Southerners among top eight

Buck Shelford in Dunedin yesterday before the third test between the All Blacks and France at...
Sir Buck Shelford. Photo: Christine O'Connor
A former All Black and two well-known Southerners received the highest accolades in this year’s Queen’s Birthday honours.

Prof Emerita Dame Carolyn Waugh Burns, of the University of Otago in Dunedin, is regarded as a pioneer in the ecology of lakes for which she was appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, while artist Sir Grahame Charles Sydney, of Cambrian in Central Otago, was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to art.

More on Southern accolades

There are 170 people recognised, including former All Black Sir Wayne "Buck" Shelford as one of eight new New Zealanders made either a knight or a dame.

The majority — 52% — of those recognised in the honours are women, while 33% were from the volunteer, community or local services sector.

Distinguished Prof Sir William (Bill) Alexander Denny was awarded a knighthood for his services to medical research into cancer.

Co-operation in the science sector was key for him and his team to get important results in their research, which included bringing 15 new drugs to clinical trial.

Sir Bill has been director of the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre at the University of Auckland since 1999.

He said cancer research was not only rewarding but also exciting. One of his proudest moments was working on a project in collaboration with Pfizer, when they developed a compound which bound with its target permanently rather than bouncing off after a short time.

"It’s really co-operation and that’s how a small group of New Zealanders can do something useful."

Former Fisher & Paykel chief executive Sir Michael Grenfell Daniell said the company’s world-leading foray into the design, manufacture, marketing and sales of medical devices that helped people with breathing difficulties had become even more important given the Covid-19 epidemic.

The company’s market capitalisation reached $20billion last year but it was an achievement attributed to the whole team, he said.

Since retiring from Fisher & Paykel five years ago, he was now involved with numerous companies, sharing his knowledge, which now spread into hearing implants.

"That connection with medical devices has been important to me and I’m now able to give something back to other organisations as well."

Dame Hinewehi Mohi was the first person to sing the New Zealand national anthem in Maori at the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Twickenham and since then it had been customary to continue singing the anthem in both Maori and English at significant events.

Dame Hinewehi was also a prolific music and television producer and co-founded the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre (RMTC) in 2004, for people with disabilities.

She first started learning te reo when she was about 10 years old, the same time as her father also started learning the language by playing records with a New Zealand/Maori choir singing.

"It was wonderfully inspirational. I used to mimic the singing. I just really loved it — it really connected with me."

She continued on her journey throughout her education and afterwards when she ventured into broadcasting when she began writing songs of her own.

Dame Judy Anne Kilpatrick was initially going to be a teacher but after a random visit to Christchurch Hospital in 1967, she had enrolled herself in nursing school.

By the 1990s, Dame Judy was chairwoman of the New Zealand Nursing Council and was then invited, alongside Margaret Horsburgh, to help set up the School of Nursing at Auckland University which had always been a dream of hers.

"Along with a colleague of mine, Margaret Horsburgh, we achieved that, where we were able to have nurses, doctors and pharmacists learning together and we were able to get nursing into an academic pathway where previously we were a group that seemed to have a lot of certificates in our drawer ... but they didn't amount to anything in terms of degrees."

Recently, she led a delegation to Tonga to help develop a graduate education package for training for nurses.

Tennis champion Ruia Mereana Morrison thought it was ace to be appointed a dame.

Dame Ruia (85) received an MBE 61 years ago, shortly after becoming the first person of Maori heritage to play at Wimbledon and has now been appointed a dame for her services to tennis.

She competed at Wimbledon in 1957 and the following three years, and since then has continued to encourage and mentor athletes.

Dame Ruia returned to Wimbledon in 2013 where the All England Club awarded her membership to the Last Eight Club.

The career teacher said she still loved watching tennis.

Roger Federer was her favourite: "poetry in motion, a ballerina", she said.

In recent years, she met Serena Williams in Auckland, and presented her with a cloak made by Ngati Whatua Orakei weavers and added that she lived for the moment.

"I try to mind my own business, but the door keeps opening and shutting and the phone keeps going."

Meanwhile, former Dunedin mayor, the late Dave Cull, has also been recognised for his services to local government by being made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Mr Cull was a councillor from 2007 and mayor from 2010.

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