MEMBER OF THE NEW ZEALAND ORDER OF MERIT (MNZM)
An advocate, campaigner and promoter of conservation issues in Southland for more than 35 years, Chris Henderson has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
The award honours her efforts as chairwoman of the successful Save Manapouri Campaign and as a long-time member of the Guardians of Lake Manapouri.
The Lumsden woman was involved in the Doubtful Sound Marine Focus Group in the successful campaign to prevent tankers entering the sound to take fresh water in the 1980s.
Mrs Henderson was involved in the creation of the South West World Heritage area, the protection of the Waitutu forest and was the driving force behind the campaign to stop the the proposed Castlerock Airport in Northern Southland, for which she used her own personal resources to ensure its success.
She has also been involved in a raft of conservation projects in the South, including the Invercargill Estuary enhancement and the Makarewa stabilisation project while consistently campaigning to end native forest logging and promote energy conservation.
A 35-year member of the Southland branch of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, Mrs Henderson served on the national executive and has voluntarily represented the society at many ecological hearings and workshops.
She is also a long-time member of the Southland Historic Places Trust and a member of the Southland Rural Heritage Trust, where she spent time advocating for the preservation of the Lumsden Railway Station and Lumsden Buffalo Hall.
Mrs Henderson was a government appointee to the Guardians of the Lakes, a member of the Waiau working party and served on the Southland Ecological Action Group, the Southland Progress League and the Southland Resource Monitor Group.
A contemporary Pacific painter and one of the few rock art specialists in New Zealand has become a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
