The University of Otago is proudly celebrating 16 alumni and staff recognised in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours list.
From expertise in musculoskeletal pain and sports injuries to conserving kākāpō and promoting a love of reading in children, the Otago alumni and staff recognised for their exceptional service come from a diverse range of professions, communities and interests across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM)
Emeritus Professor David Baxter (Otago staff member), of Alexandra, for services to physiotherapy and health
Emeritus Professor Baxter is an academic and researcher with expertise encompassing musculoskeletal pain, particularly ageing pain, physical activity and health, and photo-biomodulation.
Emeritus Professor Baxter was the inaugural Director of the National Science Challenge – Ageing Well (the Challenge), established in 2014, and led the Challenge to become the pinnacle of research and science activity focused on the health and wellbeing of older New Zealanders. Under his leadership the Challenge enabled a range of research projects directly improving the wellbeing of communities and individuals.
At the University of Otago, he has previously served as Dean of the Physiotherapy School, as Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences, and as the Dean of the Graduate Research School. He was appointed a member and then Chair of the Physiotherapy Board of New Zealand from 2015, and a member of the Australia Physiotherapy Council Accreditation Committee. He is the Co-Director of the New Zealand-China Non-Communicable Diseases Research Collaboration Centre and is a member of several expert advisory groups including ACC’s Acupuncture Group between 2017 and 2019.
He has authored and co-authored more than 270 research papers, peer-reviewed journals and contributed to textbooks, and has been awarded more than $20 million in research grants. Emeritus Professor Baxter has been the Editor-in-Chief of Physical Therapy Reviews since 1995.
Professor Bernadette Drummond (BDS, former Otago staff member), of Dunedin, for services to dentistry and education
Professor Bernadette Drummond has contributed to the field of dentistry since the late 1970s and has been recognised with a range of fellowships and research awards.
Professor Drummond was Senior Lecturer in Paediatric Dentistry at the University of Otago from 1988, later becoming Head of Department of Oral Health, Associate Dean of Postgraduate Studies and Chair of Paediatric Dentistry. She was instrumental in the development of the DCIinDent programme in Paediatric Dentistry for all 10 specialist disciplines at the University. She has an extensive record of publications in paediatric dentistry and other dentistry fields.
She was Clinical Professor of Paediatric Dentistry at the University of Leeds from 2017 to 2021. She has been active in many dental organisations, serving a term as the President of the Australia and New Zealand Society of Paediatric Dentistry, Vice President and President of the Australasian Academy of Paediatric Dentistry, President of the Otago branch of the New Zealand Dental Association, and on international committees. She has been a significant contributor to the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons (RACDS), including as the first female President from 2008 to 2010.
Professor Drummond has volunteered her time with dental organisations throughout Australasia, aiming to improve children’s oral health particularly in underserved populations, and has provided long-term dental care for children with special health care needs.
Daryl Eason (DipWLM), of Nelson, for services to wildlife conservation
An Otago graduate, Mr Eason has been instrumental in the recovery of kākāpō from the brink of extinction.
Mr Eason began volunteering for the New Zealand Wildlife Service at Mount Bruce Wildlife Centre in 1984, before going on to a four-decade long career with the Department of Conservation. At the age of 20, he was manager of the Burwood Takahē Breeding Centre near Te Anau, refining techniques to successfully incubate and hatch takahē eggs, rear them in captivity with an innovative system of puppets to ensure the chicks did not imprint on people, and then develop ways of ensuring the young takahē learnt the life skills they would need to survive in the wilds of Fiordland.
In 1996 he joined the Kākāpō Recovery Group as a Technical Advisor, where he has devised many innovations in the management of nesting kākāpo, the artificial incubation of eggs, hand-rearing of chicks andthe collection of sperm and artificial insemination of female kākāpō. His efforts have significantly contributed to the increase in the kākāpō population from 51 in 1995 to almost 250 today.
Mr Eason has contributed to conservation science through the publication of more than 20 reports and papers, and in 2021 he was inducted into the Central Hawkes’s Bay College Hall of Honour.
Dr Celia Devenish (Otago staff member), of Fairlie, for services to women’s health and education
Dr Devenish has contributed to obstetrics and gynaecology for more than 40 years as a doctor, educator, and a member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG).
Dr Devenish has been a Fellow of RANZCOG since 1981, holding senior leadership roles including Chair of the New Zealand Specialist International Medical Graduates Panel, serving as a member of the College Council and Board, and as Chair of the New Zealand governing committee Te Kāhui Oranga ō Nuku.
She is a highly regarded teacher and mentor for undergraduates, midwives, and registrars, working as Senior Lecturer and Tutor at the University of Otago Dunedin School of Medicine since 1981, and receiving numerous teaching awards including the Dean’s Teaching Award on three occasions. She has developed training frameworks that support rural healthcare providers in the South Island, ensuring equitable access to education and support, enhancing healthcare delivery for women in remote areas. She has organised and facilitated additional training sessions and prepared teaching resources in her own time, and is credited with inspiring many medical students to specialise in obstetrics and gynaecology.
Dr Devenish has undertaken research on improving maternal and neonatal outcomes with a particular focus on placental dysfunction and premature birth, informing clinical best practice and benefiting women and families nationally.
Professor Patria Hume (PhD (Physical Education)), of Auckland, for services to sports science and injury prevention
An Otago graduate, Professor Hume is recognised for her work utilising evidence-based interventions to influence best-practice policy development to reduce sports-related injuries and improve sports techniques around the world.
Professor Hume has been a World Championships competitor, international coach and judge in rhythmic gymnasts. She established SportSmart in 1999, a nationwide sports injury prevention programme for ACC. She collaborated with industry partners and academics from varied disciplines, which resulted in SportSmart being developed into numerous sport-specific programmes such as RugbySmart and NetballSmart. For 25 years she has been lead reviewer of SportSmart, most recently reviewing the programme for all New Zealand sporting bodies.
She was inaugural Director of the Sports Performance Research Institute of New Zealand (SPRINZ) from 2000 to 2009. With SPRINZ, she established the Rugby Codes Research Group in 2010. She led the Global Rugby Health Research programme in 2015, which contributed to improved concussion injury awareness and management nationally and internationally.
Her contributions to sporting codes include analysis of techniques for rowing, netball shooting, grinding biomechanics for sailors, shin and mouthguard impact testing, and development of a gymnastics vaulting feedback system. Professor Hume has served on boards for Drug Free Sport New Zealand, Sports Medicine New Zealand, GymSports New Zealand, Sport and Exercise Science New Zealand, among contributions to numerous other national and international organisations.
Julia Marshall (BA; DipArts), of Waikanae, for services to children’s literature
An Otago graduate, Ms Marshall has contributed to literature community for a number of years.
Ms Marshall is the founder of Gecko Press, a small New Zealand publishing company established in 2005 which translates and publishes carefully selected children’s books from some of the best authors and illustrators in the world, ensuring New Zealand children are exposed to stories from different cultures. Each year it publishes a top selling book in te reo Māori.
Engaging local authors and illustrators, she has encouraged all those involved in a book’s production to work together. She has received numerous awards including New Zealand Thorpe-Bowker Publisher of the Year 2008, Winner Creative Gold Wellington Regional Business Gold Awards 2010, 2013 Best Children’s Publisher of the Year in Oceania at Bologna Children’s Book Fair, 2017 Publisher of the Year at the New Zealand Book Industry Awards, and the Margaret Mahy Medal in 2021. She has served the Publishers Association of New Zealand as President and been on the Board of READ NZ Te Pou Muramura.
Ms Marshall is well regarded by her peers for her advocacy for every child’s right to love reading.
Distinguished Professor Emeritus Paul Spoonley (PGDipArts; MA (Geography)), of Auckland, for services to sociology
An Otago graduate, Distinguished Professor Emeritus Paul Spoonley served 42 years as a teacher and researcher in sociology with Massey University, retiring in 2021.
Professor Spoonley held various roles with Massey University from 1979, including as Academic Director, Regional Director (Albany) and Distinguished Professor of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. He fostered strong relationships with local authorities and the community through community-based research. He served as Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences between 2013 and 2019 and was Co-Director of the National Centre for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism.
He was appointed as a member of the Independent Panel of New Zealand Police’s Understanding Policing Delivery and was Chair of the Research Management Committee. He was a member of the Marsden Fund Council and he chaired the Social Sciences Panel from 2017 to 2024. He has published 29 books and has more than 300 peer-reviewed academic journal articles and is a regularly contributor to the media.
He has been a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Germany, since 2013 and he is a Fellow and Board member of Auckland Museum. Professor Spoonley was a Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of California Berkeley.
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM)
Meleua Ikiua (BCom), of Auckland, for services to Vagahau Niue language and education.
Pauline-Jean Luyten (BSc; LLB; PGDipSportMed; DipSptSt; MIndS), of Timaru, for services to rugby and the Pacific community.
Julie Pearse (BA (Hons)), of Dunedin, for services to governance and the community.
King’s Service Medal (KSM)
Heather Baldwin (BPhEd), of Wellington, for services to the community.
Fergus More (LLB), of Invercargill, for services to the community and the law.
Terry O'Regan (PGCertHealSc), of Moana, for services to nursing and the community.
Jane Smallfield, JP, (BA (Hons)), of Dunedin, for services to historical research and the community.
DrGlenys Margaret Weir (MB ChB), of Gore, for services to health.
Honorary King’s Service Medal
Sina Latu (BSW), of Timaru, for services to the Pacific community.