New Year Honours 2014: Colin Crombie

HONOURED: Colin Crombie with his wife, Diana Crombie. PHOTO/GLENN TAYLOR HBT134340-04

Colin Crombie describes himself as a pragmatic businessman and says pragmatism also drives his philanthropic efforts which has seen him honoured with the Queen's Service Medal.

Mr Crombie's insurance business, Crombie Lockwood, began in Hawke's Bay and grew to be nationally successful. As a result, he and wife Diana "wanted to give back to the Bay so we've been quietly working away doing our thing".

The Napier couple's "thing" has included donating $500,000 to the recent restorations of the Hawke's Bay Museum and Art Gallery (MTG), and founding the Penzance Charitable Trust which helps Year 13 students from Napier Boys' High School and Napier Girls' High School with tertiary scholarships.

Mr Crombie has been a member of the Iona College Council for more than 10 years and is a member of the College Foundation. He is a life member of Outward Bound.

He said his support of education initiatives - such as the Penzance trust which fills a gap for children of "hard-working families" who wouldn't otherwise have access to financial support - is driven by a pragmatic belief in the value of an educated population.

"That is the ultimate reason for supporting them - we are trying to improve New Zealand and it is just our small contribution.

"We're very much into supporting education and the cultural side of things and pragmatically, obviously, you hope that it rubs off and we become a better society as a result of it."

Mr Crombie says Diana "is very heavily involved in the trust - she is the one that does all the hard work behind the scenes".

He has been involved with Hawke's Bay Water Group for the past 12 years.

Mr Crombie also helped establish the Rose Charity Eye Clinic in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The Clinic has become the leading eye clinic in Cambodia, assisting people in rural areas with sight difficulties.

He said he was "stunned but absolutely pleased and honoured to have been considered" for the QSM.

"I'm rather humbled that they considered me worthwhile, which is lovely."