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Tuesday 9 January 2018 11:36am

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Professor Barbara Brookes discusses her book A History of Women in New Zealand with Otago alumni at an event in Washington last September.

Otago alumni and current staff members were again well represented in the New Year Honours list, with 20 receiving honours in 2018.

Professor Barbara Brookes BA (Hons) (1976) MNZM for services to historical research and women.


Professor Brookes is Professor of History at the University of Otago and has focused her research on gender relations in New Zealand and the history of health and disease in New Zealand and Britain. Professor Brookes' academic career has spanned four decades, including eight years as head of the University's History and Art History departments from 2004.
She has co-edited six books on women's history and on health and two collections of essays on New Zealand women's history. Her most recent publication is 'A History of New Zealand Women' (2016), a culmination of decades of research and New Zealand's first narrative history of its women from the arrival of the first waka until 2015. She has produced ten books and 38 book chapters. She is currently co-editor of the New Zealand Journal of History and is on the editorial boards of 'Health and History' and the 'Journal of Family History'. She played a key role in establishing the Staff Women's Caucus at the University of Otago. In 2016 the University of Otago's Centre for Research on Colonial Culture hosted the 'Making Women Visible' conference on New Zealand women's history, which recognised Professor Brookes' leading contribution in this area.


Dr John Guthrie Otago faculty member and alumni, BCom (1973), MCom (1989), PhD (1996), DTertD (1997) MNZM for services to education and sport.

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Dr John Guthrie

Dr Guthrie has been with the Otago's Department of Marketing since 1988 and established the University of Otago Business Case Competitions in 2004. Dr Guthrie has organised regional, national and international business case competitions on a voluntary basis on top of his university workload. He initiated a competition between the University of Otago and the University of Waikato. He has coached Otago University teams to achieve success in international business case competitions.
He was a founding member of the New Zealand Student Development Society (SDS) in 2007 and became Chairman in 2008. SDS has run a national league for business case competitions and has hosted an international competition for the past eight years. He has been Chairman of the International Business Association of Case Competition Coaches since its inception in 2010. Within the wider community he has been Chairman of the Transition to Work Trust since 2007, President of the Eastern Harbour Tennis Club since 1993, Executive Committee member of the New Zealand Masters Games from 1992 to 2002, and Otago Area Commissioner for Scouting New Zealand. Dr Guthrie orchestrated the formation of the Bayfield Park Community Sports Trust and initiated the construction of a sports pavilion at Bayfield Park.

Associate Professor Mike Hilton Otago faculty member, MNZM for services to conservation.


Associate Professor Hilton has made significant contributions to the progression of coastal management in New Zealand, particularly regarding sand dune restoration. In his own time Associate Professor Hilton has researched, visited, and categorised most sand dunes left in New Zealand and developed a classification list of dunes of National Significance.

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Associate Professor Mike Hilton

He has worked for 20 years on Doughboy Bay and Mason Bay on Stewart Island. His work on Stewart Island has done much to preserve the last remaining West Coast transgressive dune system in New Zealand and the methods he has helped develop for weed management have become the template for the rest of the country. He has undertaken the science assessment at Kaiterete Spit and developed a plan to restore the site and has worked to solve urban erosion and changing sea level issues at St Kilda beach in Dunedin. He has more than 50 publications on dune restoration and processes, has freely shared his knowledge in public meetings and talks, and has involved students and volunteers in his field work. Associate Professor Hilton is a member of the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society, New Zealand Coast Society, International Geosphere-Biosphere Committee of the Royal Society of New Zealand, and the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research.


Dr William Rolleston, MB ChB (1984) CNZM for services to the farming industry.


As President of Federated Farmers New Zealand from 2014 until 2017 Dr Rolleston has championed evidence-based arguments and bringing science to the fore, as well as engaging farmers with their impact on the environment and to proactively seek solutions to these issues.
Under his leadership the primary industry moved to negotiate Government Industry Agreements for Biosecurity. In 2011 he played a pivotal role in the formation of the 'Farmy Army' in response to the Christchurch earthquake, and was a volunteer himself. He was elected Vice President of the World Farmers Organisation in July 2015 and appointed Acting President from September 2016 until June 2017. He co-established the biotechnology company South Pacific Sera (SPS) in 1988, producing high quality biologicals for export. Through SPS he has supported the Woodhouse Scholars Programme, which provides educational opportunities for young people from South Canterbury in the biological sciences. He was the founding Chairman of New Zealand's Biotechnology Industry Organisation and of the Life Sciences Network, an umbrella organisation of national science and industry organisations who advocated for science-based regulation of genetic modification. Dr Rolleston has been appointed to various government science policy positions.

Frederick Graham, Dunedin College of Education (1950) ONZM for services to Maori art.


Mr Graham has been involved in New Zealand art since the 1950s and has contributed to the growth, development and promotion of Maori art throughout New Zealand and abroad. From 1951 to 1954 Mr Graham served as an art adviser to Maori primary schools throughout Rotorua and Northland.
He has been the Head of the Art Department at various schools throughout the North Island and he has played a key role in inspiring and developing the next generation of artistic talent. He was a pioneer of the Contemporary Maori Art Movement and in 1966 he was a key figure in organising one of the first exhibitions of contemporary Maori painting and sculptures in Hamilton. He has represented New Zealand at many international exhibitions throughout his career, including the 1986 'Te Ao Marama' ('Seven Maori Artists') exhibition that toured Australia and a 1992 tour of the United States that showcased contemporary Maori art. Since 1996 he has served on the Haerewa (Maori Cultural Advisory Group) at the Auckland Art Gallery. He continues to provide mentoring to young sculptors and artists. Mr Graham's contributions have resulted in a number of sculptures that are displayed in many New Zealand cities and towns, as well as galleries in Seattle, Vancouver and South Korea.

Dr Andrew Holden, Mb ChB (1984) ONZM for services to endoluminal vascular repair.


Dr Holden has pioneered ongoing research, innovation and intervention in the field of Endoluminal Vascular Repair in collaboration with Dr Andrew Hill as heads of the Vascular Interventional Team at Auckland Hospital.
An Endoluminal Stent Graft is made to replace an artery wall in an aneurysm or in a traumatic torn artery, with the procedure allowing repairs to be done through a small incision in the groin without the need for open chest or abdominal surgery, greatly extending the lives of those who would otherwise have died within two to three years without the procedure. The first ESG was performed in 1998 at Auckland Hospital and managed to extend the patient's life by 15 years and to date more than 1,000 cases have been treated with more advanced techniques. Dr Hill and Dr Holden have introduced these techniques in the main medical centres in New Zealand. The Interventional Team at Auckland Hospital is one of the top two sites in the world as a research centre for excellence in Endoluminal Endovascular Repair. Dr Holden has been an examiner for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists and the European Board of Interventional Radiology. Dr Holden was invited to present the annual Gruentzig Lecture at the Congress of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology Society of Europe in 2013.

Dr Andrew Hill, MB ChB (1984) ONZM for services to endoluminal vascular repair.

Dr Andrew Hill has pioneered ongoing research, innovation and intervention in the field of Endoluminal Vascular Repair in collaboration with Dr Andrew Holden as heads of the Vascular interventional Team at Auckland Hospital. An Endoluminal Stent Graft is made to replace an artery wall in an aneurysm or in a traumatic torn artery, with the procedure allowing repairs to be done through a small incision in the groin without the need for open chest or abdominal surgery, greatly extending the lives of those treated. The first ESG was performed at Auckland Hospital in 1998 and to date more than 1,000 cases have been treated with more advanced techniques. Dr Hill and Dr Holden have introduced these techniques in the main medical centres in New Zealand. The Interventional Team at Auckland Hospital is one of the top sites in the world as a research centre for excellence in Endovascular Therapies. Dr Hill has been involved in substantial teaching activities for local trainees and for the profession worldwide through demonstrations and presentations. He was the Chief Examiner for Vascular Surgery for the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Dr Hill is the first New Zealander to be President Elect of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Vascular Surgery.

Dr Malcolm MacPherson DipSci (1969) ONZM for services to local government and the community.

Dr Macpherson was a Central Otago District Councillor for eight years, first elected in 1990, and Mayor for three terms from 2001 to 2010. As Mayor Dr Macpherson oversaw a number of activities, including Alexandra's flood recovery projects, the Warm Homes Clean Air programme, and a systems thinking review of the Council's business.
He was a national working party member and director of Apple Futures, and Chairman of the Central Employment Trust, now Seasonal Solutions. He chaired the regional economic development agency Otago Forward. He was elected to the Otago (now Southern) District Health Board for four terms, was a member of the Otago Polytechnic Council for eight years and served on the Otago Hospice Trust. He is a third-term member and past Chairman of the Central Lakes Trust. He is Chairman of Central Stories Museum and Art Gallery, and Chairs the Alexandra Men's Shed Trust and the Clyde Rescue Boat Trust. He has been Chair of Keep Alexandra Clyde Beautiful and chaired the group who built Alexandra's Fulton Hogan Cycle Park. He was inaugural Chair of the Jolendale Park Charitable Trust, and is a member of the Roxburgh Gorge Trail Charitable Trust. Dr Macpherson is the independent Chair of Central Otago Premium Fruit Ltd, in a voluntary capacity.

Julia Morison, former Otago staff member and Frances Hodgkins Fellow (1988) ONZM for services to visual arts.


Ms Morison is a visual artist whose work encompasses a wide variety of media from painting and photography to sculpture and installations, and has contributed to the New Zealand art scene for more than 40 years. Ms Morison undertook the Moet and Chandon contemporary art residency in Avize, France in 1990.
After working in France for 10 years she returned to New Zealand to become Senior Lecturer in Painting at the University of Canterbury School of Fine Art, a position she held until 2007. She has exhibited extensively throughout New Zealand and internationally. From 2006 to 2007 Christchurch Art Gallery and Dunedin Public Art Gallery jointly developed 'a loop around a loop', a survey exhibition of her work. She has produced public art sculptures for areas in Christchurch and Dunedin. Following the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes she produced a sculpture exhibition titled 'Meet Me on the Other Side' utilising discarded objects and liquefaction sediment to provide an artistic response to the earthquakes. Her 'Tree Houses for Swamp Dwellers' sculpture was installed in Central Christchurch as part of the SCAPE public art project in 2013. Ms Morison's early exhibited work in the 1980s concentrated on formalist paintings and included large multi-part works such as 'Vademecum' and 'Golem'.

Helen Pollock DipHSc (1966) ONZM for services to art, particularly sculpture.


Ms Pollock is an artist and sculptor who has been exhibiting since the 1980s. Her early works focussed on rights for women and her more recent public art installations, in the medium of bronze and clay, commemorate World War One. 'Falls the Shadow', commemorating the 90th anniversary of WW1 Armistice and New Zealand's sacrifice at Passchendaele, was installed initially in Auckland War Memorial Museum in 2008.
The sculpture is now a permanent feature at the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917. 'Victory Medal' marks the anniversary of the Liberation of Le Quesnoy by the New Zealand Division on 4 November 1918. The work was toured around New Zealand regions and important battle sites on the Western Front, and is due for installation at Le Quesnoy to commemorate the 100th anniversary. 'As Above, So Below' is a bronze and water sculpture commissioned by National Navy Museum and permanently installed in the WW1 Commemorative Pavilion on Torpedo Bay. Locally she has promoted the Devonport Arts Festival and exhibited for more than 20 years at Sculpture on the Shore to raise funds for Women's Refuge. Ms Pollock has been featured in a number of publications and was included in the Cultural Icons projects celebrating people who have contributed significantly to New Zealand's creative landscape.

Suzanne Ellison BA (1989) MNZM for services to Maori, the arts and governance.

Ms Ellison is an iwi manager and researcher who has made a long-standing contribution to community development and culture and heritage. Ms Ellison began her career with iwi community development when she joined Ngai Tahu as a Communication and Development Officer in 1990. One of her roles was as Arts and Heritage Manager for the Ngai Tahu Development Corporation, of which she has also been a senior manager for 10 years. She chairs the Board of the Ngai Tahu Fund, which funds local and national initiatives such as traditional art workshops, environmental revitalisation projects, and investigations into whanau whakapapa and history to strengthen Ngai Tahu culture. She is a member of the Arts Council of Aotearoa New Zealand and previously served two terms as a member of Te Waka Toi, the Maori Arts Board of Creative New Zealand. She has previously been a member of the organising committee for Te Maori: Te Hokianga Mai at Otago Museum, a member of the Christchurch Arts Festival Trust Board, and as a Trustee of the Southern Lakes Festival of Colour Trust. Ms Ellison is a former member of the Otago Maori Executive, of the Permanent External Advisory Committee to the Arts School at Otago Polytechnic, of the Otago University Maori Affairs Board, and of Well Dunedin Primary Health Organisation.

Donna Matahaere-Atariki, former staff member and BA (1995) MNZM

Ms Matahaere-Atariki has contributed to the health and education of Maori for more than 20 years and has represented Maori at a national level in a range of public forums. In her early career Ms Matahaere-Atariki taught at the University of Otago prior to being Education Manager at the Ngai Tahu Development Corporation and Executive Officer in the office of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu.
In 2007 she was Executive Director and a founding Trustee of the Dunedin-based integrated health, education and social services provider Arai Te Uru Whare Hauora. From 2012 to 2014 she was Chief Executive of Ngai Tahu's former health subsidiary He Oranga Pounamu. She is a former member of the National Strategy Group for Early Childhood Education, the National Strategy Group for Race Relations, and the Ministry of Social Development's National Advisory Council for Families and Community Services. She has been a member of a number of MSD taskforces including the National Taskforce on Family Violence. She is representative for the Maori health sector on the Ministry of Health's NGO Council. Ms Matahaere-Atariki is Chair of Te Runaka o Otakou, a Trustee of Well South Health Network, University of Otago Council member, and a Trustee of Te Whare Pounamu, her local women's refuge.

Nigel Skelt, Dunedin College of Education (1978) MNZM for services to badminton.


Mr Skelt is Vice-President of Badminton New Zealand, General Manager of Stadium Southland, and has been a long term supporter of regional, national, and international Badminton. Mr Skelt was a New Zealand representative Badminton player in 1979, and since then has been active in the sport's administration, governance, management, coaching and mentoring.
He has been President of Badminton Southland, and was President of Badminton New Zealand from 2004 to 2009. As Chair of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Marketing committee he has grown the organisation's commercial revenues and product portfolio to increase the worldwide profile and accessibility of the sport. He was a founding member of the BWF Women in Badminton committee, and has worked to raise the profile of women in leadership roles in the Badminton community. Mr Skelt was co-project manager of the Stadium Southland re-development and project manager of the velodrome development.

Dr David Tipene-Leach DipComH (1986) MNZM for services to Maori and health.

Dr Tipene-Leach is a General Practitioner who has spent his working life promoting Maori health in rural and urban Maori communities around Ruatoki, Whakatane, Gisborne, East Coast and Hastings. Dr Tipene-Leach has spent the last two decades finding innovative approaches to address sudden unexpected death in infancy, including leading the design and development of wahakura (flax bassinet) and actively lobbying to obtain funding for wahakura to be provided as part of an infant safe sleep programme. He has also researched, published and presented widely on diabetes among Maori, which led to his being awarded a Distinguished Fellowship from the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. Dr Tipene-Leach was inaugural chair of Te Ora, the Maori Medical Practitioners Association, has been a member of various medical review committees, has taught Maori health to medical students and public health to trainee medical officers in Micronesia, and is Chair of the Heretaunga Tamatea Treaty of Waitangi Claim Board.

Graeme Wallis, Dunedin College of Education (1966) MNZM for services to music.

Mr Wallis has been a significant contributor to the music scene in Christchurch for more than 40 years and has held numerous leadership positions within Canterbury music organisations. Mr Wallis has held various leadership positions with the Avonhead Rotary Club since 1984 and has led several fundraising projects, including a leading role in the fundraising for the purchase and installation of a pipe organ at the Christchurch Town Hall in 1997.
He is currently Chairperson of the Friends of the Arts Centre of Christchurch. He has been President of the Christchurch Civic Music Council since 2006 and Chairperson of Christchurch Civic Music Council Concert Programmes since 2011. He is the Past President of the Specialist Music Programme and Chairperson of the National Concerto Competition Trust and the Voice of Music Committee. He is a Life Member of the Christchurch School of Music, the Christchurch Schools' Music Festival Association and the Specialist Music Programme. He has presented at international conferences in New Zealand, Canada, and in London, and has chaired organising committees for national music conferences. Mr Wallis has been Musical Director of the Christchurch Operatic Society, Patron of the Friends of the Christchurch School of Music Support Trust, and was President of the New Zealand Society for Music Education in 1989.

Evelyn Weir, Dunedin College of Education (1960) QSO for services to seniors and the community.

Mrs Weir has contributed to the communities of Christchurch and Hamilton through a range of organisations and community groups. Mrs Weir was a member of the Christchurch Branch of the National Council of Women from 1975 to 1990 and served as Vice President. She was elected to the Fendalton Community Board of the Christchurch City Council and helped establish the Children's Television Foundation in Christchurch.
In 1997 she was instrumental in the establishment of the Celebrating Age Centre for the Hamilton City Council and served as manager until 1998. Soon after she became a council member for the newly established Age Concern Hamilton office, a role she continues in today having served as Vice President and President for a time. She was elected to the National Board of Age Concern New Zealand in 2005, later serving as Vice President and most recently as President from 2012 to 2016. During this time she oversaw considerable change to the organisation. Mrs Weir was Chair of the Community Health Forum of the Waikato District Health Board from 2009 to 2016, a member of the Advisory Group for Age-wise with Waikato DHB, and a Volunteer Community Coordinator with the Office of Senior Citizens.

Philip Craigie BA (1974) QSM for services to music.

Mr Craigie's contribution as a musician, teacher, mentor, and musical director has spanned more than 50 years. Over Mr Craigie's 40 year teaching career he was Head of Department (Music) at Riccarton High School, Head of Department (Music) at Otago Boys High School, Deputy Principal of Taieri High School, and Principal of Kaikorai Valley College. He has been musical director of the Mosgiel Brass Band since 1988. He has been involved with St Kilda Brass and has been conductor of the Otago Symphonic Band.
He conducted and led the Celebration Singers on several national tours and a tour to Tasmania, and under his leadership the choir produced four records. He was heavily involved with the Otago Secondary Schools Music Festival Committee and prepared the constitution for the annual Music Festival to become an incorporated society. He has taught many students piano and brass instruments through schools, community music programmes, and as a casual teacher. He organises community music groups including an annual community concert and an annual community choir each Christmas. Mr Craigie chaired the Anniversary Organising Committee for the 150th anniversary of the North Taieri Presbyterian Church.

Kathleen Fletcher BsC (1963) QSM for services to music, science education, and the community.

Mrs Fletcher has had significant involvement in science education, through contributions to assessment development and training for NZQA and the Ministry of Education between 1995 and 2004, and through roles with Massey University College of Education. Mrs Fletcher was a committee member of the Hawke's Bay Association of Science Educators and served as Co-Chairperson. She has been a member of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry since 1981 and sat on the Manawatu Branch committee.
She was made a Fellow in 1998 and has presented and convened conferences nationally. She organised and judged the Central Hawke's Bay College science fair, which involved up to 13 other schools, for a number of years as a teacher and into retirement. She established the Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Award scheme at Central Hawke's Bay College. She has been Organist and Choir Director at St Mary's Church Waipukurau since 1973 and established the Central Hawke's Bay Concert Choir, of which she is Musical Director. She is a member of the New Zealand Organ Association and was Secretary of the committee that established the Waipukurau Little Theatre. She is Secretary of Electra Art Gallery and is involved with the Pukeora Festival. Mrs Fletcher has been heavily involved with the Royal Lifesaving Society of New Zealand and has been examiner for lifesaving awards.

Margaret Miles JP CertPhty (1973) QSM for services to local government and the community.

Mrs Miles has contributed to the North Shore community in a variety of roles for more than 40 years. Mrs Miles was Albany Ward Councillor with the North Shore City Council from 1995 to 2010 and has since held the roles of Chair and Deputy Chair of the Auckland Council's Upper Harbour Local Board. She supported the development of the North Shore Events Centre and North Harbour Stadium, and more recently the Albany Stadium Pool. She has played key roles in securing parkland for the Council and was instrumental in the creation of the North Shore Community Facilities Fund. She has had a significant involvement for more than 15 years with the Auckland Miniature Horse Club and serves on the committee.
She is a member of the New Zealand Miniature Horse Association and judges community competitions for the Waitemata District Pony Club. She has been a foundation member of the E-Centre at Massey University. She has been a founding Trustee of the Project K Trust for youth and chaired the Albany Community Coordinator Trust. She has supported local sporting clubs and has held Patron roles with North Harbour Softball and East Coast Bays Football. Mrs Miles has been a committee member of several residents associations and has supported her local Plunket group.

Julie Syme Dunedin College of Education (1962) QSM for services to the community.

Mrs Syme is a stalwart of the Kaikoura community, with a focus on community events, projects, development and communications. Mrs Syme was a founding member of the Kaikoura Seaward Lions in 1992, has served in most roles within the organisation, and is currently President. She has spearheaded the Lions' contribution to fundraising and managing community events, including the Recycled Trash to Fashion Show.
She has assisted in raising an estimated $2 million dollars over the last decade for public amenities in the Kaikoura District, including the new hospital, the town clock, and the refurbishment of the Art Deco Community Theatre. Through the Lions, she has also been involved with the wider district, serving as District Governor and mentoring other prospective governors. She was the Secretary for the Kaikoura RSA from 2008 to 2016, a Trustee of the Kaikoura Education Trust, and foundation Secretary of the Kaikoura Community Theatre. She has previously been involved with Plunket, Playcentre, Red Cross, and the Presbyterian Church. Mrs Syme is currently the Secretary of the Community Hall Committee and President of the Kaikoura Garden Club.

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