Twelve Northlanders are among the 188 recipients on this year’s King’s Birthday Honours list. Locals have received Royal recognition for their outstanding contributions to areas ranging from the Pasifika community and sport, to Māori language education and breast cancer treatment. The Advocate talks to the recipients about their achievements and
King’s Birthday Honours 2025: 12 Northlanders recognised
By Karina Cooper, Denise Piper, Yolisa Tswanya, Brodie Stone, Jenny Ling, Sarah Curtis
Northern Advocate·
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While Phil Paikea has spent more than 30 years helping prevent family violence and supporting his Ruakākā community, he said it is the work he has done on himself that he is most proud of.
The former gang member was a drug and alcohol abuser and a perpetrator of family violence but turned himself around, thanks chiefly to the love and support of his wife, Rowena, he said.
Paikea (Ngāti Whātua, Te Uri O Hau) has been made a companion of the King’s Service Order for services to the prevention of family violence and the community.
Talking about his own journey has been an important part of the way he mentors and inspires others to change.
“A lot of these men come from gang backgrounds. When they hear another man talk about their change, it inspires them to give it a go themselves,” he said.
Paikea’s work includes being a mentor, youth worker and family violence prevention advocate with Bream Bay Community Trust from 1995 to 2019, working with the Ministry of Social Development’s national “It’s Not OK” campaign, co-founding SafeMan SafeFamily in 2019 and helping establish the White Ribbon Ride.
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During the Covid lockdowns, he and Rowena organised a drive-through foodbank in Ruakākā, feeding hundreds of people.
On top of this, the pair provided foster care to 243 children over 20 years, on top of raising their own seven children.
“My wife and I put a lot of time into those foster children and they inspired me to carry on with the work that I do with men,” Paikea said.
“Quite a few of the foster boys still come back with their families and show what they’ve achieved.”
Paikea is now working on a succession plan for SafeMan SafeFamily, supporting two former gang members - both men in their 40s - to step up into his role as a mentor, navigator and advocate against family violence.
He was “astounded” to be made a companion of the King’s Service Order, saying he was simply doing what was his purpose and passion.
Paikea’s goals now are closer to home: to spend more time with his wife, children and 13 grandchildren.
“I now know the value of my children ... coming home when the grandchildren are yelling ‘poppa’, you can’t beat it; it’s better than drugs.”
Dover Samuels for services as a Member of Parliament
When Northland kaumātua and former Government minister Dover Samuels got wind that he’d made this year’s King’s Birthday Honours list, he phoned the Honours office to make sure it wasn’t a scam.
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Reassured that he had indeed been made a companion of the King’s Service Order for services as a Member of Parliament, he thanked the iwi and hapū - Ngāti Kura, Ngāti Rēhia - who nominated him.
The former Labour MP then reminisced about the time he met King Charles, then a prince, who he hongied at Waitangi.
Samuels said the recognition “opens up the reality of challenges facing the next generation and the misplaced idea that the Government is going to fix everything”.
Born in Matauri Bay, Samuels (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kura, Ngāti Rēhia) was in the air force for more than eight years before becoming the first Māori councillor on the Whangaroa County Council before the Far North District Council [FNDC] emerged from the amalgamation of six county and borough councils.
He went on to become a councillor and deputy mayor for FNDC.
He entered Parliament as a Labour list MP in 1996, then was elected Te Tai Tokerau MP from 1999 to 2005.
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Samuels served as a list member again from 2005 until 2008.
During his career, he has held numerous portfolios including Minister of Māori Affairs and Associate Minister of Fisheries and Tourism, Minister of State, and Associate Minister for Economic Development.
He led a delegation of Māori business owners to China, resulting in a Memorandum of Understanding between the Māori Tourism Council and the city of Chongqing.
He was a member of the Māori Affairs Committee, Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister for Economic Development, and a member of the Government Administration and Primary Production Committees.
Samuels has also been a Northland regional councillor, including as a representative on the Te Oneroa-a-Tohe Board.
He helped establish the Rawene Health Hub to provide primary health care to the rural Māori community, and was involved in the redevelopment of Kaitāia and Kawakawa hospitals.
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Samuels was instrumental in getting the Rainbow Warrior ship scuttled at the Cavalli Islands as a memorial and dive attraction following the 1985 bombing by the French secret service.
He is renowned for his trademark stockman pōtae [hat], which he fought successfully to wear in Parliament, and later, at his local Kerikeri ANZ bank.
Samuels was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal for services to New Zealand.
Pita Tipene for services to Māori
Being on national and international boards has not stopped Pita Tipene from most enjoying mucking in with his community.
Tipene (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Te Tārawa) is to be made a companion of the King’s Service Order for services to Māori, after offering governance and leadership for more than 30 years.
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Some of Tipene’s more high-profile roles have included chairing the Waitangi National Trust for seven years, helping lead the world’s first trade agreement between indigenous people, chairing Te Kotahitanga o Nga Hapū Ngāpuhi for 16 years, and presenting to the Waitangi Tribunal on behalf of Ngāti Hine and Ngāpuhi.
He said some of his more memorable achievements have been working with his people on long-term challenges and then being able to celebrate the success with them.
This includes chairing Motatau Marae for 22 years, where Tipene helped lead a $2 million complex development that opened in 2009.
Being involved with the marae helped keep him down-to-earth, Tipene said.
“Even though many of the positions I’ve held have been as chairman, it doesn’t take away from the fact when you’re back on the marae, you’ve got a shovel or a tea towel. You’re giving your blood, sweat and tears like everyone else.
“Mucking in with everyone else is the highlight.”
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Tipene’s roles included 20 years leading Ngāti Hine Forestry Trust - transforming its financial assets through sustainable means - revamping the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Trust assets as director of Keteriki Ltd and helping build Te Hononga Centre with the Hundertwasser Kawakawa Community Trust.
He is a member of the National Iwi Chairs Forum and has chaired the Mānuka Charitable Trust, which protects mānuka as a taonga in the global market.
Earlier this year, Tipene was given the Māori Business Leader Award at the biennial Te Taitokerau Māori Business Excellence Awards.
His goal now is to help Ngāti Hine become strong and contribute to a strong Te Tai Tokerau. The iwi has 45,000 members and is on the cusp of a Treaty of Waitangi settlement.
“The vision is independence or self-reliance, and helping and protecting our most vulnerable. That’s what I have a huge commitment towards.”
Officer of The New Zealand Order of Merit ONZM:
Joe Conrad for services to Māori, particularly kaupapa waka.
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Joe Conrad could scarcely believe it when he received the call to accept the honour of becoming an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori.
Conrad (Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kuri, Ngāi Takoto, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Hauā) has been on the committee of Ngā Waka Federation since 1996 and has been an executive member since 2003.
His work has seen kaupapa waka placed on to the world stage many times, and to be honoured for his efforts was humbling, he said.
Conrad and his whānau have worked tirelessly to preserve and protect kaupapa waka, bringing them to all corners of the world and connecting with other indigenous cultures along the way.
Perhaps his most prestigious role is as kaihautū [captain] of the great waka Ngātokimatawhaorua.
Conrad’s enduring involvement in kaupapa waka has seen Māori culture head to the Pacific coast of America, the Netherlands and elsewhere.
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He had also encouraged wāhine to participate despite previous custom, including daughter Waimirirangi captaining Te Whānau Moana Waka Tētē.
“I think it’s been great to see our wāhine out on the water,” he said.
Conrad said last year’s Waitangi commemorations were an example of the power of kaupapa waka, which drew paddlers nationwide and globally to join.
“It’s more than just paddling a waka,” he said.
It was learning traditions and healing trauma, watching men in particular come in with a “chip on their shoulder” to “standing up straight”.
The power of kaupapa waka was being shared with other indigenous peoples, who were also afflicted with similar issues, such as drug and alcohol abuse and as well as gang involvement, Conrad said.
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One of Conrad’s more recent involvements as a kaumātua and cultural adviser on the board of Tautoko Tane Male Survivors Te Tai Tokerau came about from his involvement in kaupapa waka.
He said he was approached after Waitangi, where they saw the sheer number of young men involved.
Through his role in kaupapa waka, he is now helping men heal the weight of their trauma, he said.
Conrad said the biggest buzz he got was from seeing young men come from dysfunctional families and turn into leaders.
The waka was a metaphor for paddling through the storms and wind, he said.
“And sometimes you need to dig deep and paddle hard to get there.”
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That metaphor was also similarly used for the Rugby World Cup opening ceremony in 2011.
He was asked to help Ngāti Whātua for one of the biggest events in the country’s more recent history.
What they assumed would be 60,000 spectators turned into about 200,000.
The opening ceremony began with a fleet of about 20 waka entering the harbour at the viaduct.
He said in that moment he wanted to show the world that New Zealand was one country and one people.
“The world was beaming into us, and I wanted our people here to see that we are one race.”
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Conrad said he didn’t realise he was so highly thought of to become an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
“To me, the honour is humbling,” he said.
The blessing honoured his father, Nikki, who captained the waka in 1974 for Queen Elizabeth II’s visit, and his mentor Ta Hekenukumai Ngaiwi Busby, who worked tirelessly to preserve kaupapa waka.
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM)
Martin Kaipo for services to social services and the community
Te Hau Āwhiowhio ō Otangarei Trust chief executive and reformed gang leader Martin Kaipo (Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi) is proof change is possible.
His own experience spurs his tireless work within the community to help others transform their lives for the better.
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Kaipo has been made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, 30 years after he and his wife Janine formed the Ōtangarei Trust in the garage of their home.
The trust’s services include housing, employment support, budgeting advice, youth programmes, addiction recovery, counselling and more.
The trust started as a safe space for youth to converge and keep entertained and has grown exponentially.
“We are in every sector, from education to health and justice,” Kaipo said.
His vision was to provide services from “cradle to grave,” and he said the trust had finally reached that goal.
The offering includes wraparound support for people out on bail and the newly opened Te Whare o Rehua nurse-led clinic for accessible healthcare.
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Some of the trust’s other programmes include the Rakau Rangatira initiative, which integrates social and health intervention to increase employment opportunities and enhance recovery for people suffering from mental health conditions and a history of substance abuse.
Kaipo credited Janine, who is the trust’s operations manager, and family for giving him the grounding to achieve what he has.
His proudest moments have been through his academia, which he said set an example to his children and mokopuna.
He is on his way to completing a doctorate exploring the impact of gangs in the community and what resources help create a blueprint for change.
His PhD asks the question of how change can be created for marginalised whānau Māori, he said.
That follows his other qualifications, including a Bachelor’s of Social Sciences and a Master’s in Māori Development.
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Kaipo said the trust’s work was deeply rooted in the reality that those within the community belong no matter what.
“They’re still family. We don’t accept some of the behaviours but we can’t ignore the fact they’re family members, uncles and partners.”
Kaipo said his own past made him a model for his peers, that change was possible with the right support and resources.
“I’ve managed to make some of them shift in terms of being the provider and not only the protector, being a part of activities with their families. Some of them own their homes because they’ve got jobs.
“I think everybody is looking for change, especially if you’ve never had it,” he said.
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He described being made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit as an honour.
He said it had been difficult to keep such a huge secret.
Kaipo said he couldn’t have achieved what he had so far without the 70 passionate staff employed through the Ōtangarei Trust.
The recognition was huge and the work and learning never stopped, he said.
“There’s always something you’re going to learn out there.”
Johnny Kumitau for services to the Pasifika community
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This year has been one filled with blessings, says Pasifika leader John Junior Kumitau - affectionately known as Johnny.
Not only is he expecting his first grandchild in September, but he has also received what he calls the “huge and special honour” of becoming a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Kumitau is being recognised for his outstanding contributions to the Pasifika community in Northland, particularly the Niuean population, over the past 20 years.
Raised traditionally by his grandparents in Niue, Kumitau came to New Zealand as an 18-year-old in 1985. He has dedicated his life here to uplifting Māori and Pasifika youth and adults through early intervention, prevention, and community-building initiatives. His leadership has been instrumental in shaping inclusive and supportive environments for Pasifika families across the region.
Kumitau and his Māori partner, with whom he has five of his six children, chose Northland as their home mainly because of her family roots here. The region’s bush-clad landscape and paths to the ocean reminded Kumitau of Niue, while the welcoming people and cultural diversity also made him feel at home, he said.
His community involvement comes naturally and reflects the way he was raised. He carries the traditional values instilled in him by his grandfather and nanna everywhere he goes.
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From 2002 to 2022, he served as the board chair of the Northland Pasifika Islands Charitable Trust Board, an organisation committed to promoting healthy, active lifestyles and bridging cultural divides between Island-born and New Zealand-born Pasifika peoples.
He has also led the Niue Community Whangārei as chair since 2001 and has been co-chair of the Multi-Ethnic Community Advisory Board since 2020, ensuring the voices of Pasifika Islanders and other ethnic communities are represented in local government decisions.
In addition to his community advocacy, Kumitau holds several key leadership roles, including deputy chair of both the Te Matarau Trust and the Whangārei Intermediate School Board. He also chairs the Northland Police Pasifika Advisory Group, where he fosters trust and collaboration between the Pasifika community and law enforcement.
Kumitau says it wasn’t until the Covid lockdown that he fully realised the extent of the Pasifika population in Northland. As the lockdown persisted, the community increasingly reached out.
He is proud of the Northland Pasifika community and the way they come together to share their cultures with the wider community at events like the Pasifika Fusion Festival.
He enjoys being out in the community, working directly with people and helping them secure their place in New Zealand society while remaining strong in their cultural identity.
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Since 2022, Kumitau has served as general manager of Fale Pasifika Te Tai Tokerau, a vital organisation that supports Pasifika families - especially in rural and remote areas - by providing essential resources and advocacy.
Kumitau says he is grateful to those who nominated him for this honour for their belief in him, and to all the people in his life, including his extended whanau and the Northland Pasifika community, whose support has been integral to all his achievements.
He says he feels “pleased and blessed” to be able to do what he does for the community.
Dr Maxine Ronald for services to breast cancer treatment and research
Dr Maxine Ronald (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wai) says there was never a set plan for where she would take her life.
“I always wanted to do something to help Māori, that was one of my key drivers for doing medicine.”
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Becoming a specialist in breast cancer surgery seemed like a natural evolution to Ronald as she learned on her career pathway that Māori experienced significantly worse outcomes.
“Breast cancer, because it’s such a common cancer, is again where we see quite significant inequities,” she said.
Ronald’s experience with breast cancer lies not only with her patients. She was diagnosed four years ago and paused work to undergo treatment.
However, her dedication to seeking equity continued.
“It forced me to take some time away from my surgical job and opened up opportunities to contribute in a different way and not just with my clinical work,” Ronald said.
She was the first indigenous councillor at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) and former chair of its Indigenous Health Committee.
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Through these roles she sought to improve outcomes for indigenious people in Australia and New Zealand, as well as increasing the indigenous surgical workforce.
“We know that there are significant barriers to those groups progressing into specialities like surgery, and how helpful it is for communities to have people they connect with care for them.”
Ronald bolstered her efforts by playing a significant role in developing a cultural safety and competency framework for surgical trainees.
“It’s so important that people are able to connect with people of all different cultures and backgrounds.”
Ronald was awarded the RACS Māori Health Medal in 2023 as recognition of her advocacy for indigenous health equity.
The following year she was the recipient of the Hei Āhuru Mōwai Māori Cancer Leadership Aotearoa, Breast Cancer Cure (BCC) and Breast Cancer Foundation New Zealand (BCFNZ) Breast Cancer Fellowship.
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Ronald will use the three-year fellowship to address breast cancer inequities and advocate for Māori health equity. She is also focused on building Māori capability and leadership in breast cancer research.
Ronald credited her fellowship success to friend and public health physician Dr Nina Scott.
“I’ve been super-supported by lots of people who are doing the same work I’m doing,” she said.
Her drive for change also funnels into her roles as a member of Hei Āhuru Mōwai, Te Pae Whakatere, the Medical Workforce Steering Committee, the National Māori Pandemic Group, and formerly as a clinical expert adviser for the Māori Health Authority.
Ronald admitted she felt a bit uncomfortable with the individual recognition of a King’s Birthday Honour given how many others were doing amazing work.
“It’s never about one person, it’s always about a network of people,” she said.
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King’s Service Medal (KSM)
John and Lily Coleman for services to community and sport
A Northland couple who dedicated their lives to serving their communities have been recognised in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours.
John and Lily Coleman, from rural Kaikohe, were made companions of the King’s Service Order for services to the community and sport on June 2.
Lily said they were “honoured” with the award, but said “other people are just as deserving”.
“We know other people do great things in our town too.
“We have worked with many wonderful volunteers and many are our lifelong friends.”
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The Colemans, who are still farming in their 80s, moved to Northland with five carriages of cattle and stock in 1966.
While running their farm and raising four children, they dedicated their lives to the wider Kaikohe and Bay of Islands communities.
In total, they contributed 59 years of voluntary service, including as key sponsors of the Kaikohe Agricultural, Pastoral and Horticultural Show, teaching children how to swim, and helping with athletics.
The Colemans served on the committees of Kaikohe West School, Kaikohe Intermediate and Northland College for more than 20 years, helping with school trips, hosting farm visits, and fundraising for student activities.
John was a rugby referee for the Bay of Islands area and was on the Bay of Islands Federated Farmers committee for two decades, serving as president in 1995.
He was a member of the Kaikohe Community Board from 1984 to 1990, and was head coach of the Kaikohe Swimming Club between 1980 and 2020.
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John said he was “humbled” by the King’s Birthday Honours.
Asked how he and Lily fitted their volunteer work around farming, he said:
“We travelled around a lot and came back to milk the cows.
“You look back and wonder where the energy comes from.”
Lily was also a swimming coach at Kaikohe Swimming Club for more than 40 years, and was a Speld tutor, teaching children with learning disabilities to read from her home.
She was an active member of Kaikohe Rural Women’s Division, and held various roles with Kaikohe Athletic Club and the Harrier Club.
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Lily also officiated athletics at local and regional levels and the New Zealand Colgate Games.
In 2023, the couple carved off 4ha of their land encompassing the Pākinga Pā and gifted it back to local hapū.
The Colemans were finalists for Kiwibank’s 2025 Senior New Zealander of the Year Award, and were honoured with the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.
Ngahau and Debbie Davis for services to the community
A new chapter began for down-and-out Moerewa 30 years ago with the return of husband and wife duo, Ngahau and Debbie Davis.
The couple of 45 years were the driving force behind grassroots organisation He Iwi Kotahi Tātou Trust.
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The trust started in 1987 as a means to address housing, food security, youth engagement, employment and more.
Ngahau (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Manu, Kohatutaka) and Debbie (Ngāti Pāhauwera, Ngāti Kahungunu) wanted to restore pride and mana among the people of Moerewa.
“We used to joke that people would be from Moerewa but they’d give their address like they’re from Kawakawa or somewhere else,” Ngahau said.
“There was so much whakama [shame].”
Ngahau said the trust had sought to understand what happened in and to Moerewa in order to help the community move forward.
Lives were changed through Healthy Homes Tai Tokerau - a joint venture with the Community Business and Environment Centre (CBEC) in Kaitāia and government agencies.
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The initiative has provided insulation and heating to more than 12,000 homes across Northland since its 2008 debut.
The trust also developed food rescue programmes to reduce waste and redistribute surplus from businesses, cafes, and supermarkets to families in need.
The couple introduced programmes that blended sport with Māori traditions to engage young people with their culture.
They expanded whānau support services to include counselling, school programmes, drug and alcohol programmes.
“A lot of our work has been about empowering the community to be able to take control, to address its own issues, but also hold accountable those who have influence on what happens to our community,” Ngahau said.
He said one of the efforts he is most proud of was the couple’s involvement in establishing the Matariki Court in Kaikohe.
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The court allows a person who has pleaded guilty to an offence the option to participate in a culturally appropriate rehabilitation programmed before court sentence is imposed.
Ngahau said when he and Debbie moved home to Moerewa with their four children, the town was in a dark place.
“We felt a calling to come home, to take up the baton and reinforce the values I was brought up with,” he said.
“People just see the bad things but this is a good community. As poor as they are, when the ship goes down these fullas give the shirts off their backs.”
The humble couple say their King’s Birthday Honour belongs to more than just them.
“We are just a part of a whole range of people in our community that have played an amazing part in turning things around,” Ngahau said.
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Katerina Hepi for services to Māori language education
“I don’t think I’ve done anything special,” says Katerina Bina Hepi, as she processes the surprise of receiving a King’s Service Medal.
“It’s just something I enjoy, it’s something I have always done.”
But for thousands of tamariki and whānau who have passed through the Kōhanga Reo National Trust where Hepi has worked for over three decades, what she has done is far from ordinary.
Hepi, from Kawakawa, has been awarded a King’s Service Medal for services to Māori language education.
For more than 37 years she has been committed to the revitalisation of te reo Māori and tikanga through the Kōhanga Reo movement where she is well regarded for sharing her knowledge freely on all things related to the Kōhanga Reo kaupapa.
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“I was fortunate enough to grow up in a family where my parents spoke te reo Māori and I was brought up surrounded by whānau who had te reo values and I wanted to share that with others who may have missed out.
“If I can share a part of me with children and see the outcomes, it makes me so happy for them.”
Hepi said over the years she has seen many children and families who have come through kōhanga now speak Māori fluently.
“There are so many people that speak Māori and when you see and hear parents speaking to their children in Māori, that is really special.
“English is there, but it can’t beat your own.”
Hepi has also encouraged waiata gatherings for Kohanga whānau and has written simple books and waiata for tamariki.
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Hepi has also been involved with organising celebrations in the region for kaumātua and kuia, regional anniversaries and graduations of students from their courses.
“It’s a vision that was set by old people, it’s their journey. They are not here, and I am helping to carry it through.
“It is very important for children to be nurtured in te reo, I am passionate about that.”
Hepi said receiving the honour was a surprise, one she was reluctant to accept.
“I am so humbled. I never thought it would happen to me. My children were the ones jumping up and down and they were worried I wouldn’t say yes as I was two-minded about it.
“My older grandchild said I need to sign it and accept it and I did. I feel very honoured.”
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