Scott O’Donnell, Invercargill
Business
Invercargill-based businessman and philanthropist Scott O’Donnell has supported the city’s development for more than 30 years.
As director of HW Richardson Group (HWR), he has held a wide range of managerial roles in the group between 1996 and 2005. From 2006 to 2015 he headed HWR as managing director — leading its expansion into petroleum, rural transport and waste sectors.
In 2016 he was appointed as chief executive.
The Otago Daily Times named him its Business Leader of the Year in 2021 for his contribution to business.
He credited his late father-in-law Bill Richardson as the man who mentored him and who ‘‘knocked all my corporate edges off pretty quickly’’.
‘‘I’m a qualified accountant — I learned more about accounting . . . from my father-in-law, who left school at 15 to become a carpenter.’’
Mr O’Donnell is supporting HWR’s development of green hydrogen, providing an alternative fuel for heavy vehicles, and helped HWR pioneer the first hydrogen-diesel dual-fuel truck in New Zealand, contributing to the decarbonisation of heavy vehicle transport.
As chairman of Invercargill Central, he led a joint venture between HWR and the Invercargill City Council — a $180 million redevelopment of the city centre — a development he said would be a ‘‘game-changer’’ for the city.
After watching his father’s battle with dementia, Mr O’Donnell became determined to ensure people like his father could access the best possible care. This led to his involvement in the Hawthorndale Care Village, a dementia and elderly care facility.
He has supported the development of tourist attractions in Invercargill, including the Classic Motorcycle Mecca, Toot Sweets, Bill Richardson Transport World and The Lodges at Transport World.
He holds governance positions as chair of Blue Sky Pastures and having served on the board of MotorSport New Zealand since 2016, and is a promoter of Invercargill’s George Begg Motorsport Festival.
Mr O’Donnell’s particular passion is motorsport, including owning racing cars, — something he inherited from his parents, who were longtime members of the Southland Sports Car Club.
From a young age, his job had been to open the track crossing gate at Teretonga Park.
Mervyn Gerard English, Invercargill
Governance and community
During his public service career, Mervyn English held multiple leadership roles in the New Zealand Electricity Commission, State Services Commission and the Treasury’s State-owned Enterprises team.
He was Department of Conservation deputy director-general, leading the transition of governance of the Urewera region to Ngāi Tūhoe.
Prior to retiring, he was also a board member of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority.
Good leadership was evident if people followed, Mr English said.
‘‘Most people I’ve ever worked with just want to do a good job. As a leader, if you enable them to do their job, rather than get in their way, then you create a lot more satisfaction in their lives — that is a fundamental part of leadership.’’
Mr English said he believed the recognition also belonged to his family and colleagues.
‘‘I’ve had some very good teams of people working for me . . . it’s quite humbling . . . because no-one ever does a good job by themselves.
Since retirement, he has served as a director of Invercargill City Holdings and a strategic adviser to Ngāi Tahu’s Murihiku Regeneration, assisting local runanga.
Mr English said even from a junior position, he was exposed to both good and bad governance which taught him about the responsibility of looking after an organisation.
‘‘I feel that’s a very important responsibility and you have to exercise it with integrity.’’
Failing to make hard decisions at the right time could lead to worse long-term consequences.
The combination of governance experience alongside his passion for mountaineering inspired by a rural Southland upbringing exploring the Southern Alps, led to him becoming a trustee of the Dingle Foundation and the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoors Education Trust.
He is still struck by how cold and calculating he became when he was faced with leading two seriously injured climbers to safety who had been hit by an avalanche.
Absolute focus and control was essential to survival — emotion was a luxury reserved for safety.
Māori and governance
Terry Nicholas (Ngāi Tahu, Tainui) has served the Murihiku-Southland region from the Gore District for more than three decades in leadership roles.
Mr Nicholas has held leadership roles with Hokonui Rūnanga, one of the 18 Ngāi Tahu rūnanga, including as executive co-ordinator since 2000 and trustee of its charitable Hokonui Rūnanga Health and Social Services Trust since 2003.
He played a key role in strengthening the rūnanga following its Treaty settlement, helping grow it to support more than 13,000 members.
In 2023 he was appointed upoko of Hokonui Rūnanga, a customary leadership role focused on protecting and enhancing opportunities for members and hapū.
He said the honour reflected the work of many people rather than an individual achievement.
‘‘I couldn’t have done that without all the support [of my whānau].’’
He describes himself as one ‘‘who just likes to get on and do things’’ and said seeing Ngāi Tahu grow from $180 million into a multi-billion dollar industry had been a ‘‘defining moment.’’
His long-term vision leadership approach has centred on collaboration. ‘‘You’ve got to work in the national interest — you can’t work in silos.’’ In 2020, Mr Nicholas helped establish Murihiku Regeneration — an initiative focused on regional development.
‘‘I just know the opportunities that are there before us to drive this province,’’ he said. As portfolio manager, he has supported energy, infrastructure and industry projects while strengthening intergenerational outcomes and iwi values.
He is a longtime advocate for rangatahi, helping develop pathways for youth engagement, leadership and participation.
Active in community work since 1989, he continues to serve across multiple governance roles — strengthening cultural, social and economic aspirations for wha¯nau and the wider Murihiku community.
Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka said Mr Nicholas’s long-standing leadership within Murihiku had supported Māori development, governance capability and opportunities for future generations.
His work strengthened community wellbeing, regional development and pathways for rangatahi leadership and participation.
Creating opportunities for young people remains a key driver, Mr Nicholas said, pointing to the need for economic growth to support future generations.
‘‘That’s what drives me,’’ he said.
Rebecca Rae Amundsen, Invercargill
Local government, arts and the community
Rebecca ‘‘Becs’’ Amundsen was overwhelmed when she read the email saying she was receiving a King’s Service Medal.
‘‘Initially I thought it was a scam . . .once I found out it was real I was confused, but it does give you a warm fuzzy feeling.’’
She has provided long-standing support for the development of the arts in Southland through her role with the Dan Davin Foundation Literary Foundation and Arts Murihiku Charitable Trust.
During her time as Invercargill deputy mayor and city councillor between 2013 and 2022, her effort was focused on community engagement.
She has had a hand in many community projects and is well known for advocating for housing vulnerable members of the community, social services through Connected Murihiku, and was an early advocate for community-led development.
The suburb of Glengarry has also been a focus for her and she has helped encourage and establish community events like the Glengarry Community Market, beautification of the area, art projects, and an annual family event.
Through her involvement with the National Council of Women and KIND Women, she continues to advocate for women’s rights and working towards a more equitable society.
She spearheaded the Southland Oral History Project from 2008 to 2017, securing funding and providing training for people across the region to record interviews for historical purposes.
She is also an advocate for heritage and helped initiate and drive the annual Southland Heritage Month.
Construction industry and cricket
Bill Donaldson’s decades of contributing to Southland landmarks and community cricket have been recognised with the King’s Service Medal.
Born and educated in Invercargill, Mr Donaldson began a building cadetship with Fletcher Construction in 1968 at age 17 and secured construction and quantity-surveying qualifications locally before becoming Southland contracts manager aged 27.
He founded Donaldson Construction Services in 1995, after Fletchers withdrew from regions including Southland, to provide civil, residential and commercial construction services throughout Southland and Otago.
Over the decades, he was involved with or oversaw major work at commercial, public and heritage sites including Southland Hospital, Southern Institute of Technology, St Mary’s Basilica, Invercargill’s Civic Theatre, WEA building and Anderson House and Te Hikoi Southern Journey in Riverton.
Mr Donaldson worked closely with organisations including Site Safe New Zealand to establish formal workplace safety standards and education.
‘‘Involvement in Southland heritage projects has been extremely satisfying,’’ he said, ‘‘Being an early member [of] the Otago-Southland liaison group of Site Safe New Zealand was especially rewarding.’’
Mr Donaldson has also contributed more than half a century to Southland cricket as a player, administrator and historian.
He is former president of both the Southland Cricket Association and Appleby Cricket Club, and compiled records from more than 1200 matches dating back to 1900 to co-author Appleby’s centennial history Across the Centuries.
Bill Donaldson KSM retired from construction last year but keeps his hand in as a life member of both cricket organisations.
Scouts and community
For Noel and Sue Walker, accepting their King’s Service Medals together is as natural as the sky being blue.
The pair have done everything together — they have been co-directors of the Otago Gang Show since 1980, ran a Te Anau scout group together since 1989 and now in 2026, have retired together.
Mrs Walker said the pair had always been a team in everything they did and it was extra special to be receiving the award together.
‘‘We didn't expect anything like that at all, so it's amazing ... but's more than just us, they are awards for the whole community, really.’’
The Walkers have been involved with Scouts for 50 years in Otago and Te Anau.
They revived the Scouts Gang Show from near closure which now involved over 70 youth performers and more than 100 volunteers from the Otago and Southland regions.
Mr Walker has been group leader of Te Anau Scout Group since 1989 and Western Southland zone administrator since 2003, until last week when he retired alongside his wife.
Mrs Walker served as the assistant group leader and cub leader since 1989, and was Western Southland Scouts zone training leader from 2003-24 .
They had been involved with the Te Anau Kepler Challenge Mountain Run for 28 years.
As founding committee members, they were instrumental to organising the event from 1989 to 2000 and served as race commentators from 1991 to 2015.
The Walkers wrote the book Calling them Home for the 25th anniversary of the event, which supported the local economy and distributed around $20,000 to local charitable organisations annually.
Mr Walker said getting the awards was a nice finish to a very happy three decades in Te Anau.
The couple, as of last week, have relocated to Dunedin in part to be closer to the Gang Show.
