Sir Dryden Spring with his waka huia, Tipa Mahuta (holding her father Sir Robert's waka huia), and Rt Hon Nanaia Mahuta. Photo / Barker Photography
Sir Dryden Spring with his waka huia, Tipa Mahuta (holding her father Sir Robert's waka huia), and Rt Hon Nanaia Mahuta. Photo / Barker Photography
Dignitaries, business people, and family and friends of Sir Dryden Spring and Sir Robert Mahuta gathered at The Atrium at Wintec earlier this month to see the two men inducted into the Waikato Business Hall of Fame.
Former Prime Minister Jim Bolger spoke in honour of both inductees, as did former Auckland Business Chamber CEO Michael Barnett. Sir Dryden and Foreign Affairs Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta - accepting the waka huia on behalf of her father, who died in 2001 - both delivered inspirational, rousing speeches that touched on lessons in leadership.
Sir Robert and Sir Dryden are the newest members of this prestigious group, which includes Bernie Crosby of Prolife Foods, Sir Patrick Hogan, members of the Gallagher family, the Mowbray family, and others.
First introduced in 2016, the Hall of Fame showcases achievers in the Waikato who have excelled nationally and internationally. Chamber chief executive Don Good explained that the focus of the 2022 inductees was on leaders who have been transformative.
(L-R) Waikato Chamber of Commerce's Rob Finlayson, Don Good, Liam Rodden, Imali Ilanco. Photo / Barker Photography
"We are incredibly honoured to be inducting these two laureates into the Hall of Fame this year. The Waikato is a better place today because of the selfless service of both these men, and their families, who supported them throughout their careers," Good said.
"Sir Robert was a transformational leader, one whose legacy has forever shaped the direction of our country. The Waikato business community still reveres Sir Robert and the legacy he left behind, and we are honoured that members of his family will be present to accept this posthumous induction.
"Sir Dryden is truly a homegrown hero of our country and an amazing example of what we can achieve when we turn our gaze outwards to the wider world. He was instrumental in building a high-tech industry with a global perspective that is still vitally important to our nation's economy today."
Sir Robert Mahuta was the director of Māori Studies and Research at the University of Waikato from 1972 to 1977, and served as a Treaty of Waitangi fisheries commissioner, chairman of the Māori Development Corporation and chairman of the Tainui Māori Trust Board. For his services to Māori, he was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 1996.
Rt Hon Nanaia Mahuta with Sir Dryden Spring and Lady Margaret Spring. Photo / Barker Photography
Sir Dryden Spring's name is synonymous with New Zealand's dairy industry. He was chairman of the New Zealand Dairy Board from 1989 to 1998, and of the New Zealand Dairy Group from 1982 to 1987, as well as chairman of ANZ New Zealand from 2007 to 2012. He was also a member of the APEC Eminent Persons Group.
His achievements in the dairy industry and service to New Zealand were recognised with a Knight Bachelor in 1994.
Former inductees to the Waikato Business Hall of Fame include Brian Perry and Bernie Crosby (2016), Bill Gallagher Snr and Sir Patrick Hogan (2017), Mary Jane Innes and the Mowbray family of Zuru Toys (2018), the New Zealand National Fieldays Society (2019), and Arthur Porter and the Gallagher Brothers, Sir William and John Gallagher (2020).
Normally part of the Waikato Chamber of Commerce's business awards, this year the Business Hall of Fame induction was held as a separate event.
