Former All Blacks coaches, screen champions, philanthropists and a country singer are among 190 celebrated in the New Year Honours.
Sixteen people are also recognised for supporting abuse in care survivors in the same year the Royal Commission of Inquiry into state and faith-based care was completed, and Prime Minister Christoper Luxon apologised on behalf of the country for wrongdoings.
Two former All Blacks coaches, husband-and-wife food kit entrepreneurs, the founder of a high-profile kids’ charity, a champion golfer and more than a dozen supporters of abuse in care survivors are among 190 New Year Honours recipients announced today.
Our three new knights are environmental law expert Peter Skelton and business leaders Ted Manson and John Gallagher, who are known for their commitment to philanthropy and community.
Dame Lydia Ko has been honoured for her services to golf.
Dame Lydia Ko, already recognised by a New Zealand Order of Merit, said being made a dame was very special not only for her but for everyone around her who had made her dream of being a professional golfer a reality.
“Those opportunities don’t come to everyone and for me to have this amazing opportunity, it makes me very proud.
“I think it’s a moment that’s special for all of us, obviously it’s special for the person but it’s a recognition for everyone involved because I wouldn’t be here today without them.”
Renowned for her humility, Ko said she had to think before accepting the honour, initially unsure whether she was deserving.
“I did think about it, because you don’t really grow up thinking ‘Oh I’m going to become a dame’.
“I’m obviously very grateful that other people are giving me this opportunity ... not everybody gets that.”
“I’ve just done what I’ve done over the years and not even given a thought about any thank yous.”
The 79-year-old contributed 50 years of governance to Whangara B5 Incorporation and has been chairwoman since its 2006 inception of the Whangara Farms partnership, named the Ahuwhenua Māori Farm of the Year for Sheep and Beef in 2009 and considered an exemplar of best practice, sustainability and innovation for Māori land development.
Collins has also represented Māori land matters in international forums, including the United Nations Indigenous Forum, been involved in various agriculture-related committees and had a long career in health governance, including owning a medical centre and chairing the Tairāwhiti District Health Board.
Dame Ingrid Collins remembers being told to "Go and make a cup of tea" when she took on a governance role in the early 1970s. Photo / Matai O'Connor
Gisborne-based Collins joined Whangara B5 in 1974 at the request of her dying mother.
“She said, ‘I’ve told the uncles you’re taking my place on the [Whangara B5] committee’, and that was shock horror for me, because all I’d ever done was take her to the meetings, because she didn’t drive.
“They’d say, ‘Go and make a cup of tea,’ and I said, ‘Did you tell my mother to do that?’ and they said, ‘No’, and I said ‘Well, I’m not either. Make your own cup of tea’.”
Dame Julie Chapman says her honour has stirred a mix of emotions because it was "for work I wish didn’t need to be done”. Chapman founded KidsCan and Pet Refuge. Photo / Alex Burton
Dame Julie Chapman’s KidsCan, which she founded in 2005, now provides food, clothing and health support to more than 60,000 children in need.
She acknowledged her parents for instilling in her “a love of helping people and animals”, along with friend and mentor Glenda Hughes, husband Cain and the “incredible” team of people at both KidsCan and Pet Refuge.
The charity boss set up Pet Refuge in 2017 as a temporary haven for pets of those escaping family violence and has worked for other charities including Women’s Refuge, Victim Support and Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
“I feel really honoured to be recognised. [But] it has brought a mix of emotions, because it’s for work I wish didn’t need to be done.”
Don't overthink decisions – make them and move on, says businessman and philanthropist Sir John Gallagher.
Waikato businessman, community leader and philanthropist Sir John Gallagher has been recognised for decades of service, including as longtime chairman and now a director of Habitat for Humanity Hamilton, and as trustee of the Glenice and John Gallagher Foundation he established.
The director of Gallagher Holdings also served for 25 years on the Council of the University of Waikato, including terms as pro-chancellor and chancellor, was both a Hamilton city councillor and Waikato regional councillor and has had many other roles serving the community.
“Let’s get on with it and do it, and get on with life”, said Gallagher of his knighthood, an honour he now shares with younger brother William Gallagher.
Still working at 85, his advice to others wanting to get ahead was to “make decisions and move on”.
“So many people, they hesitate and worry … just do it.”
Sir Peter Skelton is a former longtime Environment Court judge, Environment Canterbury Commissioner and Chief Freshwater Commissioner.
Sir Peter Skelton, a former longtime Environment Court judge and later Environment Canterbury commissioner at the time of the devastating earthquakes last decade, was surprised to hear of his knighthood, although there’d been some “inklings”.
Skelton, an honorary professor, also spent several happy years teaching at Lincoln University where the students’ “inquiring minds … kept me up to scratch”.
Most recently the 85-year-old was the inaugural Chief Freshwater Commissioner, retiring last year.
While he received the accolades, they wouldn’t have come without the efforts of many, Skelton said.
“There were a lot of other people involved, and that was certainly the case with the earthquake recovery.”
Sir Peter Skelton was among those working as part of Christchurch's earthquake recovery after the deadly quake of 2011 which killed 185 people, including in the Pyne Gould Corporation Building, pictured. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Auckland businessman Sir Ted Manson has been knighted for his philanthropic, community and business contributions.
The founder of innovative property development and construction company Mansons TCLM, Manson established the Ted Manson Charitable Trust in 2014, mainly focused on improving housing quality and education outcomes for disadvantaged communities.
This included providing vans free of use for schools, setting up the School Ready Programme providing targeted teaching resources for new entrants, pioneering in-school counselling and wellbeing services and working with partners to improve school attendance.
Property development and construction company Mansons TCLM founder Sir Ted Manson cites his late mother's influence in his success.
Manson cited his late mother Rae Manson’s influence on his life, before her premature death aged in her 40s.
“Mum’s the one who loved and nurtured me, which enabled me to be the person I am today. The property business is about getting on with people and she showed me how to do that.”
Former All Blacks coach Ian Foster has been made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Photo / www.photosport.nz
Along with former rugby coaches Foster and Hart, 14 others have been made companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit, including country singer and champion for underprivileged children Suzanne Prentice, longtime film and TV producer Robin Scholes, and Kai Luey, for services to the Chinese community.
Among 31 new officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit is film producer Matthew Metcalfe, who has championed stories about Kiwis and our culture, particularly Māori and Pacific Island projects such as The Dead Lands, the first action film spoken entirely in te reo Māori.
Nadia Lim and Carlos Bagrie farm in Central Otago. Photo / Holly Wallace
Lim, a former MasterChef New Zealand winner, and Bagrie starred in the 2022 TV series Nadia’s Farm about their paddock-to-plate farm Royalburn Station, and their commitment to ethical and sustainable farming practices.
Meanwhile, 16 people were honoured for supporting survivors of abuse in care, in the same year a Royal Commission found an estimated 200,000 people had been abused in state and faith-based care between 1950 and 2019, after which Prime Minister Christopher Luxon formally apologised on behalf of the country.
Survivor Keith Wiffin, who was instrumental in persuading the previous Labour Government to launch the inquiry six years ago, was among nine survivor advocates to be made a companion of the King’s Service Order.
A further seven people were awarded King’s Service Medals for similar efforts.
Keith Wiffin, pictured in 2017, is a survivor of abuse in state care, and has spent years fighting for other survivors.
The recognition was not his alone, Wiffin said.
“It acknowledges me and it acknowledges all survivors who have given submissions [as part of the inquiry], who’ve made the sacrifice of retraumatising themselves for a better future.”
Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features.
