Investitures - Thursday 17 September 2009

  • <span class="title">Jenny Gibbs</span><br/><p> Dame Jenny Gibbs, of Auckland, received the Insignia of a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the arts.    She has been instrumental in a number of arts projects, including the establishment of the new gallery for Auckland City Art Gallery and in supporting New Zealand's participation at the Venice Biennale.  She has been a member and held a number of offices at the Auckland City Art Gallery, the Auckland Contemporary Arts Trust, the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.  She is a member of the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.  She is also involved with a number of community organisations, including as a member of the Council of the University of Auckland and a trustee of the Auckland Medical School Foundation.  She supports a number of charitable organisations, including the New the Auckland Theatre Trust.  Dame Jenny was awarded the Arts Foundation of New Zealand Award for Patronage in 2007. </p>
  • <span class="title">Emare Nikora</span><br/><p> Emare Nikora, of Tokoroa, received the Queen's Service Medal for services to Māori.  She was instrumental in the establishment of Tokoroa's first kohanga reo and was the first Kaiwhakahaere at the centre in 1986.  She was the first te reo news radio announcer in the region and established the first iwi Māori radio station Te Reo Irirangi o Ngati Raukawa.  Mrs Nikora was involved with the management of the station for 18 years and served on its foundation board of trustees. </p>
  • <span class="title">Ernest and Naomi Kirk</span><br/><p> Ernest and Naomi Kirk, of Manukau, received the Queen's Service Medal for services to the community.   They have been involved with Keep Manukau Beautiful, establishing the hanging baskets in the Mangere Bridge Village and a wide range of other community organisations.  Mr Kirk was significantly involved with the Mangere Bridge Residents Protest Committee and in addressing the odours and insects coming from the new wastewater plant.  He was also involved with a number of other community organisaitons, including the Mangere Health Resource Trust and the Mangere Bridge Community Patrol.  He was a Maukau City Councillor from 1989 to 2001. Mrs Kirk has been involved with a number other local organisations, including the Community Development &amp; Cultural Trust and the Genesis Youth Project.  She was also involved in the establishment of the Village Park in Mangere Bridge Village.  She was a member of the Mangere Community Board. </p>
  • <span class="title">Desmond Jack</span><br/><p> Desmond Jack, of Hamilton, received the Queen's Service Medal for services to the community.  He has been a member of the Rotary Club of Hamilton East since 1975, where he has held several leadership positions including Chairman of the district Matched Student Exchange and World Community Service.  He has been actively involved with Hamilton East's St John's Methodist Church, in particular with young people as a youth group leader for some 40 years, with an emphasis on youth camping, and was involved in the development of the Epworth Camp at Lake Karapiro.  </p>
  • <span class="title">Nguyen Phu Dang</span><br/><p> Nguyen Phu Dang, of Manukau, received the Queen's Service Medal for services to the Vietnamese community.  He is the founder of the Auckland Vietnamese Friendship Association, where he has been the President for many years.  He was the President of the Vietnamese Association of Auckland and was the Secretary of the United Vietnamese Buddhist Association of Auckland for 10 years.  He has been an announcer of a Vietnamese programme on local radio for many years.  Mr Dang is also a voluntary adviser and tutor of English to Vietnamese in the community, organises social activities for the community, and helps to integrate new immigrants into New Zealand life. </p>
  • <span class="title">Robyn Boswell</span><br/><p> Robyn Boswell, of Whangārei, received the Queen's Service Medal for services to education.  Ms Boswell introduced the Future Problem Solving programme into New Zealand in 1990; an educational programme for top young achievers that focuses on life skills and relevant work for gifted students.  She is notable for fostering young minds into developing an active interest in the future, developing creative thinking and critical and analytical thought, and strengthening oral and written communication skills.  Ms Boswell is the national director of the programme and writes support material for teachers. </p>
  • <span class="title">William Boniface</span><br/><p> William Boniface, of Warkworth, received the Queen's Service Medal for services to the community. He has been associated with soccer for some 50 years as a referee and a coach at both local and national levels.  He was made a life member of the Auckland Soccer Referees Association in 1991 and New Zealand Soccer in 2001 and continues to coach.  He has been a trustee of the Rodney North Harbour Health Trust for 20 years and the Camp Bentzon Youth Trust for more than 10 years.  Mr Boniface is the chairman of the Warkworth Order of St John and led the fundraising team for the new Warkworth ambulance station. </p>
  • <span class="title">Robin Wray</span><br/><p> Robin Wray, of Auckland, received the Insignia of a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the community.  His career has been based in social welfare; including as a social worker with the Ministry of Social Development in Auckland and Whakatane.  He established the Rangitikei Skill Centre to create a work skills training centre in Te Teko.  He was also a member of the Rural Education Activities Programme Eastern Bay Board for some 20 years and is on the REAP Aotearoa New Zealand Board.  Mr Wray has also been involved in various health organisations in the Bay of Plenty region, including the Eastbay Health Hospital. </p>
  • <span class="title">David Steele</span><br/><p> David Steele, of Waimauku, received the Insignia of a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to local body affairs and the community.  Mr Steele was a Rodney District Councillor for 33 years until 2007 and was the Deputy Mayor for six years.  He represented the Council on the Regional Civil Defence Emergency Management Group and the Kaipara Harbour Authority.  He also developed and enhanced the Council's relationship with Ngāti Whatua.  He was active in the education sector for 28 years until 1999, including being a member of the Auckland Education Board, the Albany Outdoor Education Centre, Kaipara College Board of Govenors, and the Woodhill School Committee.  Mr Steele has been an active member of the New Zealand Road Carriers Association and Federated Farmers. </p>
  • <span class="title">Lauraine Jacobs</span><br/><p> Lauraine Jacobs, of Auckland, received the Insignia of a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the food industry.   She is the food editor and chief restaurant reviewer of Cuisine and a contributor to Cuisine Wine Country.  She also teaches cooking classes and broadcasts on food and cooking and mentors students and young professionals in all areas of the food industry.  She has written a number of cookbooks, including The Confident Cook, and was co-author of Taste: Baking With Flavour.  Ms Jacobs is a New Zealand Trade &amp; Enterprise food and wine ambassador, and has been a member of the Food &amp; Beverage Taskforce </p>
  • <span class="title">Mere Balzer</span><br/><p> Mere Balzer, of Hamilton, received the Insignia of a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori health.  She established the School of Nursing and Health Studies at Waiariki Polytechnic and was also instrumental in setting up the School of Nursing at Te Whare Wananga O Awanui A Rangi.  She is the Chief Executive of the Te Rūnanga O Kirikiriroa Trust, the urban Māori authority for Hamilton.  She has been a member of a number of boards, trusts, and committees aimed at improving Māori health, including Te Kaunihere o Ngā Neehi Māori Executive.  Ms Balzer has also sat on the Bay of Plenty Ethics Committee, the Waikato District Health Board and is a member of the Iwi Māori Council. </p>
  • <span class="title">Frank Yukich</span><br/><p> Frank Yukich, of Manukau, received the Insignia of an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the wine industry.   He was the co-founder of Montana Wines, which released its first vintage of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc in 1979.  Montana started exporting in 1981 and exports to more than 30 countries; the largest international market being the United Kingdom.  Montana Wines have won numerous awards, including the Marquis de Goulaine Trophy at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in London in 1990 and was named the Best Imported Wine of the Year in Australia in 2002.  The 30th Vintage of Montana Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc received enthusiastic reviews in the Wall Street Journal and the Australian Winestate magazine in 2009. </p>
  • <span class="title">Gurshon Fisher</span><br/><p> Gurshon Fisher, of Auckland, received the Insignia of an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to philanthropy.   In 2004, he established the Gus Fisher Postdoctoral Fellowship to specialise in the research of Neurodegenerative diseases and a cure for Parkinson's disease.  He set up the Gus Fisher Gallery in 2000 to encourage debate on contemporary visual arts and culture and foster creative and academic research in visual arts.  He was involved with the establishment of the Kenneth Myers Centre and the School of Creative and Performing Arts at the University of Auckland.  He has also made significant donations to and number of organisations, including the Auckland War Memorial Museum and community drug education and rehabilitation programmes.  Mr Fisher was a founding donor of the Hood Fund, which enables leading New Zealand academics to share their research overseas </p>
  • <span class="title">Ian Grant</span><br/><p> Ian Grant, of Auckland, received the Insignia of a Companion of the Queen's Service Order, for services to youth and parenting.   He has been involved with the management of Parent’s Inc, which has involved many thousands of young people and volunteers.  He co-founded Parenting with Confidence in 1993.  He has co-produced a weekly family forum radio programme Pass the Salt for some 15 years.  He also presents Hot Tips for Parents, which is syndicated to radio networks in New Zealand.  He has written a number of books, including Fathers Who Dare Win, Growing Great Boys and Growing Great Marriages.  </p>
  • <span class="title">Peter Thorne</span><br/><p> Professor Peter Thorne, of Auckland, received the Insignia of a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to auditory neuroscience.  Professor Thorne is a leading auditory neuroscientist, who has made a significant contribution to auditory neuroscience through scientific research, discoveries, teaching, and developing services for the deaf and hearing impaired.  He has also facilitated research in aural rehabilitation and the clinical diagnosis of hearing loss and contributed to the understanding of the neurochemistry of the inner ear.  He helped establish the Auditory Neuroscience Research Group at the University of Auckland, which he has led for 30 years.  He has voluntarily worked to establish and leads the working group for the introduction of a national universal newborn hearing screening programme.  Professor Thorne has developed a model of hearing loss incidence and prevalence in New Zealand and is the lead investigator of a project to develop policy on the prevention of noise-induced deafness. </p>

The Governor-General, Hon Sir Anand Satyanand, and Lady Susan Satyanand, hosted an investiture ceremony at Government House Auckland on 17 September 2009.