New Zealand Olympian Lisa Carrington. Photo / NZME
For nine people across Rotorua and its surrounds, this New Year's Eve is a one-of-a-kind celebration.
Today they are recognised by the Queen for their service to the community and for achievements in their fields.
The New Year Honours recipients from, or related to, the area are:
Robert Nairn Gillies, Rotorua, for services to Māori and war commemoration
Robert Gillies is the last remaining member of the 28th Māori Battalion and served in B Company during World War II from 1942 to 1945, across Africa, Europe and the Middle East, and primarily in Italy.
He was recognised as a Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2019. He has been a trustee of the 28th Māori Battalion B Company History Trust since 2013.
He has been an active member of the Te Arawa Returned Services Association, holding several roles. He recently led the 75th-anniversary celebration of the return of B Company to Tamatekapua in Rotorua following WWII.
Lisa Carrington, for services to canoe racing
While she now lives in Auckland, Lisa Carrington grew up in Whakatāne and her parents still live in Ōhope.
She is New Zealand's most successful Olympian, having won six Olympic medals, across a total of 23 medals in her canoe racing career.
Carrington won her first Olympic gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in the K1 200m and claimed gold at the 2016 Olympics in the same event, also achieving bronze in the K1 500m. In her third Olympic appearance, at this year's 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, she competed in 12 races across six days, winning gold in the K1 200m, the K1 500m, and alongside teammate Caitlin Regal in the K2 500m, becoming the first female triple gold medallist from New Zealand at a single Olympic Games.
She has won 10 world championship gold medals, supports and coaches young paddlers at her home club in Ōhope, and works with Canoe Racing New Zealand to grow the sport.
This year, Carrington was named the most influential Māori Sports Personality of the past 30 years in the Māori Sports Awards 30 in 30 show. She was named Halberg High Performance Sportswoman of the Decade this year, Sportswoman of the Year and Supreme Award Winner at the 2016 Halberg Awards, and made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2013.
Dr Angela Denise Sharples, Rotorua, for services to education
Dr Angela Sharples has been contributing to education in the Eastern Bay of Plenty region by addressing issues of disparity and equitable access to quality education.
Dr Sharples has been the principal of Murupara Area School since 2015, ensuring students in rural, remote schools that are facing issues of poverty and deprivation, have access to quality education.
She partnered with the district health board to provide mobile dental vans in Murupara, after discovering many teenagers were absent from school because of dental infections and the nearest adolescent dental service was in Rotorua. The mobile dental van now provides services to low-income earners in the area as well as to students.
She helped establish Te Aka Toitū Trust to address the digital divide in the Eastern Bay of Plenty area, connecting households in Murupara and surrounding areas to the school's Network for Learning to ensure digital connectivity.
Dr Sharples has been chairwoman of the New Zealand Biology Olympiad programme since 2006, secretary of Rotorua Show Jumping since 2012, and of Bay of Plenty Show Hunter since 2013.
Helen Bernice Purcell, Kawerau, for services to public health nursing
Helen Purcell began her nursing career in the 1960s and since the 1980s has supported people with liver disease. Purcell became a public health nurse in the 1980s and helped set up an STD clinic in Whakatāne, and was the infection control nurse for tuberculosis.
In 1984, she became the hepatitis community nurse with the Hepatitis Foundation, during a time when 93 per cent of the population of Kawerau were tested for hepatitis B. From 1999 to 2002, she played a key role in helping the Hepatitis Foundation drive purpose-built caravans around the North Island to test as many people as possible and provide follow-up care and support.
She was a public health nurse for Volunteer Service Abroad, based in Vietnam in the 1980s where she looked after residents of five villages and established a hepatitis B testing programme across eight villages and two hospitals in Qui Nhon.
Purcell is one of the seven nurses from the Hepatitis Foundation who are responsible for contacting and supporting people considered high risk to engage in monitoring and treatment.
Helen Muriel Tuhoro, Kawerau, for services to education
Helen Tuhoro has been contributing to education in the eastern Bay of Plenty region for more than 30 years. Tuhoro was the deputy principal of Trident High School in Whakatāne between 1999 and 2012, and founding principal of Tarawera High School in Kawerau in 2012. This was built on the grounds of the former Kawerau College, which had faced financial difficulty, low pass rates and less than 50 per cent attendance rates.
She opened the school in 2013, ensuring it was a safe, drug-free environment and focused on student achievement. She led the redesign of the school's curriculum and teaching models, introduced free breakfasts and lunches, incorporated a Teen Parenting Education Centre, a Specialist Learning Centre for students with high special learning needs, and a Defence Academy.
In 2019, more than 86 per cent of Year 11 to 13 students were passing their respective NCEA Levels, in comparison with less than 40 per cent in 2013.
Dr John Douglas Wilson, Taupō, for services to health and seniors
Dr Doug Wilson is a specialist on ageing, a medical researcher, author and leading expert in the field of ageing.
Wilson has published several children's books and two non-fiction books on ageing titled Ageing for Beginners and Ageing Well, encouraging positive intergenerational approaches and advocating for the older generation to be proactive about their health and finances.
He has supported and advocated for the rights of seniors by informing and educating as a member of the Clinical Governance Committee for Ryman Healthcare, presenting and engaging with the public.
He has written regular blogs for Age Concern New Zealand and was a recent keynote speaker at the Vision for Ageing in Aotearoa conference. He had produced his own podcast series. He has been an active member of the Age Friendly Steering Group since 2020 with the Taupo District Council, a World Health Organisation programme on age-friendly cities.
Wilson is a board member of AFT Pharmaceuticals and this year was named the Ryman Healthcare New Zealander of the Year.
Dr Christopher David Moyes, Ōhope, for services to health
Dr Chris Moyes has been treating those with hepatitis B and C viruses for 40 years, in addition to his work as a paediatrician. Dr Moyes was a leading member of the Whakatāne Hepatitis Research Unit (now Hepatitis Foundation of New Zealand) in the 1980s.
He played a key role in researching the prevention and treatment of hepatitis B.
He was a member of the South Pacific Advisory Group in the 1990s that was established to seek HBV vaccine information, conduct epidemiological studies and monitor people with the virus. He convinced the government to roll out a fully funded hepatitis B vaccination for all infants.
Dr Moyes has been medical director of Hepatitis Foundation of New Zealand for many years, supporting 30,000 patients.
Hazel Beatrice Georgantis, Taupō, for services to the community
Hazel Georgantis has supported community organisations in Taupō since her retirement in 1991. Georgantis has provided pastoral support to parishioners as a vicar's wife since the 1950s, and has been involved with St Andrews Anglican Church in Taupō, organising garden walks, parish dinners and fundraising.
She has volunteered as a hospital chaplain at Taupo Hospital since 2005, supporting patients and whānau during difficult circumstances.
She has been a committee member of Creative Clay Group Taupo since 1992 and is a life member. She is a registered potter and has exhibited her works regularly. She has mentored and helped teach new potters, both adults and children, including people with disabilities.
She is a life member of Active Arts Taupō. Georgantis has volunteered one day a week at Taupo Interchurch Welfare Opportunity Shop for 30 years and was a member of the funding allocation committee for 10 years.
The Honourable Stephanie (Steve) Anne Chadwick, Rotorua, for services to local government and as a Member of Parliament
Steve Chadwick has contributed to both national and local government in New Zealand for the past 21 years.
Chadwick worked as a health manager in Rotorua for 24 years, where she helped to design the combined maternal and child health service at the hospital, and established the city's first Family Planning Clinic and Women's Refuge.
She was an elected member of the Rotorua District Council for one term and a Member of Parliament for four terms. She held roles as the Conservation Minister, Women's Affairs Minister and Associate Health Minister.
She introduced the Smoke-Free Environments Amendment Bill 2003, which banned smoking in all workplaces including offices, restaurants and schools.
She has been the mayor of Rotorua since 2013, advocating for a greater relationship between Te Arawa and Rotorua Lakes Council, led the development of the council's Rotorua 2030 Vision, and advocated for the renovation of the Rotorua Public Library to become the first Library and Child Health Hub.
She has been a patron of the New Zealand Guillain Barre Society for the past 14 years, is patron of the Rotorua Multiple Sclerosis Society and Rotorua Riding for the Disabled, and a trustee of the Rotorua Museum Centennial Trust.
Boxing Day shoppers in Rotorua and Tauranga are happy to be spending.