Queen’s Birthday honours list: New Zealanders recognised

Olympians, a Paralympian and sports administrators have been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday honours list.

Rower Emma Twigg won gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
Photo: AFP or licensors

Medal-winning Olympic rowers Emma Twigg, Grace Prendergast and Kerri Williams have been made Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to their sport.

Twigg has had a rowing career spanning 20 years and is regarded as one of New Zealand’s most decorated female rowers.

After competing in four Olympic Games, she won her first gold medal in the single scull at the Tokyo Olympics last year – becoming the first New Zealander to win the women’s single scull at the Olympic Games.

In 2014, Twigg was crowned World Champion and, the same year, named as World Rowing’s Female Rower of the Year.

Her career has included Olympic, Senior, U23 and Junior World titles in the single scull.

Twigg is also an active advocate for LGBTQIA+ athletes.

Prendergast and Williams (nee Gowler) teamed up to became two-time Olympic medalists at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, winning the women’s pair and receiving the silver medal with the women’s eight.

Williams and Prendergast won gold in the pair at the 2014 World Rowing Under-23 Championships with a record time and weeks later they were part of the women’s four at the Elite World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam, winning the race by over six seconds, setting a new world best time which still stands today.

Kerri Williams and Grace Prendergast have both been recognised as Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

They qualified with two boats for the 2016 Olympic Games, and won silver in the eight and pair at the 2015 World Rowing Championships.

In 2017, the pair went unbeaten in the season becoming world champions in Sarasota, and finished a close second in 2018. They won gold in 2019 and was part of the women’s eight who won gold, the first time New Zealand had won the women’s eight in the history of the regatta.

Prendergast has represented New Zealand in rowing since 2010 making her first national team in the junior women’s four, winning gold at the World Rowing Junior Championships in Czech Republic.

Williams has represented New Zealand in rowing since 2013.

Paralympian Holly Robinson is made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to athletics.

Robinson won the gold medal in the women’s javelin F46 event at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo last year.

Javelin para-athlete Holly Robinson.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Tokyo was her third Paralympics.

Robinson attended her first IPC Athletics World Championship in 2011 and was selected to compete in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

She competed in two IPC Athletics World Championships in 2013 and 2015, winning silver and bronze respectively.

At the 2016 Paralympics Games in Rio, Robinson was the opening ceremony flag bearer and claimed the silver medal in the women’s javelin F46 event.

She has won a further three silver medals at the 2017 and 2019 World Para Athletics Championships and the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.

In 2021, Robinson became the first Para-athlete to win a medal in an open event at the New Zealand Track and Field Championships, winning silver in javelin.

The founder of Waka Ama in New Zealand, Matahi Brightwell, is made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Brightwell founded the first Waka Ama Club in 1985, the Mareikura Canoe Club, and served as the first president to the national body.

He is a Tohunga Tarai Waka (Master Canoe Builder).

Matahi Brightwell.
Photo:

He completed the building of Hawaikinui-1, a 75-feet, eight-ton double-hulled canoe in Tahiti, sailing to Rarotonga and New Zealand with a crew of five under captaincy of Tahitian traditional navigator Francis Cowan to replicate the journey of Māori migration from East Polynesia to New Zealand in the 14th Century.

Brightwell has travelled the country reintroducing Waka Ama to Māori communities.

He has attended every National Sprint Championship since 1990 and assists the development of new clubs nationwide.

Sports administrator Pam Elgar is made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to hockey and women over 20 years.

Elgar served on the Hockey New Zealand Board between 2004 and 2010, advocating for women in sport.

The Black Sticks women have benefitted from Pam Elgar’s advocacy.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

She chaired the Human Resources Committees, instrumental in the development of a professionally resourced high-performance programme, which resulted in the rise of the Black Sticks women to fourth in world rankings.

Elgar was a founding member of Women in Sport Aotearoa (WISPA), working to support women and girls to build careers in sport and recreation in New Zealand. She chairs Wahine Toa Kei Te Kokiri committee in support of WISPA’s bicultural journey.

As president of Oceania Hockey Federation from 2008 to 2019, Elgar helped to get hockey accepted into the Pacific Games and all nations now have teams playing in the Oceania Games.

Elgar was appointed an independent member of the Sports Integrity Unit for Gymnastics New Zealand in 2020.

All Blacks Sevens manager Ross Everiss receives a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to rugby.

Everiss has been team manager of the All Blacks Sevens rugby team since 2003 and is recognised for creating a positive team environment and developing successful players.

The All Blacks Sevens have relied on manager Ross Everiss’ guidance.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Under Everiss leadership All Blacks Sevens players have won the World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year on five occasions between 2005 and 2013.

His leadership is acknowledged as being key to smooth operations off-field, complementary to the success of the team’s coach on the field.

Everiss began his rugby management career with the Rotorua Tai Mitchell Primary School team, later taking on manager roles with Marist St Michaels Rugby and Sports Club Rotorua and the Bay of Plenty Colts.

He was manager of the Bay of Plenty Steamers for five seasons from 1999 to 2001 and 2010 to 2011.

Football administrator Rod Pelosi is made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his local, national and international level in administrative and advisory roles dating back to the 1980s.

Pelosi held leadership roles with Hawkes Bay Football, Central Regional League and Horowhenua Football Association and was part of New Zealand Football coaching and refereeing committees.

Rod Pelosi has been involved with football administration for several years.
Photo: Photosport

He has contributed significantly to the progress and learning of football referees, assessing and supporting their development from local level up to national and international standards.

He has been a New Zealand Football National League Referee Assessor since 2005 and was a Football Australia A League Referee Assessor from 2011 to 2017.

In 2016 he was a Referee Assessor for the FIFA Nations Cup.

Ann Tod has contributed to netball in New Zealand for more than 20 years and is made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Tod has been the finance director of the International Netball Federation (now World Netball) for more than a decade.

Ann Tod has an extensive history in netball in New Zealand and the Pacific.
Photo: 123rf.com

She has encouraged the growth of netball globally in accordance with the objectives of the Olympic and Commonwealth Games.

Tod is a member of the Netball North Harbour Umpires Association and is an umpire coach.

She is an honorary auditor of the Oceania Netball Federation.

Richard Garratt (Ngāi Tūhoe) has been an advocate for tennis and Māori sport for more than 50 years.

He is made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Garratt was President of the Kiwi Tennis Club for five years from age 22, Mangere Central Tennis Club for 37 years, Aotearoa Māori Tennis Association, Tennis Seniors South Auckland Association, and of Tennis Auckland in 2006.

Through Aotearoa Māori Tennis Association, he has organised coaching camps for Māori rangatahi, assisted elite juniors to United States tennis scholarships, and fundraised for groups of players to play in the Queensland Seniors Tournament for the last decade.

He holds various national titles and represented New Zealand Seniors in two World Championships.

Hans van Ess is recognised as a founding father of ju-jitsu in New Zealand, as a leading teacher and highest-level black belt for much of the period 1961 to 2014, during which time he was involved as an instructor, administrator and ambassador before retiring as an 8th dan.

van Ess is an Honorary Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

He began training in martial arts in Holland in the late 1950s before emigrating to New Zealand to teach physical education and martial arts in 1961, introducing the Dutch system of Kawaishi ju-jitsu.

Licensed to teach judo and ju-jitsu, he founded the New Zealand Judo College in Auckland in 1962. In response to ju-jitsu clubs opening nationwide, in 1968 he co-founded the New Zealand Jiu Jitsu Association (NZJJA) to oversee teaching of ju-jitsu and maintain standards for students.

He became chairman of the NZJJA Black Belt Technical Council in 1972 during a time of turmoil for the organisation.

van Ess became Match Controller for ju-jitsu tournaments and created the Referee and Judges’ Course in 1974.