Ardijah soul singer Betty-Anne Monga receives her gong for services to music

Betty-Anne Monga with former Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand - standing in for Dame Cindy Kiro - receiving her Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit honour. Photo / Supplied

Sweet singing soulster Betty-Anne Monga has received her New Year’s Honours at Government House.

Pictured with former Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand, Betty Anne was part of a musical phenomenon in the early 80s where home-grown Kiwi talent surged.

Monga, (Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāiterangi, Tainui and Tūwharetoa) was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

In an interview with AudioCulture in 2018, Monga — whose maiden name is Hill — said she was one of eight kids and that her family moved to Auckland from Tauranga when she was 3.

Her mother was a soprano and her father played the banjo. “He was terrible,” she said.

Monga is a musician and producer with south Auckland soul group Ardijah, which formed in 1979 and developed their unique “poly-fonk” sound – a blend of Polynesian sounds with funk and R&B.

Ardijah pioneered mainstream popularity of Polynesian music in New Zealand, achieving six top 20 singles and albums reaching the top 10.

Monga said her first attempt at singing was at Kōwhai Intermediate in the central Auckland suburb of Kingsland.

“That was Betty’s Group, the name was only because I played guitar. It was a harmony group, three Samoans and I was the Māori girl.”

With husband Ryan Monga and Ardijah’s band members, they pioneered the mainstream popularity of Polynesian music in Aotearoa, achieving six top-20 singles and albums reaching Top Ten chart status.

Ardijah still performs at festivals and has toured internationally and received numerous awards.

Monga has helped raise the profile of young and emerging artists, supported fundraising causes, and supported and performed at the Vax My Waka event during the Covid-19 pandemic.