KEY POINTS:
They gathered at Government House, 35 honours recipients with chests ready for what one of them, gravely ill former MP Brian Donnelly, described as "New Zealand saying thank you".
It was Mr Donnelly's first appearance in public since he resigned from his recent posting as High Commissioner to
the Cook Islands because of ill health.
There were 34 others whose contributions came in different ways: opera singer Dame Malvina Major, ta moko artist Derek Lardelli, designer Doug Jenkins, servicemen, Barnardos women, educationists, Scottish dancers and lovers of the outdoors.
But it was for Brian Donnelly that the beleagured Winston Peters made a now rare public appearance, determined to repay the loyalty of his MP for the occasion.
Mr Peters greeted Mr Donnelly - a far frailer figure than when he left Parliament six months ago - with a hand on the shoulder, a handshake and "you okay?"
They sat down - two NZ First warhorses side by side - and a joke was whispered. Mr Peters' smile returned for his old friend, then wariness set in as he realised he was seated next to the media area.
After presentations to Dame Malvina Major and three others, the time came: Mr Donnelly "of Rarotonga, Cook Islands, for public services". His career was read out - the short stint in the Cook Islands, a NZ First MP from 1996 to 2008 after 25 years as a teacher and principal at Tauraroa - an honour for a lifetime spent as an advocate for children's rights and education.
Mr Donnelly stood square and still as it was read, his head up and the cameras on him.
He walked slowly forward to receive his honour from the Governor- General and gave Anand Satyanand a broad smile.
Afterwards, Mr Peters and fellow NZ First MP Doug Woolerton quickly disappeared but Mr Donnelly returned to talk to the media, his son and wife beside him.
Though the effects of illness were stark in Mr Donnelly's sunken cheeks and slow walk, the good nature and ready smile remained.
Mr Donnelly laughed about a journalist's blog describing him as an "apolitical politician".
He recalled being "on the other side" at previous investitures, representing the government and watching as other people received their honours.
The day, he said, was a "special time".
"I was a recipient of that thanks. So therefore it was probably one step up in my category of special moments in my life."
He also stays loyal to his party - describing his proudest moment in politics as the day in 1998 when, faced with the collapse of the coalition between NZ First and National, he resigned his ministerial warrants rather than split from his party.
"People don't understand that was not about being loyal to Winston. It was about being loyal to the people who voted for me as a NZ First list member ... By making that decision I thought I was gone out of politics. I thought that was it.
"But I believe in a sense, in a very small way, I actually helped strengthen democracy by making that decision and I'm very, very proud of it."
The only allusion to his illness was in his response to a question on what he was thinking as the gong was pinned to his chest.
"In my particular case, I can tell you I was just pleased to be here," he said.
Mr Donnelly has not spoken much about his illness, saying soon after he resigned from his "dream job" as High Commissioner that it was a complication in an existing condition.
His parting words to Parliament in February included a plea to other MPs to moderate their behaviour for the good of the nation.
But yesterday was Mr Donnelly's day, and his own battle is far bigger than that of his former leader.
So, despite the strife his former party is facing, nobody asked if he thought those MPs had listened.