Colonel Lisa Kelliher is as Central Otago as they come. Born in Clyde, she grew up on the family farm and attended St Gerard’s, then Dunstan High School, in Alexandra.
Today she is serving as the New Zealand Defence Force’s Defence adviser to Australia, based in Canberra.
As a girl growing up on the family farm she could not have imaged where her career would take her.
"You know, I would never have imagined I would have got to such a privileged position. I feel really humbled and honoured to be here."
There were similarities between farming and the military, she said.
"I think that coming from a farm has actually given me such resilience and drive. You know farming is very similar like . . . [in the military] we talk about season, weather or terrain; farming’s the same. It doesn’t matter what’s occurring. You’ve got to commit yourself to it and I think that’s the same in this role."
She may have people saluting her at work and be called Ma’am, but back home on the farm no concessions are made.
Her brother, Otago regional councillor Gary Kelliher, always made sure there were jobs waiting for her.
"I still continue to come home and be very grounded when I come home . . . you know, there’s nothing like going home to the family farm and getting the tasks. I keep saying to [Gary] ‘I missed the meeting which gave me these tasks’."
Undesirable tasks aside, farming was clearly dear to her heart, as even in Australia she spent her down time at a friend’s farm.
Joining the military was not originally on Col Kelliher’s radar when she was at high school.
She was "actually heading off to Otago Uni", but an opportunity arose when a friend "was going to do the testing for the military and so a group of us went down and we all got in".
She joined the New Zealand army as an officer and attended the Australian Defence Force Academy, in Canberra, for three years, then studied for a bachelor of arts degree in English and management.
The military was a great career path for a wide range of people, she said.
"I think the appeal to myself is the military provides something for service beyond self, but amongst it they invest so much in us as individuals as they give us education, which is part of it. It not might not necessarily be a degree but there are other apprenticeships, there are other forms of study that we can undertake.
"Professionally, the exposure across the world, we learn how to plan, we learn immense life skills. I think it’s a real opportunity for anyone."
One of the her highlights last year was commanding alongside fellow Dunstan High School graduate Colonel Mike van Welie, who is now Commander of 1st Brigade at Linton Military Camp.
"I had the training element, he had the operational element and we were able to command together, which was very amazing from a small place like Alexandra."
Postings around the world with the military had left her in no doubt about how good life in New Zealand was.
"[Coming back to New Zealand] you don’t take things for granted. We are very fortunate but that’s why we have this role. So in order to keep peace and stability we have to be active in doing those roles and it’s a changing world, so the more we can contribute the better it is."
In Canberra, Col Kelliher’s role was to keep information flowing.
"It’s about continuously engaging with the Australian Defence Force and Department of Defence and other agencies and keeping the information exchange going. Looking at how we co-ordinate and operate together across multiple domains. It’s a fantastic role to have the opportunity."
The world was changing rapidly, she said.
"There’s huge shifts in global power dynamics, in technology advancements. You know, it’s all multi-domain. It’s not just military threats, there’s so many more things now, so it’s certainly a complex international environment that we are currently confronted with."
Col Kelliher anticipated she would be in the role for two to three years.
