Northland Age
  • Northland Age home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
  • Opinion
  • Kaitaia weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northland Age

Royal honour for a late starter

Northland Age
5 Jan, 2015 07:36 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

ROYAL RECOGNITION: Tom Baker QSM.

ROYAL RECOGNITION: Tom Baker QSM.

Tom Baker was past the first flush of youth when he arrived in Kerikeri 24 years ago, but it took him just four days to get stuck in to helping the community. And now he has been recognised for the commitment he has shown to the Far North for more than two decades.

Mr Baker, now an 86-year-old retired engineer, who was awarded the Queen's Service Medal in the New Year honours list, said he was not expecting the honour.

"I was just taken back a little bit. I didn't expect anything like this," he said.

He and his wife Lesley moved to Kerikeri in 1990, and four days later a bunch of eager locals came knocking at his door. They had heard he was a retired engineer, and asked him to help save the historic Stone Store.

"News gets around very quickly," Mr Baker said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He duly inspected the store and could not find nothing wrong with it, eventually going on to play a central role in the community's bid to keep it open to the public. It had certainly been in need of maintenance, he said, but there had been no reason to close it.

That was just the beginning though. He would later be appointed chairman of the community trust that raised $1.13 million to buy and refurbish Kerikeri's Kingston House, which remains home to many community and support groups, but is perhaps best known as a Far North District councillor for four terms from 2001. He suspects that towards the end of that time he was the oldest councillor in the country, while he also served as a member of the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board.

He also held executive roles on the Bay of Islands Heritage Trail Foundation, the Kerikeri Civil Advisory Trust, Greypower Kerikeri, the national Greypower Federation, the Kerikeri Probus Club and Bay of Islands SPCA. And he is a Justice of the Peace and a marriage celebrant.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I think it's just, kind of, recognition of the efforts and things I've put in," Mr Baker said, adding that his wife, who died eight years ago, would be "amazed" he had received a Royal honour.

"It's something that doesn't really enter into your mind," he said.

"I had the time so I got involved".

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northland Age

Northland Age

Far North talent shines as Smokefreerockquest returns to Kerikeri

07 Jul 02:00 AM
Northland Age

Eight Northland stores caught selling vapes to under-18s in compliance test

06 Jul 11:09 PM
Northland Age

Far North news briefs: Foodbank closes, focus on vape harm, and kai resilience boost

02 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northland Age

Far North talent shines as Smokefreerockquest returns to Kerikeri

Far North talent shines as Smokefreerockquest returns to Kerikeri

07 Jul 02:00 AM

Local act Bandwith Riot won first place.

Eight Northland stores caught selling vapes to under-18s in compliance test

Eight Northland stores caught selling vapes to under-18s in compliance test

06 Jul 11:09 PM
Far North news briefs: Foodbank closes, focus on vape harm, and kai resilience boost

Far North news briefs: Foodbank closes, focus on vape harm, and kai resilience boost

02 Jul 05:00 PM
On The Up: Youth gym transforms lives, offers more than just exercise

On The Up: Youth gym transforms lives, offers more than just exercise

02 Jul 12:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northland Age e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to The Northland Age
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northland Age
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP