OUR HEROES 2023 OVERALL WINNER
Somewhere along the way, Richard Smiley thanked his wife Margaret for saving his life amid the horror of Cyclone Gabrielle.
The 76-year-old Hawke's Bay grandmother dog-paddled below a 90cm gap in the garage door and into swift, murky floodwaters, ducking under submerged wires across a 20-row apple orchard to get help as her husband of 56 years – a non-swimmer – clung to the rafters.
Margaret got close enough for their neighbours in rural Puketapu to pull her on to a jet-ski to alert rescuers. When they cut through the garage roof and pulled 76-year-old Richard to safety, the water was tickling his nostrils.
Margaret Smiley is Our Hero for 2023, both for her own act of bravery and as an indefatigable emblem of the courage and determination of so many in Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne-Tairāwhiti and beyond to the beach communities of Auckland’s West Coast.
They didn't give up when faced with a meteorological monster that took 11 lives and left a trail of broken – but not beaten – communities in its wake.
Smiley, living in Pakipaki while her wrecked Puketapu Rd home is rebuilt, doesn’t think she’s a hero.
“The kids and Richard and everybody have told me that, but I can’t sort of get it into my head because I thought, ‘Well, anybody would do it’.
“But the amount of people I’ve spoken to who said they wouldn’t have, and I’ve said, ‘Well, if you didn’t, Richard and I were going to die’ – we were going to drown, there’s no bullshit about that.”
Richard knew.
“He thanked me anyway, one time, for doing it.
“And yeah, I didn’t need any thanks … no, don’t get carried away, it wasn’t romantic. He said, ‘It was a terrific thing you did’. And I thought, ‘Oh no, I didn’t think it was anything great’.”
Smiley, whose swimming ability is limited to dog paddling, is pleased her triumph acknowledges the actions of so many.
Margaret and Richard Smiley. Photo / Warren Buckland
Margaret and Richard Smiley. Photo / Warren Buckland
“I’m only one. There’s a lot of people that saved other people’s lives. Yeah, there were a lot of brave people.”
People like cousins Mikey and Rikki Kihi, and their friend Morehu Maxwell, who used Maxwell’s jet boat to rescue more than a dozen people and pets stuck on rooftops, trees, vehicles and a caravan in devastated Esk Valley, risking their own safety in a massive new waterway clogged with housing materials, powerlines, cars and silt.
Or Chance Wharekawa, who biked for two hours through knee-deep water to help his partner out of rising floodwaters in Pakowhai, near Hastings.
In the air, New Zealand Defence Force helicopter pilots, rescue services and private operators plucked up to 400 people from rooftops, sheds, trees and cut-off communities, taking them away from the worst hit areas to safety.
And then there's former whitewater kayaking instructor Max Robertson – who may have tallied the most rescues by an individual – jumping into Esk Valley floodwaters again and again.
He first helped his dad, their dogs and two others – who had floated on to their property clinging to a drum – to safety.
Later, Robertson swam to help a couple, their child and two dogs get on to their roof, before pulling a neighbour clinging to his home’s gutter, out of the water.
His final rescue would be of the man’s wife, who’d become jammed in glasshouses 50 metres away.
“She was blue,” he later told Hawke’s Bay Today of the moment he reached the freezing woman.
“[She] was just hanging on.”
– Cherie Howie
OUR HEROES 2023 OVERALL WINNER
Somewhere along the way, Richard Smiley thanked his wife Margaret for saving his life amid the horror of Cyclone Gabrielle.
The 76-year-old Hawke's Bay grandmother dog-paddled below a 90cm gap in the garage door and into swift, murky floodwaters, ducking under submerged wires across a 20-row apple orchard to get help as her husband of 56 years – a non-swimmer – clung to the rafters.
Margaret got close enough for their neighbours in rural Puketapu to pull her on to a jet-ski to alert rescuers. When they cut through the garage roof and pulled 76-year-old Richard to safety, the water was tickling his nostrils.
Margaret Smiley is Our Hero for 2023, both for her own act of bravery and as an indefatigable emblem of the courage and determination of so many in Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne-Tairāwhiti and beyond to the beach communities of Auckland’s West Coast.
They didn't give up when faced with a meteorological monster that took 11 lives and left a trail of broken – but not beaten – communities in its wake.
Smiley, living in Pakipaki while her wrecked Puketapu Rd home is rebuilt, doesn’t think she’s a hero.
“The kids and Richard and everybody have told me that, but I can’t sort of get it into my head because I thought, ‘Well, anybody would do it’.
“But the amount of people I’ve spoken to who said they wouldn’t have, and I’ve said, ‘Well, if you didn’t, Richard and I were going to die’ – we were going to drown, there’s no bullshit about that.”
Richard knew.
“He thanked me anyway, one time, for doing it.
“And yeah, I didn’t need any thanks … no, don’t get carried away, it wasn’t romantic. He said, ‘It was a terrific thing you did’. And I thought, ‘Oh no, I didn’t think it was anything great’.”
Smiley, whose swimming ability is limited to dog paddling, is pleased her triumph acknowledges the actions of so many.
Margaret and Richard Smiley. Photo / Warren Buckland
Margaret and Richard Smiley. Photo / Warren Buckland
“I’m only one. There’s a lot of people that saved other people’s lives. Yeah, there were a lot of brave people.”
People like cousins Mikey and Rikki Kihi, and their friend Morehu Maxwell, who used Maxwell’s jet boat to rescue more than a dozen people and pets stuck on rooftops, trees, vehicles and a caravan in devastated Esk Valley, risking their own safety in a massive new waterway clogged with housing materials, powerlines, cars and silt.
Or Chance Wharekawa, who biked for two hours through knee-deep water to help his partner out of rising floodwaters in Pakowhai, near Hastings.
In the air, New Zealand Defence Force helicopter pilots, rescue services and private operators plucked up to 400 people from rooftops, sheds, trees and cut-off communities, taking them away from the worst hit areas to safety.
And then there's former whitewater kayaking instructor Max Robertson – who may have tallied the most rescues by an individual – jumping into Esk Valley floodwaters again and again.
He first helped his dad, their dogs and two others – who had floated on to their property clinging to a drum – to safety.
Later, Robertson swam to help a couple, their child and two dogs get on to their roof, before pulling a neighbour clinging to his home’s gutter, out of the water.
His final rescue would be of the man’s wife, who’d become jammed in glasshouses 50 metres away.
“She was blue,” he later told Hawke’s Bay Today of the moment he reached the freezing woman.
“[She] was just hanging on.”
– Cherie Howie
Photo / Mark Mitchell
Photo / Mark Mitchell
FINALISTS
Photo / Police
Photo / Police
A fleeing driver nearly took Zane Wienk’s life on November 9 last year, barrelling into the police constable who’d laid road spikes in an attempt to end a 21km pursuit across Auckland.
The impact sent the young officer through the air and into a tree, shattering his pelvis, breaking his leg and puncturing his lungs. Wienk’s life was only saved when a critical care paramedic put her finger into his chest to stop his lungs collapsing around his heart.
After a gruelling 13-month recovery that included learning how to walk again, Wienk’s passed the physical competency test and will soon be back on the beat.
Photo / Police
Photo / Police
“I hope to return to the frontline sometime early in the New Year.”
He’s grateful to be an Our Heroes finalist, Wienk says.
“But the real heroes are my colleagues who saved my life and my friends, family, medical specialists, physios and trainers who have all enabled me to healthily and promptly rehabilitate.”
He hopes others in similar situations can “take heart from my own journey”.
“Know that with modern medicine and the right mindset, it’s sometimes possible to return to a normal life after suffering injuries that would’ve permanently relegated you to a wheelchair just 20, or even 10, years ago.”
– Cherie Howie
Photo / Richard Robinson
Photo / Richard Robinson
She’s a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, was the first woman to be inducted into the Business Hall of Fame and made Forbes’ magazine’s Top 50 Power Businesswomen list.
Now, Dame Wendy Pye can add Our Heroes finalist to her roll call of achievements over almost 40 years exporting children’s books through her publishing company Sunshine Books.
“We should celebrate success in this country, particularly business success. I’m really proud of what New Zealand and my team have achieved in helping millions of children across the world to read.
“That's the most important thing – making a difference.”
Since she founded Sunshine Books in 1985, after meeting adolescent boys who couldn’t read, the company’s built a catalogue of 2000 books and sold more than 300 million copies worldwide.
Only last week, the 80-year-old signed a contract to get digitised books to kids in refugee camps.
“The sun never sets on my Sunshine Books.”
Every child should be able to read by 8 so they can “move on with other things in life”, Pye says, calling it tragic 70 per cent of jailed Kiwis lack basic literary skills.
“If you can read, you can fill out a job application, you can feel good about yourself. It’s self-worth.”
– Cherie Howie
Photo / Michael Craig
Photo / Michael Craig
When Neil Harding went to police 20 years after being sexually abused by a former Dilworth School assistant principal, a detective could only tell him Ian Wilson was now a convicted paedophile.
In 1997, police knew Wilson had only months earlier been convicted and fined $3500 for indecently assaulting another student. They couldn’t tell Harding because both Wilson and the school had name suppression.
It’d be another 20 years before Harding had the courage to tell Dilworth’s Trust Board, triggering events leading to charges and convictions against nearly a dozen former staff.
Wilson was sentenced in 2021 to three years and seven months’ jail for sexually abusing five former students.
This year, an independent inquiry commissioned by the school chronicled decades of institutionalised abuse against at least 233 students and a culture that enabled and covered up offending. Dilworth set aside almost $44m redress for victims.
It’s important to “stand up for what’s right”, Harding says.
“It’s my child self I’m doing this for, and for other survivors – and the non-survivors, because we’ve had 20 or so commit suicide.
“This [accolade’s] an acknowledgement for those who suffered abuse at Dilworth.”
– Cherie Howie
Photo / Mike Scott
Photo / Mike Scott
Hero’s an uncomfortable label for Jessa Pontevedra.
The Kiwi nurse is fighting the spread of tuberculosis in Manila’s slums, the latest in a string of Doctors Without Borders’ missions in conflict and disaster-stricken hotspots from South Sudan to Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Bangladesh and Ukraine.
Now medical coordinator for an ambitious programme combating TB – a leading cause of death with 1.6 million lives lost globally in 2021, but curable if caught and medicated early – Pontevedra says being an Our Heroes finalist is “truly humbling”, but heroism’s “not an individual achievement”.
“Rather [it’s] the combined strength and resilience of the communities I’ve been blessed to be a part of and serve.”
Her New Zealand support network’s also vital, the 37-year-old says.
“All I’ve ever done … is put [into practice] all the principles my family has raised me on, embody the Kiwi can-do attitude, and live my life committed to humanity and my love for children.
“Rather than feeling like a hero, I feel like a catalyst for change. Someone who can hopefully encourage empathy and bring about kindness, and acts of compassion for others.”
– Cherie Howie
Photo / Gerard O'Brien, ODT
Photo / Gerard O'Brien, ODT
“Bloody hard work,” the late Richie Poulton once said when asked what made Dunedin’s globally-influential longitudinal study a success.
That and the 50-year-old study’s participants who, across their entire lives, have been poked, prodded and questioned about their health and life choices.
“They’re the real heroes of the study, not us,” the University of Otago professor and 20 years-plus director of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study said last year.
Poulton died of cancer, aged 61, in October.
The study, which tracks the lives of about 1000 children born in Dunedin in 1972 or 1973, has produced more than 1200 research publications and each year amasses millions in international funding, influencing health and social policies around the world.
It’s examined the long-term influence of childhood experience on adult function and life success, the complex interplay between nature and nurture, and why individuals age at markedly different rates.
Poulton became the study’s deputy director in 1995, before replacing founder Phil Silva when he retired in 2000.
– Cherie Howie
Photo / Supplied
Photo / Supplied
He’s dedicated his working life to helping others learn the language of their ancestors, but Dr Ēnoka Murphy, too, needed a little help in his younger years.
The senior lecturer in te reo Māori at Waikato University and the Prime Minister’s Educator of the Year in September learned the language from his grandparents.
Sort of.
“I learned instructional language – get in here for a feed, go to bed, wash up, get outside, come to the car. My elders, they didn’t really converse with us, they just ordered us around.
“I didn’t really start talking to a fluent level until my teen years under formal instruction.”
Since the age of 16, Murphy (Ngāti Manawa, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Ruapani) has taught in community education, kōhanga reo, kura kaupapa and helped pioneer a full immersion tertiary programme in Taranaki that he now continues at Waikato University.
The father and grandfather’s also survived long periods of ill-health, including a bout with cancer his doctor said would kill him in less than three months.
Seeing how proud his parents were that he’s an Our Heroes finalist fills him with “humble pride”, the 51-year-old says.
“Giving my mum something to smile about means everything to me … there’s nothing more wonderful than your parents being proud of you.”
– Cherie Howie
Bella Powell inadvertently became the “proud face” of the campaign to publicly fund cystic fibrosis drug Trikafta. But it has always been a team effort, Powell says.
“I’m incredibly honoured to be a finalist … but there were also so many people behind the scenes who lobbied, had high-level meetings and gave up a lot of their time to make this a reality.”
This year, Pharmac began fully funding Trikafta, a drug expected to give those with cystic fibrosis (CF) the equivalent of 27 more years at full health. Previously, the average life expectancy for those with the incurable genetic condition – which causes thick mucus to build in the lungs, digestive system and other organs – was mid to late 30s.
Many encouraged and guided Powell and her family, including Malcolm Mullholland and Fiona Tolich from Patient Voice Aotearoa, Cystic Fibrosis New Zealand, the global CF community and the public.
“We all did this, that’s why I’m feeling uncomfortable about being recognised as an individual when it was so much bigger than me.”
The journey began with late CF expert Sir Bob Elliott and her involvement with Cure Kids.
Elliott paid for Powell’s first round of Trikafta, showing people CF could “no longer be the silent killer it’s been for so many years”.
“His drive and perseverance to improve the lives of people living with CF, not to mention his and his family's love for myself and my family, is something I treasure.”
– Cherie Howie
Greg Steward failed science and left school at 16. But he became a trainee woodsman and went on to build a celebrated research career in indigenous forestry, most notably finding trees such as kauri could be grown and harvested much faster than thought.
When the Rotorua scientist retired this year from Scion, a Crown research institute specialising in forestry and related sectors, Steward's five decades of work to boost the country’s knowledge of indigenous forestry earned widespread plaudits.
Steward’s thesis on the growth and yield of New Zealand kauri earned him a Master of Forestry Science (Hons) and dispelled myths about the growth potential of plantation kauri.
His research showed the tree’s stands aged 20 to 60 years were 20 times more productive than natural stands, blowing estimated kauri crop rotations of hundreds of years out of the water.
In 2020, Steward was given a Science New Zealand Individual / Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his work.
Other scientists are now championing the value of indigenous trees for their economic potential and special timber qualities, pleasing the 65-year-old, who continues to share his knowledge as an emeritus scientist.
During his career, he benefitted from similar support, Steward says.
“Those are the people who I was kind of just following on from, and hopefully there will be others who follow on from me.”
– Cherie Howie
Hers was the human face of the harm and suffering caused by a pair of predatory brothers who drugged and sexually assaulted 23 women at popular Christchurch bar Mama Hooch.
In May, Sophie Brown became the first survivor to go public after asking for her automatic name suppression to be lifted.
In 2017, aged 19, she was drugged and sexually assaulted in a bathroom by bar manager Danny Jaz.
Jaz, 40, and his brother Roberto Jaz, 38, were sentenced to 16-and-a-half years and 17 years’ jail respectively in August after being convicted of 69 charges between them.
They included rape, sexual violation, indecent assault, stupefying, disabling, making intimate recordings of women without their knowledge or consent and supplying illicit drugs.
After the attack, Brown lost trust in others, and initially blamed herself while “living in chaos” as she tried to pretend everything was okay.
“There’s so much shame and embarrassment and guilt wrapped up in having this happen to you … [Going public’s] helping me understand that I don’t need to be ashamed.
“This was something that happened to me.”
It’s “really cool” to be an Our Heroes finalist, Brown says.
“I don’t at all feel like a hero, but anything that helps us keep talking about this kind of thing is good.”
– Cherie Howie
WINNER
Infratil chief executive Jason Boyes has pulled off the biggest deal of the year in an economic environment in which many businesses have struggled to stay afloat.
Infratil’s $1.8 billion deal to buy out partner Brookfield and take full ownership of One NZ, topped the merger and acquisition league tables, according to Simpson Grierson.
The deal also had wider social resonance, putting our second-largest telco under local control. And investors cheered as One NZ’s valuation was upped by $1b to just over $3b.
Infratil’s shares were recently up 12 per cent for the year, making it easily the best performer in the NZX20 during a year when nearly all of our large listed companies saw their market capitalisation shrink.
The infrastructure investor has shifted from owning the likes of buses and petrol stations to high-tech infrastructure that’s changing the way we work and live – from clean energy to telecommunications to giant data centres that enable remote work and the AI boom.
The half-Infratil-owned CDC Data Centres was the first to open “hyperscale” centres this time last year, with twin facilities in Hobsonville and Silverdale – each with tens of thousands of computer servers that run software and services in “the cloud”.
This year, with the global tech giants still building their first local server farms, CDC embarked on an aggressive expansion programme. Infratil’s stake in CDC – which operates on both sides of the Tasman – jumped again and is now worth $4.16b.
The Infratil boss has also emerged as a voice in the debate over how to fund our transition to cleaner energy.
“New Zealand should follow the American tax credits scheme to develop renewable energy projects and expand the transmission grid,” Boyes told the Herald.
Infratil’s renewable energy also has global reach through its co-investment with the NZ Super Fund in US solar and wind energy provider Longroad Energy, and clean energy investments in Asia, Australia and Europe.
Boyes was new to Infratil when he was named chief executive in April 2021, succeeding Marko Bogoievski who had held the role for 12 years.
He had worked at the firm’s manager, Morrison & Co, for more than a decade. But his experience with Infratil pre-dated even that.
Boyes grew up in Blenheim before moving to Wellington for law school. He spent 15 years as a lawyer, becoming a partner at Buddle Findlay, having spent time working for UK law firm Slaughter & May during a spell in London.
Not long afterwards, Lloyd Morrison, the late founder of Morrison & Co, called him up asking what the bank would need to do to get him to work there. Boyes, impressed with what the company was doing, responded: “not much”.
After joining, Boyes was credited with leading the 2013 float of Z Energy, the original deal to buy half of Vodafone NZ (now One NZ), the major capital raising that followed and the establishment of international renewable energy businesses.
He remains on Morrison’s investment committee and was named as one of the firm’s 14 inaugural partners in May last year as it moved to a new ownership model.
– Chris Keall
FINALISTS
The $65.4 billion New Zealand Superannuation Fund celebrated its 20th birthday this year, achieving an average annual return of 9.53 per cent after costs and before tax.
The now-ex chief executive Matt Whineray was there for 15 of those years, the later five as leader – a period that saw it weather volatile market returns, shift to a more sustainable investment mandate, attempt to fund a light rail network and eye offshore wind power.
Whineray's favourite measure of success is the fact the fund has added $40 billion in value to New Zealand – that figure represents the dollar investment return above Treasury bills, which represents the cost to the Government of contributing to the fund instead of paying down debt.
In the 2023 financial year the fund made a 9.67 per cent return, compared with the previous year's negative return.
"Go you good thing," Whineray said in a repost of the performance on LinkedIn.
His humour and candid nature are evident across the Super Fund team and may be the reason for its strong relationships with other funds internationally, including Australian equivalent the Future Fund.
At the Super Fund's 20th birthday celebration at the Auckland Art Gallery (a proxy leaving do for Whineray), he spoke about his role as a temporary guardian of the fund.
"I am proud to have been part of the team that has served as kaitiaki (guardians) of the Fund up until this first waypoint, 20 years of investing," he wrote in the fund's latest annual report.
In this exit interview on Markets with Madison, Whineray boldly announced his departing wish was for the fund to be exempt from paying tax.
He has not made any noise about his next move, beyond enjoying summer with his family, but he can be proud of his contribution and candour to date.
– Madison Reidy
Photo / Getty Images
Photo / Getty Images
David Yu is the creator of successful mobile-based digital collections app VeVe. He took out the title of EY Entrepreneur of the Year last month and VeVe was the top company in the Deloitte Fast 50 awards.
At just 17, Yu established Games R Us Ltd, selling comics and old toys. Since then, VeVe has evolved into the hobby store of the digital world, allowing users to own and showcase their favourite characters, artworks, and memorabilia from popular franchises, including brands like Disney, Marvel and DC Comics.
VeVe has gone on to sell more than 8 million collectables using non-fungible tokens (NFT) technology.
The app is used by collectors worldwide, with 35 per cent of its users in the United States and 40 per cent in the UK and Europe.
Yu was labelled a “silent achiever… both humble and grounded in his approach,” by businesswoman and chair of the EY judges panel Cecilia Robinson.
Yu will fly the flag for New Zealand at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year awards in Monaco next year.
– Cameron Smith
Given up for adoption, friends with Danish royalty, a sailing champion, married to a three-time Olympian, building new retirement villages nationally and opening a new hospitality venue outside Arrowtown – Chris Meehan’s life is like something out of a novel.
The curly-headed businessman, who is chief executive of Winton Land, splits his time between Auckland and Queenstown.
Meehan shot to public prominence here in 2021 when he listed part of Winton Land on the NZX and ASX. The company is named after the Southland town where he was adopted.
The decision to list was to fulfil a $5 billion ambition to develop sites nationally, including building what is being marketed as Auckland’s most luxurious inner-city village in the Wynyard Quarter.
In his younger years, he was part of the Australian sailing team for four years in the lead-up to the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
Wife Michaela Meehan is Danish and an accomplished sailor, having competed at the Atlanta, Sydney and Athens Olympics, and the family counts European royalty among its friends.
Winton is now one of this country’s most active and ambitious developers and Meehan’s vision seems to know no bounds.
– Anne Gibson
Sky TV chief executive Sophie Moloney has been navigating through choppy waters since 2020.
She has dealt with the rise and fall of competitor Spark Sport, irate shareholders over a failed bid to buy MediaWorks, and an unspectacular rollout of the new Sky Box.
Then there was the mysterious buyer who wasn’t.
In October, Sky announced it had received a highly conditional, non-binding preliminary expression of interest from a third party to acquire all of the shares in Sky.
The company described the offer as “highly preliminary, incomplete and confidential”.
When it came down to it, the third party’s price range fell well short of the board’s view and the mystery would-be buyer was sent packing.
Moloney is now on the verge of a critical period for the business: renewed commercial strategies and a three-year investment plan, and preparations for when Rugby New Zealand returns to the table for negotiation renewal.
Moloney joined Sky UK in 2003 and has held senior commercial, legal and strategic roles at Sky NZ, Sky UK, Sky News Arabia, Abu Dhabi Media and OSN.
She returned to New Zealand in 2018. Before being appointed chief executive, she was Sky TV’s chief commercial officer.
Sky TV’s share price has performed strongly over the year while the broader market has been in decline.
– Jamie Gray
WINNER
Each year the New Zealand Herald profiles extraordinary New Zealanders who have made a difference in the entertainment world. The award celebrates entertainers who spread joy, fight for causes, champion equality and make a difference.
This year’s winner is Dai Henwood – a comedian and TV host who’s made a name for himself by making Kiwis laugh for over 20 years.
He’s a stalwart of the NZ comedy circuit, known for his cheeky one-liners on 7 Days, his iconic laugh, and his undying love of the Warriors.
But in January this year, the Billy T award winner revealed he had been “hiding” something for years – his 2020 diagnosis with stage four bowel cancer.
Throughout 2023, he’s shared updates on his treatment with Kiwis, neither sugar-coating what he’s gone through, nor losing his sense of humour.
He then used his comedy chops to help other Kiwis living with bowel cancer, working as an ambassador for the Cancer Society and hosting The Comedy Treatment in August to raise funds ahead of Daffodil Day, where Kiwis could donate to the charity by buying tickets to the live show at Auckland’s Q Theatre or tuning in on Three.
“I’m blessed that I’ve been able to help out quite a few people who are in a similar situation to me,” Henwood tells the Herald.
Last week he performed a sold-out comedy show called Dai Hard at Wellington’s Opera House to a crowd of over 1,000 people, which raised over $5000 and ended in a standing ovation - and unexpectedly brought Henwood himself to tears.
“It was the most emotional time in my professional life, just seeing this love being given back to me,” he says.
“It just really blew me away, and it’s the first time I’ve cried on stage.
“I just feel so blessed that so many beautiful New Zealanders have seen my comedy and supported me through what is a very hard journey.”
Since he shared his diagnosis on social media – and opened up in several interviews about the reality of cancer treatment and the toll it’s taken on his family - the response from Kiwis has been “overwhelming and amazing”, the comedian says.
“On TikTok, Instagram, emails, at gigs – I have people come up and share their stories with me, which sadly are often pretty harrowing.”
It wasn’t until he took his diagnosis public that he realised just how much of an impact it could have on others simply by being shared, he says – adding with a laugh, “The bizarre thing is, helping other people does have a selfish element to it because it actually makes you feel pretty good.”
Henwood plans to resume cancer treatment in January – and is finishing a documentary and a book, written with TV presenter Jaquie Brown.
“She’s been able to make all my crazy stories a bit more eloquent,” he says. “It’s a look at my life growing up and my philosophies, and a few tools for people who are going through hard times.”
But looking back on a hectic year, Henwood says it’s spending time with his wife Jo and his kids Charlie and Lucy that stands out, from skiing in Ohakune to travelling to Australia for the NRL grand final together.
“Moments with my wife and kids are the big highlights, and that can be as simple as playing a bit of soccer on the lawn as a family,” he tells the Herald.
“[I’m] looking forward to dedicating time to my little family unit and sharing those happy moments again.”
– Bethany Haverland
FINALISTS
Country singer Kaylee Bell is hitting all the right notes in America and back home in New Zealand.
Originally from Waimate, the 33-year-old rising star is paving the way for Kiwi women in the niche genre.
After becoming the first female Australasian country artist to be accredited gold for a single or EP in Australia in 20 years, she reached No 12 on the Billboard Chart for digital sales with her single, Keith, and was awarded Jeff Walker Global Country Artist at the Country Music Awards in the United States.
Bell, who has toured with Ed Sheeran, The Chicks and worked with Keith Urban, became the face of Spotify’s EQUAL campaign for women in music which saw her featured in New York’s Times Square.
She is a big supporter of other women in the industry, including her friend Benee.
“I’m a massive fan of female artists and particularly from New Zealand. I think I’ve always aspired to females that have gone and taken it on globally like she has.”
– Lillie Rohan
Photo / Dean Purcell
Photo / Dean Purcell
It’s been a huge year for New Zealand indie rock band The Beths.
Comprising vocalist Elizabeth Stokes, guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair and drummer Tristan Deck, The Beths were founded in 2014 but didn’t officially enter the mainstream until 2018 with their debut album, Future Me Hates Me.
The debut featured on countless "Best of 2018" lists and was touted by Pitchfork as "one of the most impressive indie-rock debuts of the year".
The four-piece band became beloved for their expert yet accessible pop tunes, and since then, they have toured internationally, won top album at the Aotearoa Music Awards, and earned rave reviews from publications like Rolling Stone.
This year, their importance in the industry became clear when, after being named in the top five for years, they finally took home an Apra Silver Scroll Award for their song Expert in a Dying Field.
Despite breaking into the international market and embarking on multiple overseas tours, the band have kept Aotearoa close to their hearts, telling the Herald in 2021, “Nothing is better than a hometown show”.
– Lillie Rohan
Music legend Don McGlashan needs little introduction in New Zealand, which is why it feels only right he’s landed a spot on our list.
Known for creating Kiwi staples such as Anchor Me and Dominion Road with The Mutton Birds, as well as Bathe in the River, the star is often referred to as music royalty in Aotearoa.
From his industry debut playing French horn and percussion in the Auckland Symphonia (now Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra), to The Mutton Birds, to composing for film and going solo, McGlashan has done it all.
And as a composer, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, he holds a pivotal role in the music community, which resulted in the ultimate honour this year when he was inducted into the Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa (New Zealand Music Hall of Fame).
The star teared up upon hearing the news, confessing he felt “humbled” and “really blessed” before adding, “Just to share that Hall of Fame with all the people back in New Zealand music history and current musicians, friends and colleagues that I’ve got, feels like something I never would have dreamed of growing up.”
– Lillie Rohan
It’s hard to know where to start when it comes to Oscar Kightley’s career.
From his early theatre beginnings in Horizons to the beloved film Sione’s Wedding, cartoon series Bro’Town, police drama Harry and the heart-wrenching Dawn Raids play – all written by the star in some capacity – the 54-year-old is a key figure in New Zealand’s entertainment industry.
In his multiple roles as actor, television presenter, writer, journalist, director, and comedian, Kightley has earned many accolades including being appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to television and the theatre in 2009, and being awarded the Senior Pacific Artist Award with David Fane in 2016.
In recent years, Kightley has worked tirelessly on projects outside of the entertainment industry. He became an ambassador for Men’s Health Week last year and was elected to the Henderson-Massey local board representing the Labour Party in 2022.
Now, he continues to work on projects close to his heart including the recently released Taika Waititi film, Next Goal Wins, which he described to the Herald as a hugely important film for Polynesians in the industry.
– Lillie Rohan
Photo / Getty Images
Photo / Getty Images
WINNER
If courage in sport is measured by performing when it matters most, the Football Ferns set an impressive benchmark in 2023.
As co-hosts of the Fifa Women’s World Cup, the spotlight was on the team like never before.
The Ferns had endured an underwhelming buildup, with just three wins from 23 matches, a run that included only 11 goals. The dread mood was heightened ahead of the opening game against Norway at Eden Park, with genuine fears of a lopsided scoreline against the European giants.
For the Ferns’ squad, there was added pressure. Even though nobody wanted to talk about it, everyone knew that their performances would have a significant bearing on the success of the tournament locally; early ticket sales had been sluggish.
They would also play in front of the biggest global television audience for a women’s sports team from this country – with the game beamed into more than 150 countries – while the tragic Queen Street shooting on the morning of the match added more weight to the occasion.
But the Ferns responded in spectacular fashion. They were $11 outsiders at the TAB but ignored that perceived disparity from the start, with calmness, composure, desire and hunger.
The 42,137 crowd roared their approval and never really stopped, creating an atmosphere rarely seen in this country. Individually and collectively they were in the zone; they had never played this well and what a time to do it.
They didn’t just seize the moment, they smashed it.
Hannah Wilkinson’s 47th minute goal was the lift-off moment, sparking celebrations across Aotearoa, with more than 1 million local viewers tuned in. Ria Percival’s late penalty miss added more theatre, before 11 agonising minutes of injury time.
When the final whistle eventually came, it was the cue for prolonged celebrations and plenty of tears.
“So much has led to this, so many years,” said midfielder Malia Steinmetz while captain Ali Riley was proud to “show the country who we are”.
It was so unexpected – an underdog rising to the occasion in the most spectacular way.
The result created headlines around the world and set in motion the nation’s World Cup fever, with a huge spike in ticket sales. For a period – even if it was brief – the Ferns became household names.
There was another capacity crowd in Wellington, where the Ferns were shocked 1-0 by the Philippines. It was unfortunate, as the home side had a goal scratched for a fractional VAR offside call while striker Jacqui Hand hit the post with a second-half shot.
That set up the Dunedin finale against Switzerland. It was another wonderful occasion – with a huge, noisy crowd – but the Ferns couldn’t capitalise on several chances.
While there was an unmistakeable sense of what might have been, there was also pride in a legacy that wouldn’t be forgotten.
They had finally won a World Cup match – in the most dramatic way possible – and captured hearts and minds across the nation in the process.
– Michael Burgess
FINALISTS
It’s unlikely any Kiwi sportsperson has taken as long as the 33-year-old Mea Motu to become an overnight sensation.
It was only about a year ago that her story, of a woman who had survived domestic violence, first emerged. It was the first time most of us had heard of the long-ago amateur star who had re-emerged as a pro boxer.
Once Motu went public about her domestic violence experience with such candour and insight, it was always going to take a significant amount of the spotlight as her career took off.
But Motu the sportswoman is now taking centre stage, helped by the rising profile of her trainer Isaac Peach’s family boxing training operation. Peach, his wife Alina and brother Boaz are taking on the boxing world from the large shed next to their Henderson Valley home.
Motu, David Light and Jerome Pampellone are among the Peach boxers to hit the headlines this year.
Isaac first spotted Motu during her promising amateur career and it was his genuineness, and brother Boaz’s, that allowed Motu to trust them.
And so, a unique professional boxing career is flourishing. Motu defeated Canadian Tania Walters to claim the IBO super bantamweight title in Auckland. She then topped the bill in defending it twice, on the second occasion in her home province of Northland.
It has been a big year for Motu, but what lies ahead?
The IBO is considered a fringe organisation in a world full of boxing bodies; there are other belt holders for Motu to set her sights on.
In other words, there is still a long way to go for a woman who has already come a long way.
And after boxing, Motu could have even more of an impact in the area of domestic violence, where she has already challenged the system and given an authentic voice to survivors.
– Chris Rattue
Global recognition arrived for Ardie Savea this year in the form of his first men’s World Rugby Player of the Year gong.
With the Hurricanes and All Blacks, Savea has long been an inspirational figure in New Zealand rugby. But on the ultimate stage in France, the loose forward shone to capture global acclaim.
Savea scored four test tries this season but it was his performances against Italy, Ireland and Argentina that stood out as the All Blacks fell agonisingly short in the World Cup final.
In the memorable quarter-final victory over Ireland, Savea carried 15 times and made 17 tackles in a typically relentless performance alongside All Blacks captain Sam Cane.
Savea is the fifth All Black to claim the World Rugby Player of the Year title – after Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Brodie Retallick and Beauden Barrett – and the first since 2017. He is also expected to win NZ Rugby’s men’s player of the year award.
Next year, Savea will skip Super Rugby in favour of a six-month sabbatical in Japan. But the 30-year-old has plenty more to give and will feature prominently in All Blacks coach Scott Robertson’s plans.
While his on-field feats turned heads, off the field Savea’s story was brought to life in a book, called A One Good Kiwi Story. All proceeds from the book will go to Kiwi Christmas Books, a charitable initiative committed to providing books to families who can’t afford to buy Christmas presents for their kids.
– Liam Napier
Photos / AP Getty Images
Photos / AP Getty Images
You never know what might happen in the wonderful world of sport.
You might wake up one morning to find the landscape of a competition has changed quite literally overnight.
That was a sensation New Zealand Formula 1 fans had during the Dutch Grand Prix in late August when, in the early hours of a Sunday morning, Liam Lawson was promoted for his debut race after AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo was injured in a crash.
Lawson has been the reserve driver for Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri for the past couple of years, and will continue in 2024.
He was a known quantity in-house, but in his debut at Zandvoort, Lawson showed the world what he can do.
The 21-year-old had just one practice session before qualifying to get used to the car and was on the back row to start the Grand Prix.
The race itself was hectic, with heavy rainfall and crashes keeping things interesting from start to finish. Lawson handled himself well, finishing 13th and earning plenty of plaudits for his composure with limited preparation in such an eventful race.
From there, a star was born. Lawson ended up racing in five GPs, with a points finish in just his third race – his ninth-placed finish was at that point AlphaTauri’s best finish of the season – and ending one place outside the point in two others.
His performances had many calling for him to get a fulltime seat in 2024, but he will have to bide his time again next year.
– Christopher Reive
Named after Indian greats Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, Rachin Ravindra lived up to that lofty billing at the Cricket World Cup.
Ravindra wasn’t meant to feature in the Black Caps’ first-choice XI in India. Still 23, he had made his ODI debut only six months earlier, and headed to the tournament as a spinning allrounder who in 12 matches had batted largely at No 7.
Then, on the opening night against England, Ravindra blew away all expectations — along with the defending champions — by smashing an unbeaten 123 from 96 balls.
That breakout performance came at No 3, filling in for injured skipper Kane Williamson, and Ravindra spent the rest of the World Cup dispatching opposing attacks from the top of the Black Caps’ order.
His next innings brought a half-century and, after making 75 against hosts India, Ravindra then cracked five sixes in an 89-ball knock of 116 against eventual winners Australia.
Two matches later, in scoring 108 off 94 against Pakistan, Ravindra became the first New Zealand batter to score three World Cup centuries. And in racking up 578 runs at an average of 64.2, he set a new record for most runs at a debut tournament.
– Kris Shannon
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