Keith Neylon is an Invercargill-based farmer who was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to agriculture.
He recognised the potential in large-scale sheep milking and his company Blue River Dairy Products now milks 12,000 sheep and is forming international export markets for its products.
David Adamson, of Invercargill, received a Queen's Service Medal for services to the New Zealand Fire Service.
He has been the local government representative on the National Rural Fire Advisory Committee for 11 years and led the establishment of the Southern Rural Fire Authority.
The Southland District Council chief executive officer has served as chairman of the Fire and Rescue Services Industry Training Organisation and helped develop the National Rural Fire Authority's strategic plan.
Irene Barnes, of Manapouri, received a Queen's Service Medal for more than 40 years of community work in the Fiordland area.
Along with being part of the Manapouri and Te Anau local governments for 30 years, she is ambassador of the Kepler Challenge Mountain Run, and patron of the Fiordland Athletic Club.
Mrs Barnes was a founding member of the Guardians of Fiordland Fisheries and Marine Environment which received the Green Ribbon Award from the Ministry for the Environment in 2005 and helped pass the Fiordland Marine Conservation Act in 2005.
George Brown was honoured to receive a Queen's Service Medal for his work as a Cook Island kaumatua in Invercargill.
He is an active member and assistant chairman of the Pacific Island Advisory and Cultural Trust and is the longest-serving member of the Mangaia Club.
Desmond Templeton, of Riverton, was awarded a Queen's Service Medal for services to flax-milling heritage before his death last month.
He worked at the Templeton Flax Mill, built in the 1800s, from 1947 to 1972, formed a charitable trust in 2001 to restore it, and established the Templeton Flax Mill Heritage Museum in 2004.
