To be a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BUSBY, Mr Hekenukumai Puhipi, ONZM, MBE
For services to Māori
Mr Hekenukumai Busby is a master waka builder and accomplished carver who was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2014 for his services to Māori.
Since that time Mr Busby has maintained his involved in various leadership and committee positions with such organisations as Waitangi National Trust, The Polynesian Voyaging Society in Hawaii, and Te Tai Tokerau Māori District Council. He maintains roles as Senior Advisor to his Iwi of Te Rarawa, Ngati Kahu, Te Aupouri, Ngati Kuri, and Ngapuhi. He is a Kaumatua for Māori Tourism in Northland. He continues to construct waka and impart his knowledge on waka building and traditional navigation techniques from a school established on his property in Aurere, Doubtless Bay. He has been involved with the construction of a twin hulled voyaging waka for the Tairawhiti Voyaging Trust in Gisborne, which is intended as a living classroom for youth to learn traditional Māori voyaging skills. The ceremonial waka Te Hono ki Aotearoa, which was commissioned of him in 2010 and is based in the Netherlands, was most recently used at Menin Gate, Ieper in Belgium to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of Passchendale in October 2017. Mr Busby remains a member of the Waitangi Day Organising Committee after 36 years and continues to be involved with waka activities during Waitangi Day commemorations.
HONOURS
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, New Year 2014
Member of the Order of the British Empire, Queen’s Birthday 1994
New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal
To be a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
ENGLISH, The Right Honourable Simon William (William)
For services to the State
The Right Honourable William English was the 39th Prime Minister of New Zealand from December 2016 to October 2017, during which time he focused on trade relations, the development of social investment, and new ways of the Crown working with Māori.
Mr English was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Wallace (now the Clutha-Southland electorate) in 1990 and was MP for Clutha-Southland until standing as a list only MP in 2014. His first Ministerial roles were as Minister of for Crown Health Enterprises and Associate Minister of Education in early 1996, later being appointed Minister of Health that same year and then Minister of Finance and to the portfolio of Treasurer in 1999. He led the National Party in opposition from October 2017 until stepping down from politics in February 2018, having previously been Leader of the Opposition from 2001 until 2003. Following the 2008 election he became Deputy Prime Minister in the fifth National Government and was appointed Minister of Infrastructure for a single term of Parliament and Minister of Finance. As Finance Minister from 2008 until 2016, Mr English oversaw one of the fastest-growing economies in the developed world, steering New Zealand through the Global Financial Crisis and the Christchurch earthquakes and ensuring the Crown accounts were in a strong financial position.
To be a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
ROWLES, Mr John Edward, OBE
For services to entertainment
Mr John Rowles is an internationally renowned singer and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1979 for his services to the music industry.
Since this appointment Mr Rowles performed in the United States and the United Kingdom and has continued to perform in New Zealand, Australia, and Hawaii. He was part of a Royal Command Performance for Her Majesty The Queen in 1981. He performed a one off show for charity at the Aotea Centre in Auckland in 1990. His 1994 to 1995 nationwide tour ‘Toys for Tots’ raised money for underprivileged children in New Zealand. He funded and performed the Project Hope Tour in 2007 to raise awareness for issues such as teenage suicide. More recently he has had a cameo role in the 2008 film ‘Second-Hand Wedding’, was selected to compete in the 2009 ‘Dancing With the Stars’, and has performed at the New Zealand Music Awards. He performed a farewell tour in 2011 before returning to the stage in 2014 for his ‘I’m Back Again’ Australian tour. Mr Rowles released his autobiography ‘If I Only Had Time’ in 2012 and his anthology album of the same name in 2013.
HONOURS
Officer of the Order of the British Empire, New Year 1979