"His mantra was 'there's no such thing as a slow news day, just slow reporters', and would send his staffers out with the instruction they weren't to return until they'd uncovered a front-page story." She said Mr Mayston wrote thought-provoking editorials on local, national and international affairs.
Current Rotorua Daily Post editor Kim Gillespie said he would always be thankful to Mr Mayston for giving him his first job as a journalist.
"Robin was my first editor and I learned a lot in those years." Mr Mayston had a knack for spotting potential talent among aspiring journalists, hiring a number who moved through the professional ranks to top newspaper positions nationally and internationally.
He was also a former chief reporter of the Dominion (now the Dominion Post) and editor of the Wairarapa Times Age.
Outside journalism he represented New Zealand in rifle shooting, regularly competing and scoring highly in the Ballinger Belt, the country's oldest sporting trophy. He was an avid pigeon fancier, again competing at a national level.
His son Blair, who was educated at Rotorua Lakes High School, also entered journalism and is now a senior reporter at the Otago Daily Times, where his father had also worked.
Mr Mayston died at home on Monday.
He is survived by his wife Marg, children Murray, Nic, Geoff, Jacqui, and Blair, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild. His service is at Betts Chapel, Timaru, on April 7.
