The Governor-General, Sir Anand Satyanand and Susan, Lady Satyanand, presented the teens with the Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Award Gold Award, the Queen's Guide Award, and the Queen's Scout Award at a function in Dunedin.
Thirty-nine of the recipients were from secondary schools and scouting and guiding groups from around Otago and Southland, while others were from Canterbury and the North Island.
The Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Award chairman, Andrew Meehan, told the audience at St Hilda's Collegiate School the recipients were part of an elite group across 113 countries, and the award might open doors for the teenagers for years to come.
Christian Robinson, of St Kevin's College, in Oamaru, was one of many recipients who volunteered at a community organisation in their work towards the award.
He worked with people with intellectual disabilities, and helped a man learn how to use a computer.
Samuel Hand, also of St Kevin's College, considered his time tramping to be one of the greatest experiences.
However, his experience was far from typical: as one of only two boys in his eight-strong tramping group, he slept in cold woodsheds or tents while the girls slept in huts.
This year was the first that the Young New Zealanders' Challenge of the Duke of Edinburgh Award was offered with the new name.
It was renamed the Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Award last year.
Southern recipients:
Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Award Gold Award: Blue Mountain College: Marie Crawford, Jamie Mackenzie, Tessa McCall, Todd Murray; Cromwell College: Kenzie Jackson, Margot Streeter; Gore High School: Emily Wallace; John McGlashan College: Mathew Darling, Luke Robson, Aaron Shields; Mount Aspiring College: Hannah Lumsden; Northeast Valley Sacred Heart Youth Group: Linnea Helm, Meaghan Kelly, Maria Kennedy, Griffin Leonard; Otago Girls' High School: Hannah Harland, Jane McMecking, Nico Radley-Matravers, Anna Scadden; South Otago High School: Steven Gallagher, Amber McCall, Cory Sutton, Thomas Telford; St Hilda's Collegiate School: Katherine Laney, Olivia Nicholson, Sophie Nicholson, Brittany Pannett, Nicola Woodhead; St Kevin's College: Summer Forgie, James Gourlay, Samuel Hand, Zoe O'Neill, Christian Robinson; Waitaki Boys' High School: Carl Sinclair.
Queen's Guide Award: Lauren Dewhirst, Anna Fields, Melissa Hyslop, Eve Moodie.
Queen's Scout and The Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Award Gold Award: Sarah McCorkindale.
Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Award recipients, from outside of the Southern region: Benjamin Werkmeister (Christ's College), Jonathan Werkmeister (Christ's College), Alice Barker (Craighead Diocesan School), Alexandra Fleming (Craighead Diocesan School), Rosemary Miller (Craighead Diocesan School), Rachel Morton (Craighead Diocesan School), Peter Franklin (Palmerston North Boys High), Alexandra Morrison (Roncalli College), Bridget Watson (Roncalli College), Clara Watson (Roncalli College), Grace Wellington (Samuel Marsden Collegiate), Matthew Stuart (Wanganui High School).
