bluff, with a memorial in All Saints' Church, Kilbirnie. His life inspired Bernard Fergusson’s fictionalized biography *Captain John Niven*.