The first King’s Birthday list awarded 176 honours. Men received 52% with 91, women received 48% with 85. Men and women equally received the higher awards (ONZ to MNZM). Double the number of awards (30) were given for sports related activities than for arts related activities (15).

Congratulations to all the winners, especially the following who were acknowledged for their contribution to women:

• DNZM
  • Theresa Elizabeth GATTUNG, CNZM, of Auckland, for services to women, governance and philanthropy. Theresa funded the Chair of Women in Entrepreneurship at the University of Auckland Business School. She was the driving force behind the establishment of Coralus (formerly SheEO) in New Zealand, a global community of women financing, supporting, and celebrating female innovators. She chairs Global Women and is a member of the National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women and on the Global Board of World Pulse.
  • Joan WITHERS, of Auckland, for services to business, governance and women. She was a foundation member of Global Women and the 25 Percent Group, which worked to achieve diversity of thought at senior management level and in New Zealand boardrooms. She co-founded OnBeingBold, which convenes an annual event empowering women leaders, with a similar event provided freely to Year 13 girls. Joan is the author of ‘A Girl’s Guide to Business’ (1998) and ‘A Woman’s Place’ (2017).
• CNZM
  • Arihia Darryl BENNETT, MNZM, of Kaiapii, for services to Māori, governance and the community. Arihia was the first woman and the longest serving Chief Executive Officer of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu from 2012 to 2024. She is a member of the Global Women’s Network and the Tuahiwi Māori Women’s Welfare League. In 2021 she was appointed as Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Group to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack.
  • Anne CANDY, QSO, JP, of Auckland, for services to Māori and local government. Anne has been patron of the Manukau National Council of Women since 2002.
  • Catherine Ann Grant (Katie) SADLEIR, for services to sports governance and women. Katie was appointed as the first woman CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation in 2021. She is a former Olympic synchronised swimmer and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist. She was General Manager of Women’s Rugby for World Rugby from 2016 to 2021 and oversaw the appointment of 17 women to the World Rugby Council in her first year and led the ‘Try and Stop Us’ campaign for women in countries facing challenges to their participation.
• ONZM
  • Andrea Jane BLAIR, of Taupō, for services to the geothermal industry and women. In 2013 she co-founded and was Global Chair until 2020 of Women in Geothermal (WING), an international movement to empower women in the geothermal industry. She oversaw the organisation’s growth from 83 members to more than 3,400 worldwide, making it the single largest geothermal association in the world, and remains a Global Board member. Ms Blair was one of five global recipients in 2023 of the WE Empower United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Award.
• MNZM
  • Jolie HODSON, of Auckland, for services to business, governance, and women. Jolie led the way among NZX-listed gender-diverse boards, prioritising diversity and equity. She helped co-found On Being Bold in 2017, alongside a collective of other prominent New Zealand businesswomen, aiming to inspire and empower women to succeed in business. She has been an activator with SheEO since its inception in 2017, supporting women and non-binary entrepreneurs with start-ups.
  • Mrs Bridget Piu KAURAKA, of Wellington, for services to the Cook Islands community. Bridget has actively participated in the Wellington Cook Islands Society, the Pacific Islands Presbyterian Church in Newtown, where she serves as a deacon, and the Wellington branch of the PACIFICA Women’s Cultural Group, supporting various community initiatives.
  • Julie Leslie PATERSON, for services to women and sport. Julie co-founded Women in Sport Aotearoa in 2016, an organisation that advocates for women and girls to gain equity of opportunity to participate, compete, and build careers in sport and active recreation. She co-chaired the successful bid to deliver the 2018-2022 International Working Group on Women and Sport and 8th World Conference on Women and Sport. As Chief Executive of Tennis New Zealand since 2017, she has led significant growth for the representation of women and girls, particularly in coaching and management roles, with the Wahine Coaching Scholarship programme winning an international award. She has been a member of the International Tennis Federation’s global committee for Gender Equality in Tennis. She was CEO of Netball Southland and the Southern Sting and Southern Steel franchises from 2005 to 2012, then CEO of Netball Northern Zone until 2017.
• Honorary MNZM
  • Allyn Sue (Aliya) DANZEISEN, of Hamilton. for services to the Muslim community and women. Aliya has been National Coordinator of the Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand (IWCNZ) since 2020, having been an active member for more than 10 years and Assistant National coordinator for five years. She helped found and has been Coordinator of the Women’s Organisation of the Waikato Muslim Association (WOWMA) since 2008. Aliya established a programme for Muslim girls and women aged 14 to 25 to help them integrate into New Zealand society and culture, while also preserving their own identity and faith. She has provided support to the community following the 2019 Christchurch mosques terror attacks and is a member of Kāpuia, the Ministerial Advisory group on the Government’s Response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry.
• KSO
  • Josephine Huti ANDERSON, of Te Kuiti, for services to Māori. Josephine was the first person to directly negotiate with the Crown for a Treaty settlement and had an integral role in the Ruapuha Uekaha hapu settlement process over a period of 34 years. She is a former member of the Māori Women’s Welfare League Waitomo branch.
  • Elizabeth Hera CUNNINGHAM, JP, of Christchurch, for services to governance. Elizaabeth served as President of the Māori Women’s Welfare League Rāpaki branch from 2009 to 2022, having been a member since 1978 and chaired Te Waipounamu Māori Women’s Welfare League steering committee. She was the first Māori elected to the Canterbury Area Health Board from 1991 to 1993, the first Māori elected as Canterbury Councillor for the Environment from 2004 to 2007, and chaired the Māori Advisory Committee for Environment Canterbury. She was Chair of Kawawhakaruruhau at Ara Institute’s School of Nursing/Midwifery from 2000 to 2012, having oversight of the programme and training.
• KSM
  • Patricia Frances (Pat) CARRICK-CLARKE, of Nelson, for services to sport, particularly cricket. Pat represented New Zealand Women’s Cricket in seven test matches and three one day internationals between 1969 and 1978. She became the first woman globally to umpire a men’s first-class cricket match, the 1987 Shell Cup Canterbury- Wellington match at Timaru. Pat umpired 15 first-class games and two women’s tests before retiring in 1991. She was a member of the Canterbury Women’s Cricket Association and contributed significantly to an amalgamation of men’s and women’s cricket clubs. Pat was a player, representative teams coach and Board member for Canterbury Netball from 1973 to 1992. From 1997 to 2000 she coached Tasman and Nelson representative teams.
  • Mailigi (Ligi) HETUTŪ, of Wellington, for services to the Niuean community. Ligi is a Niue community leader in Wellington who has been contributing to the preservation and revitalisation of the Niuean language, culture and heritage for 30 years. Through the Wellington Niue Presbyterian Church, Ligi has been the Secretary of the Women’s Fellowship since 2011 and Parish representative to the Central Regional Presbytery Executive since 2019.
  • Katareina Whaiora KAIWAI, of Tokomaru Bay, for services to women and the civil construction industry. Katareina founded Tairāwhiti Contractors on the East Coast in 2021, and as one of the few women business owners in civil construction in the region she has drawn on her onsite experiences in the roading industry since 2011 to advocate for better working conditions for women in construction. Tairāwhiti Contractors has grown to 38 staff, a third of whom are women. She is an ambassador for women in infrastructure for Connexis and ran a Girls with Hi-vis event in Ruatoria in 2021, attracting large numbers of students from multiple schools with opportunities to gain hands-on experience and hear from women in the industry.
  • Sharda Ashok PATEL, of Wellington, for services to the Indian community and women. Sharda became Chair of Mahalia Samaj (Women’s Auxiliary) in 1992 and has led numerous initiatives to support Indian women. She was Coordinator and Deputy Coordinator of the Indian Women’s Forum for the New Zealand Indian Central Association for four years total. She broke new ground in 1997 by becoming the first ever woman in New Zealand to be elected President of any Indian Association, serving two terms and opening doors for women to step into leadership roles. Sharda has been a founding member of Shakti Women’s Refuge, a Board Member of the Multi-Cultural Learning and Support services, and a volunteer for more than a decade for Mary Potter Hospice.
  • Fay TAYLOR, of Mosgiel, for services to the community. Fay joined the Women’s Division Federated Farmers Henley Branch, now Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ), and has been a member for 66 years holding offices at local and regional level. Through RWNZ Fay has helped raise thousands of dollars for local, national and international women’s projects.

See the full list at https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/publications/kings-birthday-honours-list-2024.

Information about nominating someone for an honour is available on the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet website. Nomination forms are accepted throughout the year, but the processing and consideration of nominations is likely to take at least six months prior to the announcement of an honours list at King's Birthday or New Year.

To read more articles from The Circular (May-June 2024) issue 647, click on the tag below.