Frank Robson (conservationist)

Frank Donald Robson QSO (29 September 1912 – 30 May 1993) was a New Zealand logging contractor, fisherman and marine conservationist.

Robson was born in Greenmeadows, New Zealand, in 1912. He was the first New Zealander to study whale strandings and the first systematic investigation of pollutant levels in marine mammals in New Zealand. His volunteer group, Project Jonah has saved thousands of marine mammals,[1] continuing even after the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978 made the Department of Conservation technically responsible for this.[2]

In the 1989 New Year Honours, Robson was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for community service.[3]

  1. ^ "For 30 years Project Jonah has been the voice for marine mammal protection in New Zealand". projectjonah.org.nz. 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012. We provided thousands of volunteers with the skills to rescue stranded dolphins and whales. We are the only national voluntary group in New Zealand that can effectively help marine mammals in distress. Through this network thousands of animals have been saved.
  2. ^ Donoghue, Michael. "Frank Donald Robson". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  3. ^ "No. 51580". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 31 December 1988. p. 34.