Sir Mason has been named a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to Maori health, and in particular, public health services.
He described the knighthood as an honour for his family, especially his wife Arohia.
"These things are never about one person. There's always a lot of people who have worked in the same field, my family perhaps, probably my wife most of all. But then there's been a whole lot of people working in Maori health I have had the privilege to be with, some of them no longer with us," Sir Mason told NZPA.
He was a fan of the honours system, "as long as the people support it, and there seems to be a lot of support for it at present".
But he confessed it would take some time before he would get used to being referred to as Sir Mason.
"It took me a long time to get used to the title of Dr, and it took me even longer to get used to the title of Professor, but I am getting good at it now."
Sir Mason, who lives in Feilding where he was raised, is Professor of Maori Research and Development and Assistant Vice-Chancellor at Massey University.
He serves on the boards of Te Papa, the Foundation for Research Science and Technology, and is the secretary of the Maori Congress and a commissioner for the Families Commission.
