John Maynard Hedstrom

Sir John Maynard Hedstrom (22 February 1872 – 2 June 1951) was a Fijian businessman and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Council for over 30 years. Alongside Robert Crompton, Henry Marks and Henry Milne Scott, he was one of the 'big four' that heavily influenced the Fijian economy and political sphere in the first half of the 20th century.[1]

John Maynard Hedstrom
Member of the Legislative Council
In office
1908–1914
Preceded byDavid Robbie
Succeeded bySeat abolished
ConstituencyLevuka
In office
1914–1937
Preceded bySeat created
Succeeded byHarold Brockett Gibson
ConstituencyEastern (European)
Nominated Member of the Legislative Council
In office
1937
Personal details
Born22 February 1872
Levuka, Fiji
Died2 June 1951(1951-06-02) (aged 79)
Tamavua, Fiji

Biography

Maynard Hedstrom was born in Levuka on 22 February 1872,[2] the son of N.S. Hedstrom, a Swedish shipmaster who was employed as a harbour master.[3] He was educated at Suva Public School and Wesley College in Australia,[4] before graduating from the University of Melbourne.[2] After returning to Fiji, he initially worked in the post office in Suva,[5] before going into business, joining the Union Steamship Company and becoming manager of the Levuka branch.[4] He later became a partner in Brown & Joske and was involved in several other companies before founding the Morris Hedstrom firm with Percy Morris in 1898,[6] which went on to become the country's leading retailer.[4] He became President of the Chamber of Commerce in 1924, a position he held for 23 years.[4]

Maynard Hedstrom entered politics in the 1900s, serving as mayor of Levuka in 1905 and 1906. In 1908 he was elected to the Legislative Council in the Levuka constituency, defeating the incumbent David Robbie. He was re-elected in 1911, again defeating Robbie. Prior to the 1914 elections, the constituency was reorganised and renamed Eastern. Maynard Hedstrom was returned unopposed and held the seat until the 1937 elections; during this time he was returned unopposed again in 1917, after which he became a member of the Executive Council. He was returned unopposed in 1920, 1929, 1932 and only faced opponents in 1923 and 1926, winning easily on both occasions. He did not contest a seat in the 1937 elections, at which point he also left the Executive Council,[4] but was chosen as one of the two nominated European members on the Legislative Council. However, he resigned in December 1937 after a dispute with the Governor.[7]

In the 1922 New Year Honours, Maynard Hedstrom became the first resident of Fiji to be knighted.[4] He was also awarded the Order of the Polar Star by the King of Sweden in 1939 after serving as honorary Vice-Consul for Sweden in Suva.[8]

Maynard Hedstrom married Grace Eastgate in 1895.[9] The couple had five children; three sons and two daughters. Grace died on 2 May 1931.[9] Maynard Hedstrom subsequently married Joyce Beauchamp during the 1930s.[3] He died at his home in the Tamavua area of Suva on 2 June 1951 at the age of 79.[5]

References
  1. Death of Robert Crompton: Last of the Fiji big four Pacific Islands Monthly, January 1959, p15
  2. Brij V. Lal (2015) Historical Dictionary of Fiji, Rowman & Littlefield, p109
  3. From Clerk to Millionaire Knight Pacific Islands Monthly, August 1946, p36
  4. Stewart Firth & Daryl Tarte (2001) 20th Century Fiji: People who shaped this nation, USP Solutions, pp45–46
  5. First Fiji born knight Fiji Times, 28 October 2018
  6. Brij V. Kal & Kate Fortune (2000) The Pacific Island: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1, University of Hawaii Press, p219
  7. "That Archaic Trinity" Pacific Islands Monthly, January 1938, p5–6
  8. The London Gazette, 1 December 1939, p8034
  9. "Death of Lady Hedstrom", Pacific Islands Monthly, June 1931, p6
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