Canterbury residents have been recognised on the New Year Honours list for their personal achievements and contributions to their community.
To be Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Skelton has been recognised for services to environmental law and the earthquake recovery.
The Fendalton resident was appointed as an Environment Canterbury commissioner in 2010 and has been a key player in the development of Christchurch’s post-earthquake Land Use Recovery Plan.
Skelton has been heavily involved in the development and implementation of the Canterbury Water Strategy.
He acted as mediator between the city council and ECan on the development of stormwater management consent processes.
Skelton was instrumental in establishing the Resource Management Law Association in 2002 and was a founding member and inaugural vice president of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand.
He served as the first chair of the Environmental Legal Assistance Fund panel from 2001 to 2008.
As an independent commissioner, Skelton presided over hearings by Environment Waikato concerning the control of nitrates entering Lake Taupō.
He was an advisor to the Local Government and Environment Select Committee on the Resource Management Amendment Bill in 2009.
Skelton served as a judge of the Environment Court from 1978 to 2000 and was appointed as chief freshwater commissioner in 2020.
To be Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Sam Whitelock
Whitelock, who played 180 games for the Crusaders, winning seven Super Rugby titles, and 153 times for New Zealand between 2010 and 2023, has become an Officer of the New Zealand Order Of Merit for his services to rugby and the community.
Whitelock, who retired in 2023, was a key figure in the All Blacks for much of his career including the two World Cup-winning campaigns in 2011 and 2015.
He captained the All Blacks 18 times in his career, and was also an experienced leader in Super Rugby with the Crusaders, skippering the team between 2017 and 2019, when the team was in the midst of a seven year title winning streak.
Off the field, Whitelock's also been active particularly in the farming sector, serving as an ambassador for Farmstrong, a nationwide wellbeing programme for the rural community.
Whitelock's also done philanthropic work with his former secondary school, Fielding High.
Marguerite Christophers
Christophers, who lives in Pegasus, has been recognised for services to para-sports. Christophers has dedicated more than 25 years to people with disabilities and Para sport, retiring in 2024.
Christophers has been the Classification Manager for Paralympics New Zealand since 2009, responsible for the development and implementation of a world leading national classification programme.
She shaped and improved classification for athletes with disabilities, helped national sport organisations understand the needs and requirements of classification, trained classifiers and upskilled athletes and coaches.
She worked for the Halberg Trust from 2000 until 2012, where she delivered sport opportunities for children with disabilities.
During this time, she helped establish and lead the New Zealand Secondary Schools Athletic Classification Programme for young athletes competing at New Zealand Secondary School Athletic Championships.
She trained as a Cerebral Palsy, para cycling and para triathlon classifier and served as the Head of Classification for World Triathlon from 2010 to 2018, developing a classification system to enable Para triathlon to be included at the Paralympic Games in 2016.
In 2023, Christophers was one of four inaugural recipients of the International Paralympic Committee Classification Recognition Award for her contribution to the growth and development of classification within the Paralympic Movement
To be Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Judith Bell
The Shirley resident was the specialist music teacher at Chisnallwood Intermediate from 1999 to 2021.
She was a major influence on the school’s national reputation for music excellence.
Bell ran numerous courses from theory to sound technology and supported the school’s local and national award-winning bands, choir and orchestra.
Outside Chisnallwood, she has held a range of volunteer roles with music organisations and initiatives.
She has co-chaired Music Education Canterbury since 2011 and has been co-artistic director of annual children’s music festival Strum, Strike and Blow since 2013.
Bell was director of the Christchurch Big Band Festival from 2011 to 2021 and was appointed artistic director in 2023.
She helped establish and has chaired the Christchurch Jazz Foundation Trust since its inception in 2015, which oversees the Big Band Festival and other jazz events.
Now a life member, she was on the national board of Music Education New Zealand Aotearoa from 2014 to 2022 and wrote the Kiwicorder resource for primary teachers in 2023.
Bell has presented music papers and workshops internationally at conferences in a range of countries.
Paul Burns
The Prebbleton resident has been recognised for services to Search and Rescue and Fire and Emergency New Zealand. Until retirement in 2024 Burns held several positions with FENZ including as Chief Fire Officer of several brigades across Canterbury, having obtained the rank of Senior Station Officer in 1994.
He became the Leader of the Canterbury based Task Force 2 of USAR in 2002, contributing to the response efforts following the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes.
As a member of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group he has mentored USAR teams. He was a member of the INSARAG Training Working Group between 2010 and 2024, and represented the 57 USAR teams globally.
He was a mentor with the United States Agency for International Deployment, working with the Virginia USAR team.
He mentors the Urban Search and Rescue Teams for the Singapore Civil Defence Force and the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service.
Burns has previously contributed to the training of staff working at Scott Base in Antarctica, both from New Zealand and the United States.
Hodder’s services to conservation and outdoor recreation are being awarded.
He has been a committed volunteer over 50 years from the grass roots level to advising the Department of Conservation and holding positions on conservation boards, research committees and implementation groups.
He has been involved with the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association in various capacities since the late 1960s.
The Spreydon resident became a branch member in 1971, was vice president of the Hawke’s Bay branch from 1978 to 1981, and was a member of the national executive for 24 years until 2005.
He served as national vice president from 1984, then president from 1989 to 1992, and in 2011 was made a life member.
Hodder was a member of the Himalayan Tahr Control Plan Advisory Committee from 1993 to 2018 and a member of the Wapiti Crown Herd Management Committee.
He became chair of a helicopter-hunting sub-committee in 2010 when DOC allowed aerial access for hunting of chamois and tahr.
Hodder has helped organise and run the hunter training programme HUNTS as well as conservation projects.
This involved providing hands-on assistance with trap lines, hut and track maintenance, and formal animal control programmes.
Hodder has helped with search and rescue operations and provided forecast and message relaying services with mountain radio.
Johnson has been contributing to business and technology for 15 years by supporting startup innovators and entrepreneurs.
The Richmond Hill resident served as chief executive of the Ministry of Awesome from 2017 to 2024, and is currently chair of MoA’s electrify programmes.
MoA is an innovation hub which provides support to startups, a coworking space, and a mentoring community for founders in Christchurch.
Johnson has been supporting the national innovation sector through MoA where startups have to-date raised $112 million and generated 344 new jobs at their earliest stages.
She led the establishment of New Zealand’s early stage startup incubator, Electrify Aotearoa, the country’s first ever women’s startup founders’ conference, and Electrify Accelerator which is New Zealand’s only women founders’ startup accelerator.
Johnson is a member of the New Zealand Startup Council and chair of the New Zealand HiTech Trust.
As a member of the startup council, Johnson helped deliver the Upstart Nation Report which advocated for innovation-friendly improvements in New Zealand government settings.
This aimed to help New Zealand grow and succeed as a competitive, globally engaged startup hub.
David Kent
Kent, who lives in Kirwee, has been made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the deaf and hard of hearing community. Kent received his first Cochlear Implant in 1998 and the second in 2011, which restored his hearing, and has since been dedicating his time to the community.
Kent has been a member of the Southern Hearing Charitable Trust Board since 2003 and the Chair since 2007.
He has campaigned for an increase in captioning for free-to-air television and digital media. He was involved in the development of a Public Health Programme aimed at driving a change in the hearing health sector, with a focus on early intervention, healthy aging and reducing inequities for Māori and Pacific communities.
As chair of the Southern Hearing Charitable Trust, he has increased available funding for adult cochlear implants for the Southern region from four to now providing the region with 60 implants per year along with 23 to children.
He contributed to the Captioning Working Group for several years and was subsequently appointed as a member of the ABLE – making media accessible national board in 2017.
He has been a member of the National Foundation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing since 2012, serving as council chair between 2020 and 2023 and currently serves as deputy chair of the board.
Kent secured sponsorship for an annual scholarship with the Southern Hearing Charitable Trust, established in 2019.
Marshall has been playing, coaching, refereeing, and supporting water polo for almost 50 years.
The central city resident started playing water polo in 1974, initially as part of junior teams in Canterbury and Otago before representing New Zealand.
He played 100 games in the New Zealand men’s team from 1981 to 1993, 35 of which were international tests, and captained the side from 1989 to 1993.
He played a key role in the re-establishment of water polo in Canterbury following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
Marshall sourced alternative club training facilities and spearheaded fundraising and sponsorship efforts.
Scholarships were created to encourage new talent into the sport and help import players from overseas to compete.
He has coached various teams since the early 1990s and is often called in to cover coaching shortages for other club teams.
Marshall has been a board member of Canterbury Water Polo for many years and was chair from 2008 to 2022.
He is a life member of both Canterbury and New Zealand Water Polo.
Marshall has led Canterbury Water Polo to be one of the most competitive clubs in New Zealand and coached many athletes who have since competed at a national level.
Ross McQueen
The Rangiora resident has been recognised for services to the community. McQueen has contributed more than 50 years to the Rangiora Smallbore Rifle Club and the Christchurch City Mission.
McQueen has been coaching high school students from Rangiora High School and Kaiapoi High School in small-bore shooting since 1974, coaching 1000 students some of whom have qualified for New Zealand Representative teams.
As mentor and coach, he has guided 20 teams to the National Secondary Championships since 2002, and has been a Range Officer for the Smallbore Championships since 1992.
His involvement with the Christchurch City Mission began in 1976. He has been integral in decision making of property development for the Mission, and has helped guide the build of the residential services department, men’s night shelter, day programmes, food bank and administration buildings.
McQueen is regarded as a pillar of Christchurch City Mission, guiding the organisation through expansion while responding to major events in the Canterbury region.
The King’s Service Order
Goodwin has been recognised for services to survivors of abuse in state care.
The Woolston resident established a support group for survivors of abuse at Christ’s College.
This provided a forum for them to discuss their experiences.
Goodwin is a retired psychiatric nurse who has helped support and advocate for male survivors of abuse.
He draws on his personal experiences as a survivor of abuse in a faith-based boarding school.
He has been a member of the Survivor Advisory Group of Experts for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care since 2019.
SAGE has helped provide the inquiry with guidance and support to engage with survivors and representative organisations on their experiences.
Goodwin has been a member of the Trauma Advisory Group and has remained active within various survivor networks and survivor communities.
Gary Williams
He is recognised for his work advocating for disabled victims of abuse in state care in particular.
The Papanui resident has driven change for disabled people, serving as a specialist consultant to the Government and non-government organisations, through Ngā Hau e Whā National Marae, Your Way Kia Roha Trust and the VisAble Trust.
He is the Government’s non-official member to the negotiating team for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Williams has been a member of the Survivor Advisory Group of Experts for the Royal Commission since 2019.
Through SAGE, Williams has advocated and represented the views of disabled survivors, particularly Māori.
The King’s Service Medal
Alister Argyle
Argyle, who lives in Ashburton, has been recognised for services to the community. Argyle has supported numerous community organisations in Ashburton and the Canterbury region as a lawyer and in governance roles.
He began his career as a practicing solicitor in Ashburton in 1977, since which time he has undertaken extensive pro-bono work for charitable trusts, sports organisations and community groups.
He has offered his legal expertise and business acumen on many organisations’ boards and committees, including the Ashburton Community Water Trust, Ashburton Marriage Guidance Service, Ashburton College Alumni Charitable Trust, Mid-Canterbury Choir Trust, and Mid-Canterbury Cricket Association.
In 2016 he helped to establish the Trott’s Garden Charitable Trust, ensuring the Garden of International Significance was held by the community.
He served on the Cancer Society’s Canterbury-West Coast Executive Committee from 2005 to 2024, helping it to establish a new $22 million facility and expand its workforce, as well as the Ashburton Cancer Support Group.
Argyle served on the Cancer Society’s National Board from 2016 to 2023, including a three-year term as National President.
Coster has been advocating for survivors of abuse for several decades.
She has been a member and board representative of the New Zealand Collective of Abused in State Care Charitable Trust (NZCAST) since its establishment in 2020.
NZCAST is a survivor-led organisation which offers free programmes, educational workshops and support services for survivors of abuse in care and their families.
The Papanui resident was the third generation of her family to have been placed in state care and has been advocating for survivors of abuse to the Royal Commission.
Drawing on her own personal experience of foster care and its impacts on her mental health and relationships, she has advocated to ensure the inquiry accounts for the concerns and interests of all abuse survivors.
Coster has provided support to survivors of abuse through workshops that focus on healing and growth.
Sandra Curd, JP
The Ashburton resident has been recognised for services to the community. Curd is a community advocate in the mid-Canterbury region.
Her community engagement supports rural communities, women’s health and safety and the empowerment of young people.
She has been a dedicated member of Rural Women New Zealand (then known as Women’s Division Federated Farmers) since 1981, serving on its Winchmore Branch as a Secretary, Treasurer and President, and as Chair of the National Conference Committee in 2023.
She has received life membership of the Winchmore Branch and the Mid-Canterbury Provincial Branch.
During severe flooding in Mid Canterbury in 2021, she coordinated the distribution of food parcels to affected families.
As an active member of the Zonta Club of Ashburton, she has also been involved in delivering food through the Meals on Wheels programme, and is a volunteer cook for the 206 Club day programme for the elderly.
She knits hats and gloves for Rural Women New Zealand’s annual Project Warmth initiative to provide essential warm clothing to vulnerable members of the community, and initiated a fundraising calendar project to raise $26,000 for Breast Cancer Research.
Through the Cook and Eat Programme, she teaches children essential cooking skills.
Curd is the President of the Winchmore Community Hall Society and a member of the Kate Sheppard Memorial Trust Advisory Committee.
Hans-Josef Freller
Freller, who hails from Rolleston, has been recognised for services to survivors of abuse in care. Freller (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu) published the memoir ‘Walking on Glass: Finding Strength in a Broken World’ (2019) on his childhood and adolescent experiences in faith-based care institutions.
Freller has used his personal experience to advocate for childhood survivors of abuse in the Catholic Church and by the Order of Brothers of St John of God.
He has coordinated the support for survivors of abuse at Marylands School and has been a spokesperson for the survivors of abuse by the Order of the Brothers of St John of God.
He has helped provide evidence to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions.
Freller’s advocacy has helped draw attention to other abuse in faith-based care under the Order of the Brothers of St John of God and the events which unfolded at these locations.
Darryl Smith
The Rangiora resident has been recognised for services to survivors of abuse in care. Smith has served as the New Zealand Ambassador to the United States of America National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse and has self-published books on his experiences in state care and faith-based institutions.
Smith has campaigned for decades against the abuse in Catholic Churches and state care, raising awareness on the forms of abuse and educational neglect faced by children.
He has provided evidence to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions on the physical and spiritual abuse he faced at Marylands School, and from witnessing the racial abuse suffered by Māori and Pacific children at the school.
His experience has supported the inquiry’s case study on the St John of God abuse, ‘Stolen Lives, Marked Souls’.
He provided evidence to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse – Australia, concluding in 2017.
In 2023 Smith attended the Ending Clergy Abuse Summit in Rome, an organisation of survivors and human rights activists from 24 countries, campaigning to end clergy abuse and bring justice to survivors and their families and taking a stand on state abuse in New Zealand and Australia.
The New Zealand Antarctic Medal
Colin Monteath
Since the 1970s he has been involved with Antarctic field support, archival preservation, literature and photography.
The Cashmere resident has contributed to Antarctica in the areas of tourism and library services.
He has also been a researcher, Antarctica photographer and author.
In 1981, Monteath received a Queen’s Service Medal for his contributions to the Mt Erebus 1979 air crash recovery operation.
After working for the New Zealand Antarctic Research Programme as a field operations officer from 1973 to 1983, he established his reference library on Antarctica.
It is now New Zealand’s most extensive polar library.
Monteath assists authors and publishers both nationally and internationally with information and historic images.
The library is used by researchers, expeditioners, and Canterbury University.
He is a life member of the New Zealand Antarctica Society and is recognised internationally as a leading authority on Antarctica.
Monteath’s work spans 51 years. He has advocated for and promoted conservation practices, as well as safety and security practices in Antarctica.
He has been a photographer and author for numerous book projects, including his award-winning 2023 book Erebus the Ice Dragon – A Portrait of an Antarctic Volcano.
Notably Monteath was principal photographer for the 1985 Reader’s Digest book Antarctica and his photographs have since been published in dozens of polar books.
From 1983 to 2020 he worked as an expedition leader, lecturer and guide for various polar cruise and adventure companies.
