Rugby great Bryan Williams has been made a sir in the New Year Honours. New Zealand Herald Photo / Doug Sherring
Rugby great Bryan Williams has been made a sir in the New Year Honours. New Zealand Herald Photo / Doug Sherring
All Blacks great Bryan Williams ruled on the rugby field and designer Denise L'Estrange-Corbet has taken the fashion world by storm.
Now he's a knight and she's a dame.
The try-scoring sensation and the WORLD fashion house co-founder are among a list of outstanding contributors to New Zealand community, culture, entertainment, government and sport who have been recognised in the New Year Honours.
Cowley, whose appointment is for services to New Zealand, is one of Aotearoa's most prolific and successful authors.
Prime Minister and Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Jacinda Ardern congratulated the 179 New Zealanders on the 2018 honours list.
"Although this list was compiled and completed by the last government, it is a pleasure to welcome in the New Year by recognising exceptional New Zealanders," Ardern said.
"As an Aunty, I love reading books to my nieces, so it's lovely to congratulate Joy Cowley, who is made a member of the Order of New Zealand today.
"Joy Cowley's extraordinary contribution to literature and literacy is treasured in New Zealand and internationally. She has brought delight to many young New Zealanders, as well to those who read her books to them. Her work demonstrates the wonderful opportunity authors have to not only engage and inspire, but to educate.
"As Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage I congratulate the 26 New Zealanders recognised for their contributions to arts and culture.
"New Zealanders' expertise and love for the arts in Aotearoa is reflected in this year's Honours List, with the number of honours awarded for arts and culture second only to contributions in our community, voluntary and local services."
Appointed dames companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit are L'Estrange-Corbet, Naida Glavish, Annette King and Georgina te Heuheu.
Glavish is recognised for services to Māori and the community.
The chief advisor Tikanga Māori with He Kāmaka Waiora, Māori Health, for the Waitemata and Auckland District Health Boards, she has championed appropriate cultural support for Māori patients.
She was president of the Māori Party from 2013- 2016.
King, whose appointment is for services as a Member of Parliament, was deputy leader of the Labour Party and deputy leader of the opposition from 2008-2011, and from 2014 to March 2017.
She was the MP for Rongotai from 1996 until stepping down from politics in 2017. She was also MP for Horowhenua from 1984-1990 and of Miramar from 1993-1996.
L'Estrange-Corbet's appointment is for services to fashion and the community.
As co-founder of fashion house WORLD in 1989, she has continued mentoring of up-and-coming designers, judging events and public speaking.
Denise L'Estrange-Corbet. Photo / Supplied
In 2015, WORLD became the first fashion brand to be globally endorsed by the United Nations for their Global Goals project t-shirt design. L'Estrange-Corbet appeared in the first 'Like Minds Like Mine' campaign in 2001 on anti-discrimination towards mental illness.
Te Heuheu is recognised for services to the State and Māori.
She served five terms as an MP, until retiring in 2011. She has been chair of Māori Television since 2012.
Te Heuheu was a Cabinet minister in the fourth and fifth National Governments, holding portfolios for Courts, Pacific Island Affairs, Disarmament and Arms Control, and Women's Affairs. She was associate minister of Treaty Negotiations, Health and Māori Affairs, with delegated responsibility for Māori Broadcasting. She chaired the Māori Affairs Committee.
Appointed knights companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit are Williams, John Clarke and Douglas White.
Recognised for services to Māori and heritage preservation, Clarke has held a range of roles in education and Crown agencies. Since the mid-1990s he has played a role in almost 30 completed Treaty settlements.
Clarke has been a cultural advisor with the Office of Treaty Settlements since 1997 and to the Crown Law Office since 2004. He has been chair of the Māori Heritage Council since 2013.
White, whose appointment is for services to the judiciary, was a judge of the Court of Appeal from 2012 until his retirement in 2015. He was a High Court judge from 2009, after having practised as a Queen's Counsel from 1988.
From 2005-2007 he was the legal advisor to Dame Margaret Bazley in relation to the Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct. He was appointed president of the Law Commission in 2016.
All Blacks legend Williams was recognised for services to rugby.
He played for the All Blacks from 1970-1978, provincial rugby for Auckland and club rugby for Ponsonby, and coached the Samoan national team in the 1990s. He was appointed president of New Zealand Rugby Union from 2011-2013.
Former United Future leader Peter Dunne has been made a companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Appointed for services as a Member of Parliament, Dunne was an MP for 33 years, holding the Ōhariu electorate for 11 consecutive terms until retiring from politics in 2017.
He was first elected to Parliament as the Labour Party candidate for Ōhariu in 1984. Resigning from Labour in 1994 he joined the United New Zealand Party. He became leader of the United Future New Zealand Party in 2000, after the United Party merged with Future New Zealand. He was party leader until 2017.
Veteran broadcaster Philip Sherry has been made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Recognised for services to local government and broadcasting, Sherry has had a career in broadcasting and local government and has supported the Catholic Church and community for more than 50 years.
He was a radio and television broadcaster and newsreader for Radio New Zealand News, Morning Report, TV1, TV2, and TV3 news and current affairs.
He represented the North Shore on the Auckland Regional Council from 1995-2004, serving two terms as deputy chairman. He was elected to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council for four terms from 2004-2016, two as deputy chairman.
Dr Ruud Kleinpaste was made an honorary member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Recognised for services to entomology, conservation and entertainment, Kleinpaste is an internationally acknowledged entomologist, ecologist and science entertainer/educator.
He had a long-running association with TVNZ series Maggie's Garden Show, and in the 2000s worked on documentary film The Bughouse, Animal Planet documentary World's Biggest Baddest Bugs, and 13-part series Buggin' With Ruud.
