Queen's Birthday Honours: Peter Masters

Pete Masters has been made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Taupo Queen's Birthday Honours recipient Pete Masters says he feels a bit funny about being made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to search and rescue, conservation and cycling.

Much of what he has done has been as part of a wider team and singling out one person does not sit quite right with him, he says.

Mr Masters, who has had a 40-year career as a helicopter pilot, has undertaken numerous search and rescue missions. And he was a board member of the Tongariro Taupo Conservation Board and a founding member of Bike Taupo, the group which transformed cycling in the Taupo district.

In his two terms as chairman of the conservation board, Mr Masters helped guide them through complex decisions on significant developments in the Tongariro National Park, including ski area facilities, a sewage treatment and disposal system and the Tongariro Alpine Crossing track.

In 2004, Mr Masters was behind the development of Bike Taupo, which now manages more than 200km of mountain biking tracks.

The group formed after becoming frustrated with the lack of cycling opportunities in the district.

"Bike Taupo really only grew because of opposition to bikes on the tracks so Bike Taupo said 'Okay, we'll build our own tracks and solve the problems'."

Mr Masters contributes a huge amount of voluntary time each week to Bike Taupo and also acts as a relief pilot for the Taupo Greenlea rescue helicopter, work he still enjoys even after hundreds of rescue missions.

"I'm happy to go and help people," says Mr Masters, saying those are the jobs that affect his family the most - having him rush off mid-meal to the helicopter base. No [rescue pilot] gets an award that the family hasn't contributed to."

The 59-year-old father to three and grandfather of two prefers to keep a low profile, but his wife Ali persuaded him to accept the honour.

"It blew me away," Mr Masters said. "It was totally out of the blue. I felt humbled and embarrassed. I'm just part of the community - I do stuff, so what?"