Recognising Achievers 2006

Information on previous recognising achievers:

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Recognising Achievers 2006

We would like to celebrate the good work of people and organisations in promoting the inclusion, visibility and participation of disabled people in society. The Office has identified the following disabled people and people working in the disability sector who have been recognised this year.

If you know of other people who have been recognised, or examples of good practice and work that should be acknowledged, please let us know. This can include disabled persons, people and organisation in the community and disability sector, local and central government, and businesses. You can email us at: odi@msd.govt.nz.

New Zealand Honours are announced twice a year, at New Years and at Queen's Birthday. To find out how to nominate a person for a New Zealand Honour or about people who have been awarded Honours, contact the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Disabled people

  • Linda Beck (Christchurch): has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to disabled people. Ms Beck is a lawyer specialising in legal consultancy and advocacy for disabled people. She is a trustee of the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind (RNZFB) and past chair of the Association of Blind citizens, Christchurch Branch. She is involved in a number of disability groups and review boards including Workbridge, the National Advisory Council to the New Zealand Action Plan for Human Rights and the DPA National Executive. She is a legal advisor for Head Injuries Society Canterbury and also volunteers her time at the Christchurch Community law Centre. She received the Blind Achievers Award for Academic Study from RNZFB in 2000, an academic scholarship from the New Zealand Federation of University Women in 2000 and a doctoral scholarship from the University of Canterbury in 2000.
  • Sara Georgeson (Wellington): has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to disabled people. Ms Georgeson is a disability support co-ordinator with 15 years experience as a social worker, working with people from a range of backgrounds and age groups. She is on the National Advisory Committee on Health and Disability as a representative for the disability sector and was a long serving contributor to the work of the Disabled Peoples Assembly (DPA) at regional, national and international level. She has been a member of Palmerston North and Districts DPA since 1983 and has served as president and vice president. She has also served on the DPA National Executive Committee and as national vice president. She has represented DPA in international forums, attending Disabled Persons International Leadership Training Seminars in Fiji and China, and the Disabled Persons International World Congress in Japan.
  • Shirley Hazelwood (Kaponga): has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours with the Queen’s Service Medal for Community Service (QSM). Mrs Hazelwood, who developed polio in 1948, started a post polio support group in 1993, and has been the field officer for almost 15 years. She has been an advocate to change attitudes towards disabled people, through helping to write a book on polio and its effects, letters to the editor, speaking at meetings and other activities to improve accessibility to buildings in the community. She is a member of the Taranaki DPA, the Kaponga Progressive Society and is a contact person for the Probation Service.
  • June Ombler (Wellington): has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours with the Queen’s Service Medal for Community Service (QSM). Mrs Ombler has contributed to community work, in particular to disability support and advocacy in Otago, for more than 25 years. She was a member of a number of organisations, including Aged Care Consultative Committee, Otago District Health Board, the New Zealand Foundation of the Blind, the Dunedin Advisory Committee of the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind, the Retina Society and was a founding member of the National Assembly of Disabled Persons. She established a charitable trust to provide grants to help students with vision impairment undertake tertiary study and a research scholarship for the study of the retina. She has received a number of community awards, including the Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Achievement by the RNZFB in 1993, the Caltex and Dunedin Unsung Hero Award in 1995, the Orangi Kaupapa Trust Award for Community Service in 1996 and the Certificate of Honorary Life Membership for Outstanding Service to the Retina Society in 1999.
  • Paul Munckhof (Auckland): has been recognised in the New Year's Honours as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM). He became involved with the sport of Boccia (an Italian form of bowls) through the Cerebral Palsy Society in about 1995, and has since competed in the Australian National Boccia Champions at the Multi-Disability Games, the Boccia World Championships, the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games, and the Boccia World Cup. He is New Zealand president of the Boccia Association of New Zealand, an office-holder of the South Auckland Boccia Club and an Internationally accredited Boccia referee. He designed and developed the Boccia Association website. He compiles a newsletter for the Auckland University of Technology about top sports people who attend the university.
  • Colin Willis (Christchurch): has been recognised in the New Year's Honours as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM). He is a shooter and five-time Paralympian. Born with Spina Bifida, he also competed in field events and wheelchair basketball before taking up shooting 26 years ago. He won a gold medal at the European Championships in Denmark in 2001 and a silver medal at the World Championships in Spain in 1998. He has also won a host of New Zealand, Australian and Oceania titles. In the 1982 Far East and South Pacific (FESPIC) Games he won four gold and one silver medals in the air rifle category. He also won gold and silver at the same games in 1994, equalling the world record at that time. Prior to his recent retirement, he competed at five Paralympic Games between 1984 and 2004.

Disability and community sector

  • Anne Bray (Dunedin): has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to medical research. Professor Bray has been a significant contributor in the promotion and undertaking of applied research and education in the area of intellectual disability. She has been Director of the Donald Beasley Institute for more than 20 years and Associate Dean, Health Science at the University of Otago. She has been a member of the Council for Exceptional Children, the Otago Area Health Board for more 20 years, the Research Advisory Committee on Health and Disability Service Ethics, the National Ethics Advisory Committee and an arbitrator under the Education Act since 1999. She wrote “Multiple Sclerosis and Your Emotions”, co-authored “Growing Up: the Politics of Human Learning” and contributed numerous articles to research journals. She was awarded the Law Book Company Prize in the Legal System by the Law Faculty, University of Otago in 1990 and 1994.
  • Gordon Sanderson (Dunedin): has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to people with vision impairments. Mr Sanderson is a senior lecturer in Ophthalmology at the Otago Medical School, in which role he has been a dedicated mentor and supporter for trainees. He was Chair of the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind from 1994 to 2002, when he oversaw the change in the Foundation’s governance. He was secretary of the Save Sight Society, a group active in the area of blindness prevention, a member of the advisory board of Retina New Zealand Inc, and a trustee of Glaucoma, New Zealand. He is regarded as a source of authoritive information on all aspects of eye care, and has been on the board of Homai College for the Blind, the New Zealand National Eye Bank and the New Zealand Contact Lens Society.
  • Marlene Lamb (Hamilton): has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours with the Queen’s Service Medal for Community Service (QSM). Mrs Lamb has a long record of national and community service, particularly in the areas of the intellectual disability and women. From 1960 to 1980 she was involved in church, Playcentre, Plunket, Save the Children, Women's Division of Federated Farmers and International Training in Communication (ITC). In 1978 she became an accredited marriage guidance counsellor and conciliator and a tutor for Waikato Marriage Guidance. From 1991 to 1997 she was a member of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control, from 1991 to 2001 a Community Member of the Waikato Benefit Review Committee and from 1993 to 1997 a trustee of the Trustbank Waikato Community Trust. From 1997 to 2000 she was Trustee, Executive Officer and then Chairperson of the Mary Andrew Literacy Training Trust. She has been involved with IHC since 1994, holding positions as President of the Waikato South Branch and a member of the New Zealand Council, and was a member of the IHC Board of Governance from 2001 to 2003. From 1994 to 2005 she was the non- medical member of the Abortion Supervisory Committee.
  • Valerie Poszeluk (Napier): has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours with the Queen’s Service Medal for Community Service (QSM). Mrs Poszeluk has been active in the senior and disabled communities of Hawke’s Bay for thank 35 years. She was involved with the Parkinsons Society of Hawke’s Bay for 15 years. She was cordinator of the Napier Christmas Cheer Appeal for 15 years, a volunteer at the Pueora Home teaching swimming to disabled children, a volunteer with the Paralympics swimming team in 1976, president of DPA and director of the Disability Training Service. She was also a volunteer with CCS, a support person with the Prisoners Aid and Rehabilitation Society and coordinator of Elder Abuse Team.
  • Kihi Ngatai (Tauranga): has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours with the Queen’s Service Medal for Public Services (QSM). Kihi Ngatai has been a kaumautua in the Tauranga community for more than 15 years. He has been the kaumautua for a number of Tauranga District Council committees, including the Museum Governing Board, the Kaumautua Forum and supports the Takawaenga Maori Unit. He has been the kaumautua for Mount Maunganui College, CCS Bay of Plenty and member of Koeki Taumata, the national Kaumatua council for CCS and was the kaumatua for Tauranga Girl's College until 2002.
  • Mabel Ngatai (Tauranga): has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours with the Queen’s Service Medal for Public Services (QSM). Mrs Ngatai has been actively involved in the Tauranga community for more than 40 years. She has supported the Tauranga City Council by welcoming dignitaries, is kaumautua on a number of council committees and projects, and has supported the Takawaenga Māori Unit for more than 20 years. She was a Tauranga District Council member. She has been the kaumautua for CCS Bay of Plenty and a member of Koeke Taumata, National Board member CCS, and on the national Kaumatua council for CCS and kaumtua for Mount Maunganui College for more than 15 years.
  • Barbara Lim (Te Awamutu): has been recognised in the New Year's Honours as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM). She has given more than 16 years of voluntary service and support to the Waikato Chinese Association. She organises the Waikato Chinese Society events and has ensured that the society takes a full part in the wider community in sports and cultural activities. She is past secretary of the Waikato Branch of the New Zealand Chinese Association, and therapist and secretary of the Te Awamutu Hearing Association.
  • John Raeburn (North Shore City): has been recognised in the New Year's Honours as a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for Community Service (QSO). He has made an important contribution to the health and well-being of his community for over 30 years. He pioneered the development of community houses leading to their being established nationally. He developed SuperHealth and The PEOPLE System, both community based health lifestyle programmes. He was chair of the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand for 8 years and has been a member of the Problem Gambling Foundation since 1981. He was also chair of the Auckland Branch of the New Zealand Psychological Society. He was involved with the development of the first global health promotion, the Ottawa Charter, and is now engaged with its successor the Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion. He was appointed Associate Professor of Behavioural Science at the University of Auckland in 1989, where he has taught for 33 years. He has contributed to numerous publications and international conferences.
  • John Hercus (Christchurch): has been recognised in the New Year's Honours as a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for Public Services (QSO). He has made a major contribution to the development of vocational and continuing tertiary education in New Zealand. He played a key role in the reform of the polytechnic sector in the 1980s and, as director of the Christchurch Polytechnic for 19 years to 1993, he pioneered new courses for women, provided childcare facilities to allow greater educational access for parents, encouraged the involvement of the Māori and Pacific Island communities and facilitated participation of people with disabilities. He introduced innovative courses in the fields of Asian languages for those involved with tourism and established the New Zealand Broadcasting School at the Polytechnic. He initiated the formation of Polytechnics International New Zealand. He was awarded a Nuffield Scholarship in 1977 and a Woolf Fisher Scholarship in 1980. He has been actively involved in international development since he retired in 1993. He is a member of the Boards of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, the Metrological Service of New Zealand and the New Zealand Fire Service Commission.
  • Rewa Crawley (Blenheim): has been recognised in the New Year's Honours with a Queen's Service Medal for Community Service (QSM). She has taught piano and music theory in Blenheim for over 60 years and is known for the enthusiasm she engenders and excellence she produces in her students. She continues to teach six days a week and currently has 55 students, preparing for competitions. She teaches music at Tuamarina and Rapaura country schools weekly and helps with the Marlborough Competition Society examinations, the Nativity Church, Marlborough Boys College and Marlborough Girls College on a voluntary basis. She founded the Junior Music Circle to showcase young talent in Blenheim and takes young pupils to play for seniors at local retirement villages. She received a Marlborough District Council Civic Award in 2001. She established a Neighbourhood Watch Group was member of Zonta and the Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind.
  • Alwynne Crowsen (Waitakere City): has been recognised in the New Year's Honours with a Queen's Service Medal for Community Service (QSM). She has made a significant contribution to people with visual impairments as a volunteer Braille transcriber for the Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind for over 40 years, having translated over 280 books. She has also made a major contribution to embroidery and lace making. She has taught at the Workers Educational Association community night classes at Lyndfield and Rutherford Colleges and at the Titirangi Community House for over 25 years. She established the Embroiderers and Lace makers Guild in 1970 and wrote Lace makers in New Zealand before 1970. She is currently assisting with documenting of the Auckland Museum lace collection.
  • William Overton (Dunedin): has been recognised in the New Year's Honours with a Queen's Service Medal for Community Service (QSM). He established a wheelchair taxi service in Dunedin when Cherry Farm closed in the 1990s, and has transported people with intellectual and physical disabilities around Dunedin ever since, with between 200 and 300 trips per week. His initiative and commitment to providing services for these people has been called inspirational. On Christmas Day he makes over 100 trips with wheelchair customers, giving up his day with his family to do so.
  • Josephine Parsons (Christchurch): has been recognised in the New Year's Honours with a Queen's Service Medal for Community Service (QSM). She has given more than 30 years of voluntary service to the St John of God Organisation. She assisted at the St John of God school for children with intellectual disabilities until its closure, after which time she became a volunteer in the hospital which caters for long term residents with disabilities or terminal illness. She has raised funds for the St John of God Auxiliary by holding stalls at the hospital and within the community, provided follow up support to residents now living in the community and supported the Day Care Programme while it operated in the hospital. She organises a weekly shopping trip for residents of the hospital and takes them to church. She is a member of the Welfare Section of the Halswell Civil Defence.
  • Dorothy Tortell (Paekakariki): has been recognised in the New Year's Honours with a Queen's Service Medal for Community Service (QSM). She has been employed by the Wellington Huntington's Disease Association since 1993 to provide support, advice, advocacy and information to those with the disease, those at risk, their families and their caregivers. She has been responsible for raising the profile of Huntington's Disease in New Zealand and has helped educate the public and society at large about the facts of this disease. She has been involved in planning, organising and facilitating annual camps for young people with the disease. She has represented New Zealand at several international conferences, and has organised and facilitated three conferences in New Zealand. Her vision and hard work resulted in the opening in 2004 of Amaryllis House, the first home specifically designed for people with Huntington's Disease.
  • Epafala Auimatagi (Waitakere City): has been recognised in the New Year's Honours with a Queen's Service Medal for Public Services (QSM).He has worked to provide greater support, education, cultural awareness and health services to Pacific peoples. He worked with the Justice Department to help prevent young people re-offending and assisted the Probation Service in an advisory role. He assisted in setting up the Pacific Islands interpreter service in Auckland and the Tu-Tagata programme in high schools, educating students and their families on the New Zealand education system. He was a social worker at Carrington Mental Health Hospital and senior cultural advisor at the Auckland Forensic Psychiatry Services. He initiated the set up of Lotofale Pacific Island Mental Health Service, A+ Health Provider, the Pacific Island Mental Health Service Isalei and the Penina Trust NGO Mental Health Service. He was a member of the first Pacific Island Advisory Board, Mental Health Commission for six years, the Rutherford High School Board of Trustees for three years, the Māori Committee of West Auckland for 15 years and the Pacific Island Church Executive Board for three years. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1982.
  • Eileen O'Callaghan (Wainuiomata): has been recognised in the New Year's Honours with a Queen's Service Medal for Public Services (QSM). Her commitment and contributions to the Wellington ParaFed organisation over 35 years has made a major impact on the lives of many hundreds of people with disabilities. She has served ParaFed Wellington since 1970 and continues to do so today. She has maintained the Association's archives and register of members for more than 30 years, served as mobility coordinator for nine years, welfare officer for 24 years, organised and run the National Disabled Holiday Camps in Otaki for 10 years and assisted in the development of a number of National Conferences over a 10 year period. She was a field events judge at national athletics meetings in the 1970s and an athletics judge at the 4th Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in 1973.
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