Queen's Birthday Honours: The Southern recipients

Published date06 June 2022
Publication titleOtago Daily Times: Web Edition Articles (New Zealand)
Faafetai (Jonathan) Lemalu

London

For services to opera

* Dame Silvia and Sir Tipene lead honours list

* Full list

Former Dunedin bass-baritone opera singer Jonathan Lemalu has credited his family, his tutors and "the huge support" from Dunedin's multicultural, school, church and university communities, for receiving a New Zealand Order of Merit for services to opera.

"I'm proud to represent us all. This award is ours. It's a huge honour indeed, particularly in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee year."

He said he was also proud to follow in the footsteps of his mother Ali'itasi, who was awarded an MNZM in 2007, for services to the Pacific Islands community.

The Dunedin-born singer is a Grammy Award winner, performing internationally at venues including London's Royal Opera House and New York's Metropolitan Opera.

Professor Lemalu graduated from London's Royal College of Music with distinction and the college's top award, the Tagore Gold Medal, presented by Prince Charles.

He won the 2000 Llangollen International Singer of the World competition in Wales, he represented New Zealand with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Olympics Arts Festival in 2000 and performed in the NZSO's first BBC Promenade concert at London's Royal Albert Hall in 2005.

He sang at the United Kingdom memorial service for Sir Edmund Hillary at Windsor Castle in 2008, and he performed national anthems at the 2011 Rugby World Cup and the Maori All Blacks versus Manu Samoa test match in 2021.

He is a patron of the Virtuoso Strings Orchestra, performing with young Porirua-based musicians, and gives vocal masterclasses at Otago, Auckland, Canterbury and Victoria Universities.

Prof Lemalu is a professor of voice at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Anne Urlwin

Wanaka

For services to business

A career contributing to the New Zealand business community has earned Anne Urlwin the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business.

Ms Urlwin, of Wanaka, has been a director, chartered accountant and business consultant for more than 20 years.

She began her career with accounting firm KPMG before moving into senior management roles in the information technology and meat industries.

After that, Ms Urlwin moved into governance roles with experience in multiple sectors ranging from start-ups to publicly listed and private companies.

She is currently director of various businesses, including Precinct Properties New Zealand, Summerset Group Holdings, Vector, and Ventia.

Ms Urlwin also chairs the Audit and Risk Committee of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu and also serves on the boards of City Rail Link and Queenstown Airport.

Previously, she was deputy chairwoman of Southern Response Earthquake Services, chairwoman of the New Zealand Blood Service and the Naylor Love Construction Group.

Ms Urlwin also held several directorships with crown companies and sporting organisations including New Zealand Hockey.

She is also a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand and a member of the Institute's national council. She is also a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Last year, she and three other directors, won the New Zealand Shareholders Association's Beacon Award for their actions as directors of Tilt Renewables which was subject to a takeover offer in 2018.

The directors advised the company's minority shareholders to reject the offer — an outstanding example of principle and courage, the association said.

MNZM

John Tyson Bezett

Dunedin

For services to sport and recreation

A long-awaited reunion with children and grandchildren in Australia has given John Bezett a chance to reflect on a 30-year involvement with the New Zealand Masters Games that has delivered great friends and wonderful memories.

Mr Bezett, chairman of the popular sporting event from 1993 until 2021, was just getting used to having MNZM after his name when he hopped on a plane.

"It's certainly an honour, and has taken me somewhat by surprise. It's like getting a reward for something you really enjoy, so of course it's about all the people I've been involved with at the Masters Games.

"In particular, the volunteers and the co-ordinators and managers — these are good people — not to mention wonderful sponsors. They all deserve a medal."

Mr Bezett is a passionate advocate for the Masters Games and the benefits the event can offer to participants.

He played a bunch of sports when he was younger — "I just never stopped training" — and the games were an opportunity to keep that competitive flame burning.

"It gives everybody a chance to compete. We have Olympians, but we also have people who have never done anything in their lives.

"There are huge benefits in terms of health and fitness. People get a reason to get into shape and compete and also socialise and meet new people. I've made some of my best friends being involved with the Masters Games."

The games are New Zealand's largest sporting event, attracting about 5000 competitors to Dunedin and Whanganui in alternate years, and pumping up to $5million into the local economy.

"The fact I've been given this award is recognition of the games, and I'm really proud of that, because it's such a worthy event."

The Dunedin games were cancelled this year due to COVID but should return in 2024.

Mr Bezett was also a member of the Dunedin City Council for 24 years.

Sandra Borland

Invercargill

For services to nursing and the Pacific community

Sandy Borland told her mum when she was 3 that she was going to be a nurse, and she has indeed made caring for the community her life's work.

For more than 30 years, in paid and voluntary roles, she has tended both to people's health needs and also the needs of what was originally a small Pacific Island community in Southland.

Mrs Borland joined the Pacific Health

Clinic soon after opened it opened in February 2002.

"We had one nurse doing half a day when it first started, then it went to one day shared between two nurses," Mrs Borland said.

"I came on board probably six months later ... we went from one patient a week, to three, and now we have about 2000 people on our books, it has grown hugely since then."

As well as serving the southern Pacific community, the clinic had served to bring it together, Mrs Borland said.

"We have a lot of transient people who come here for work. They arrive from the islands with no GP and existing health issues ... we now run a two-room, nurse-led clinic, twice a week."

Mrs Borland has been a voluntary key leader for Miharo Murihiku Trust since 2009, aiding its work in the fields of arts, culture, education and youth development.

She has been an office holder in the Pacifica Invercargill organisation, including two stints as president, and is the current vice-president.

The organisation played an important part in the response to the 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa, gathering baby products, baby baths, Vaseline and other items for nurses in the islands.

Mrs Borland has also served on several advisory boards and been part of the Southern District Health Board's Pacific Island case management team since 2004.

Chris Chilton

Invercargill

For his contributions to music and journalism

Chris Chilton said he was "happy to be a small part of getting wider recognition for Southland's arts and entertainment".

Music was ingrained in Chilton from an early age. His father was a jazz musician, and would often host jazz nights on his farm in Hedgehop, instilling in Chris a love of the form.

He has spent than four decades writing about and performing music in the area and beyond.

"Pretty much from when I started for the Southland Times, I was writing about music, about local bands and local acts and that sort of stuff.

"It's always been the case that for a place with such a small population, we always produce a disproportionate number of really talented people who go on to make their names nationally or internationally, either music or arts or performance. We produce so many artistically...

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