John Barton (public administrator)  John Saxon Barton (13 April 1875 – 2 September 1961) was a New Zealand accountant, writer, lawyer, magistrate and public administrator. He was born in Richmond, Victoria, Australia on 13 April 1875. He was one of the two commissioners put in charge of rebuilding Napier after the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake. Barton was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for his work in Napier. In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.