A PCNZM, DBE, QSO, DStJ, LLB, and Hon LLD are just some of the honours bestowed upon her during her illustrious career.
And now she has given the medals associated with many of them to her alma mater, Otago Girls' High School, in a bid to inspire present and future pupils to follow in her footsteps.
Dame Silvia became New Zealand's first female High Court judge in 1993, has held significant offices relating to social and human rights issues, and was appointed New Zealand's 18th Governor-General in 2001.
Of the 12 medals she gave to the school yesterday, those which meant most to her were the Principal Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit (PCNZM) which she received in 2001 for services as Governor General of New Zealand, and the Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE), which she received in 1989 for services to women.
She also gave the school a brooch received from Russian president Vladimir Putin when she represented New Zealand at ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War 2.
''I thought it was particularly interesting seeing 10 years later, the 70th anniversary, there were no leaders of democratic countries attending the same event."
Dame Silvia said the medals marked various stages in her career, and believed her career would not have been possible if she had not been a pupil at ''a very good school such as Otago Girls' High School''.
Part of her reason for giving the medals to the school was simply, ''you can't display them at home''.
''They mean nothing to your own family - they're used to all of that. They don't want them and they've got nowhere to put them.
''So it seemed important, symbolically, to give them to the school where my career really started, and to provide interesting stepping stones for the girls to see what's happened throughout my life since I left the school.
''Hopefully, it provides inspiration for them.''
Dame Silvia said her memories as a pupil at Otago Girls' were of struggling and working hard.
''I was a bit of a dreamer and a reader, and I wasn't as disciplined as I should have been.''
She said the teachers and principal at the school were aspirational role models who stimulated her in areas where ''I could really shine in''.
Dame Silvia has spent the past eight years as a trial judge on the United Nations Tribunal investigating war crimes in Cambodia, and is now working part-time for the High Commission of Human Rights in Geneva, advising on an investigation into ''egregious human rights abuses'' committed during the civil war in Sri Lanka.
Despite being aged 70, she had no plans to retire just yet.
Otago Girls' High School acting principal Jock Murley said the school was ''very honoured'' to receive the medals.
''It's an absolute delight for us to honour one of our illustrious ex-girls, and this is a really tangible way of showing the girls what our students can achieve.''
