Te Warihi Kokowai Hetaraka has been made an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to Māori and art.
Te Warihi Hetaraka (Ngāti Wai, Ngāpuhi, Tainui) was shocked and humbled to receive his honour.
Since being chosen to represent Te Tai Tokerau at the NZ Māori Arts and Crafts Institute at 15, he has worked to reinstate carved meeting houses, by designing, carving and serving as the overseeing tohunga whakairo (expert carver) of wharenui on marae from Te Tii Waitangi to as far away as Beijing.
Hetaraka said whakairo (carving) is not just about fine art but goes back to the roots of Māori identity.
“Whakairo was our writing and it represents the foundation of our matauranga, our knowledge base,” he said.
“Part of why I enjoy what I do is because the skills that I have, have given me the opportunity to share our culture - not only with cultures around the world but with our Pākehā relations.”
Hetaraka has revitalised Māori history and narratives in places of significance including the Māori Select Committee Room in Parliament, Te Korowai o Papatūānuku in Parihaka and the entrance to Ruapekapeka Pā.
He also helped establish the Hihaua Cultural Centre, making it a safe place for Māori to learn whakairo.
On top of this, he has been a tireless advocate for iwi Ngātiwai through his leadership and cultural guidance, including being an expert witness for key Waitangi Tribunal claims.
His leadership positions include board member and kaumātua of the Whangārei Art Museum, kaumātua of the University of Auckland and the Northland Rugby Union, and member of Te Ahi Kaa, providing cultural advice for the Whangārei Hospital redevelopment, Project Pihi Kaha.
Hetaraka has won a number of art awards, including Creative NZ’s Kingi Ihaka Award for lifetime contribution to Māori culture in 2014.
Waihoroi Paraone Hoterene has been made an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to Māori and Māori language education.
Waihoroi Paraone Hoterene (Ngāti Hine, Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Rangi), also known as Waihoroi Shortland, is recognised for his significant contributions to Māori, te reo Māori and iwi development.
Hoterene said he had the privilege of growing up with te reo Māori - he did not speak English until he went to primary school - a privilege he wants other Māori to have.
The language has underpinned everything he has done.
“[The honour] is a recognition of the language that’s basically given me everything.”
Hoterene’s career included working in the Māori Land Court as a clerk and interpreter, before becoming a Māori community officer and social worker in south Auckland.
He provided strong leadership for Ngāti Hine, including as chairman of Te Runanga o Ngāti Hine from 2010 to 2015 and trustee of Ngāti Hine Forestry Trust from 2016 to 2025.
Hoterene has an extensive background in broadcasting, journalism and acting - from being the cultural adviser to The Piano to speaking te reo at Shakespeare’s Globe in London. He won best actor in the 2003 NZ Film Awards for The Māori Merchant of Venice.
Hoterene’s work in te reo Māori revitalisation includes sitting on the boards of Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori, Te Kōhanga National Trust, and as kaumatua for Waitangi National Trust.
He was the inaugural chairman of Te Mātāwai - which was charged with leading Māori language revitalisation - and served from 2016 to 2019, plus was a member of the Māori Television Board.
Hoterene has translated for Government agencies, the Waitangi Tribunal, schools and universities around the country, as well as mentoring many well-known Māori leaders, television presenters, Government officials and community members.
Hoterene is also a patron of the New Zealand Māori Golf Association.
Hori Parata has been made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to conservation and Māori.
An esteemed kaumātua and rangatira, Hori Temoanaroa Parata (Te Waiariki, Ngāti Kororā, Ngāti Takapari, Ngāti Wai, and Ngāti Hine) has devoted decades to protecting Aotearoa’s taonga species, restoring the health of land and sea, and supporting future Māori leaders.
In recognition of this extraordinary contribution, he has been appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Born and raised with 12 siblings on ancestral land at Patāua Island, east of Whangārei, Parata learned environmental practices from his parents and elders.
His early adult life was spent serving in the army and working overseas as a diver and prospector. He returned to New Zealand to help address injustices toward Māori under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, joining the Mana Motuhake political party and becoming a trustee of the Ngātiwai Trust Board.
Parata has been pivotal in safeguarding species such as kiore (native rat), tuatara, kauri, and tohorā (whales), and in advancing co-management frameworks between mana whenua and the Department of Conservation.
He helped develop New Zealand’s national whale stranding protocol and has worked on more than 500 whales, training hapū and iwi nationwide and reviving cultural practices that honour tohorā.
Parata’s work bridges mātauranga Māori and science, exemplified by initiatives such as Kauri Ora, which combines cultural knowledge and scientific methods to protect kauri from dieback disease.
During decades with the Ngātiwai Trust Board, he led conservation and resource management portfolios, advised on regional and national strategies, and negotiated protections for offshore islands.
He contributed to the publication Ngāpuhi Speaks, an important resource created during the Ngāpuhi Stage One Claim.
Parata is a member of several national Māori advisory groups including Wai 262-Taumata Whakapumau and the Environmental Protection Authority’s Te Herenga Māori advisory group.
After 25 years on the board, Parata earned a Master’s Degree in indigenous studies from Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi and began a PhD on resource management and conservation policy impacts.
He received the Northland Regional Council Environmental Leadership Award in 2022.
Robyn Bruce has been awarded a King’s Service Medal (KSM) for service to youth and sport.
More than three decades of quietly shaping young lives through sport and service have earned Northland volunteer coach Robyn Bruce a King’s Service Medal for service to youth and sport.
She started coaching hockey in 1981 and over the next four decades her involvement grew across multiple sporting codes. Under her leadership, many young sports stars were born and went on to represent Northland in national competitions.
She has been the award leader for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award at Otamatea High School (OHS) for more than 20 years, inspiring hundreds of teenagers to develop new skills and give back to their communities.
Having her years of voluntary work recognised with a King’s Service Medal was a humbling experience.
“I have always been ‘part of a team’ in which there is no ‘I’. It is not just me, but all the other wonderful volunteers I have worked alongside who give up their time to help me provide the fundraising activities, skills and experiences our young people have enjoyed through their sport.”
She plans to continue volunteering and focusing on her family and grandchildren.
“Voluntary work is so very rewarding, enjoyable and life-changing. It is a team effort working alongside other enthusiastic like-minded people.”
Over the years she said she’s had too many precious moments and memories to mention, but added the most rewarding part of working with young people is seeing them develop multiple skills.
“The young people are what have kept me coming back, and knowing that I have made a difference in their lives by opening up new possibilities and providing them with many experiences that they wouldn’t otherwise have got.
She enjoys the company of young people and said they keep her young at heart.
“The eagerness and enjoyment of the students wanting to learn or perfect their skills is what keeps me coming back.”
William Fuller has been awarded a King’s Service Medal (KSM) for community service.
From leading a small coastal school to bushwhacking through dense terrain to create safer cycle ways, William Fuller’s contribution to Russell and Northland has been recognised with one of the highest honours.
Fuller has been awarded a King’s Service Medal for services to the community.
Alongside teaching, Fuller helped instil pride and understanding of tikanga Māori, reinforcing the idea that learning extends beyond the classroom and into everyday life.
He said he never set out to be recognised and said the honour was a recognition of collective work.
“I felt it was in recognition of all the volunteers that work with me. I have just been the conduit.”
He said giving back was something he tried to instil in his students.
“I always said to the children to give to the community. When you give, it returns to you.”
He said much of giving back often happens quietly.
“People work quietly in the background, not seeking recognition, but this recognition shows people appreciate what we do.”
Now retired, his involvement in community work has grown. He currently serves as chair and treasurer of the Bay of Islands Walkway Trust, where he has helped lead the development of walking tracks across the Russell Peninsula, for locals and tourists.
He also bushwhacked through many kilometres of bush terrain to establish a safe cycleway between Russell and Ōkiato, helping to prevent road injuries and create a valuable tourism asset for the town.
He organises the Bay of Islands Walking Weekend events, bringing in around 400 visitors and about $35,000 each year for distribution to local organisations.
He has also held leadership roles in the Te Araroa Northland Trust, Project Island Song, Bay of Islands Rotary and the Russell Sports Club. Through his fundraising efforts, Fuller has helped to assist many community groups with their projects.
For those wanting to make a difference in their own communities, his advice is simple: “Work alongside people to achieve a common goal.”
Dave and Nada Jurlina have both been awarded King’s Service Medals (KSMs) for services to the community and rugby.
Whether it’s rugby, running the farm or the home, good teamwork gets the job done better.
And it’s that teamwork that has resulted in Far North couple Dave and Nada Jurlina both being awarded King’s Service Medals in the New Year 2026 Honours List for services to the community and rugby.
The couple, who have three sons, have been long-time members of the Eastern Rugby Club. In 2024 they organised and gained community support to sponsor the Northland Tarara Rugby Tour, involving a team of 25 players with Croatian whakapapa to play three rugby games in Croatia.
Both have decades of community work behind them and Nada’s involvement with the Kaitāia Dalmatian Cultural Club has supported the cultural life of the community, fostering pride and unity among its members.
She held secretary and treasurer positions at both the Eastern Rugby Club and the Dalmatian Cultural Club for more than 20 years.
She was president and committee member of the Doubtless Bay Kindergarten for more than five years, supporting staff and families and organising regular fundraising events and working bees.
They have actively promoted rugby across the wider Northland region, supporting and developing local talent.
Dave has played an instrumental role in managing teams and has served on the Eastern Rugby Club committee, and been involved for more than 40 years.
The couple were awarded 2013 Far North District Council Citizen Awards for their long-standing dedication to rugby in the region.
Dave said the couple were a great team and worked well together and that was the reason behind the honour and other accolades they had received for their work.
“I’m the brawn and Nada’s the brains in the team, 100%,” he said.
“If you are both on the same page it makes a big difference. It can be daunting at times, but working together makes it so much easier to do.”
Nada said they did not do their community support work for accolades or rewards, and it was humbling to be acknowledged, but they were committed to helping their community and promoting and supporting rugby.
“It’s very very humbling for us. When we got the call we were in Christchurch, and at first I thought it was a hoax, somebody trying a scam, but it is so wonderful and we’re still in a bit of shock,“ she said.
Nada said the couple love the work they do and get a lot of satisfaction from it, often with the support and help of many other people.
“I’ve been involved with the Dally Society since I first started dancing there as a young girl...and I love seeing other people getting involvement from it now.”
Dave said being a strong team meant they could deal with difficult situations well.
He cited the campaign to get the Northland Tarara Croatian rugby team travel to the southeast European country to play four games in the land of their forefathers. The problem was they only had about 14 months to raise the $150,000 needed to get them there and many thought it impossible.
“Many thought we couldn’t do it, and it was a big undertaking, but we were determined to get there by hook or by crook, and we did.”
It led to 24 players with Croatian links from rugby clubs across the Far North to Wellsford, with 34 supporters, on the two-and-a-half-week trip. The links between the Far North and Croatia are well known, as thousands of Dalmation immigrants settled in the district to hunt for kauri gum in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Jacqueline Robertson has been awarded a King’s Service Medal (KSM) for services to science education.
A lifelong passion for science and teaching has left Kerikeri High School teacher Jacqueline Robertson feeling proud.
Her journey into teaching began while studying marine biology, and seeing a spark for learning how the world works in her students is what has kept her going.
“I feel proud to have been recognised as one of those teachers who motivates students to academic success, and opens access to science as a whole.
Throughout her career, Robertson has held a range of leadership roles including facilitator for Northland science teachers, national level moderator and examination marker. She also contributed to the development of an alternative Year 11 science course, designed to make science more accessible to all secondary students.
Receiving the honour, Robertson said teaching never felt like a job.
“It has always been my passion, and science has been my fascination. Students are our future, and we get a short time to encourage them to achieve their personal best. Teaching has been my life’s work, and I would do it all over again.”
Seeing, often igniting, the same fascination for science in students that she has always enjoyed is what has kept her going over the decades.
“Science is essential to our whole being. Everyone needs to understand how things work, balance, and what happens if we don’t look after our planet. I want to grow a world full of thoroughly well-informed, like-minded people who love and respect science, and our world as a whole, as I do.”
She said the honour was an acknowledgement of science, the teaching of it, the furtherance of science and the teachers who inspire student achievement.
“I feel proud to have been recognised as one of those teachers who motivates students to academic success and opens access to science as a whole.”