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Southland recipients of Queens Birthday honours. The Queen has been pleased, on the occasion of the celebration of Her Majesty’s Birthday, to make the following appointments to The New Zealand Order of Merit: Full list of recipients
COARD, Mr Ian William
For services to the Coastguard
Mr Ian Coard has been a volunteer with Coastguard New Zealand for 31 years.
Mr Coard has been a member of Coastguard Riverton Unit since 1988 and has been instrumental in the successful management of search and rescue for a number of major incidents in the Foveaux Strait. He has held a number of roles in Unit including Safety Officer, Coxswain, Search and Rescue Coordinator, and President. Since 2004 he has been a Coastguard Boating Education tutor teaching a wide variety of courses including Boatmaster, VHF Certificate, Day Skipper, and inboard and outboard engineering. He was a Board member for Coastguard Southern Region from 2003 to 2012, and a Board member of Coastguard New Zealand from 2004 to 2012, including three years as President. During his term as President he led the relationship building between the national governance structure and local Coastguard Units, and oversaw the development and signing of the first service level agreement between Coastguard New Zealand, the New Zealand Search and Rescue Council, and New Zealand Police. Mr Coard is currently the Independent Member representing the search and rescue volunteer sector on the New Zealand Search and Rescue Council.
COOK, Mrs Margaret Gwenneth
For services to the community
Mrs Margaret Cook has been a member of the National Council of Women of New Zealand since 1995 and held various roles including Vice President between 2000 and 2008.
Mrs Cook has been involved with Habitat for Humanity since 2000 and in 2002 she joined the Invercargill Board as Chair. In 2009 she became the National Director and Chair of the Christchurch Board, and served until 2015. She remains the Family Services convenor, a role she has undertaken since 2001. She established the Volunteer Programme, complete with policies and procedures, which is recognised as a pinnacle achievement. Since 2013 she has been a Trustee and Deputy Chair of the South Invercargill Urban Rejuvenation Charitable Trust, which trades as South Alive. She is currently the convenor of the South Alive Housing Action Group and the lead on the Southland Community Housing Group, which is responsible for progressing the Southland Community Housing Strategy Report. She has helped lead many events, including the annual Trolley Derby and Family Fun day, the South Alive Spring Flower Show, electric blanket testing, and the Landlord of the Year and Tenant of the Year competitions. Mrs Cook was previously a Cub Leader for Scouts New Zealand and chaired the Girls Brigade Area Council from 2001 to 2014.
DAVIS, Mr Tane Craig
For services to conservation
Mr Tane Davis contributed his services to conservation efforts and Māori interests throughout New Zealand for more than 20 years.
Mr Davis has been an advocate for the appropriate management of Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, a nature reserve off the north-eastern coast of Rakiura/Stewart Island. He was instrumental in establishing an Access Policy and operational plan for Whenua Hou, which is the subject of a Deed of Recognition under the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1988. He has been the Chairman of Whenua Hou Committee since its inception and was the principal Murihiku Māori representative in the major archaeological excavations on Whenua Hou in 2007. He has strongly supported scientific and scholarly researching concerning Whenua Hou and has assisted in the development of numerous research applications. Since 2006 he has been a member of the Kākāpō Recovery Group and has participated in the conservation efforts through engagement on discussion genetics, breeding events and sponsorship. Mr Davis has led efforts to promote biosecurity on the Tītī Islands and successfully negotiated an agreement between Tītī islanders to use a conservation dog trained to detect rodents.
KOLK, Ms Joyce-Rewa (Joyce)
For services to conservation
Ms Joyce Kolk is a keen driver of conservation efforts in Southland and for the past 12 years she has run roadside clean-ups as well as organising four major clean-ups in Fiordland and the west coast of Stewart Island.
Ms Kolk plays a key role in procuring stores, pre-cooking meals and catering for volunteers during clean-up operations. She has arranged sponsored beanies, gloves, knives, sacks and fadges from various companies, as well as high visibility sponsored t-shirts for volunteers. She organises transports logistics with Southland companies for transporting volunteers to clean-up locations and for the rubbish collected during clean-ups. She also secures funding and donations from businesses in the Fiordland and Southland areas for the clean-up operations. The success of these operations has attracted volunteers from around the country to participate. The 2018 beach clean-up from East Ruggedy to Doughboy on Stewart Island collected 16.5 tonnes of rubbish and was featured in the final episode of the television programme ‘Ocean Bounty’. She is heavily involved with running mustelid traps down the Wairuahiri River in Southern Fiordland, as well as a trap line on the Hump Ridge Track to Port Craig. Ms Kolk is a Trustee of the Southern Coastal Charitable Trust and was an administrator of the South West New Zealand Endangered Species Charitable Trust for 12 years.
PIRIE, Mr Ewen Robert
For services to clay target shooting
Mr Ewen Pirie has been a long-time administrator in the sport of clay target shooting.
Mr Pirie was appointed the sole South Island Referees Examiner by the New Zealand Clay Target Association in the early 1980s. He has been an Executive member of the New Zealand Clay Target Association, most recently from 2013 to 2016, and has served as Vice President and as President from 2000 to 2006. During his term as President the World Down the Line (DTL) Championships were held in New Zealand in 2002. He was involved in forming the International Clay Target Shooting Federation (ICTSF) and establishing a set of international rules for the hosting of this event. ICTSF World Championships are now hosted by member countries every two years. He was President of the ICTSF from 2008 to 2011. He has been President of the New Zealand Shooting Federation (NZSF) since 2012, having previously been New Zealand Clay Target delegate and Vice President. He first took on the role of President from 2006 to 2010 during a period of turmoil for NZSF and led a restructure that has restored the organisation to a healthy position. Mr Pirie became President of the Oceania Shooting Federation in 2017.
SEARLE, Mrs Ann-Marie
For services to badminton and the community
Mrs Ann-Marie Searle has contributed to the Southland community for more than 50 years.
Mrs Searle has been active in Plunket and Playcentre, becoming Secretary for her local Playcentre and parent-help. She has been a Sunday School Teacher at her local Presbyterian Church where she occasionally judged and taught craft sewing and dressmaking, and voluntarily assisted other families with food, housework and dressmaking or knitting. She has coached at the Oteramika Badminton Association and was Club Captain. She organised a number of tournaments in the Gorge Road Community Hall before becoming President. She received a Sports Administration Award and was made an Honorary Member of the Club. She coached award winning junior teams for the Southland Badminton Association for 12 years, served on the association’s committee and attained awards for her own badminton playing. From 2003 to 2008 Mrs Searle took over the leadership of ‘Table 4 Eight’, a voluntary organisation introducing people to one another who are in lonely environments.
TAPP, Mr Alan Charles
For services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the community
Mr Alan Tapp has been a volunteer firefighter for more than 46 years and was Chief Fire Officer of the Milton Volunteer Fire Brigade from 1997 to 2015.
Mr Tapp is highly regarded in his community through his volunteer contributions both as a firefighter, and in his many other community roles, including involvement with local clubs such as the Milton Lions Club, and the Toko Rugby Club. His rugby involvement has included coaching at club level, and selecting and managing at the Sub Union level. He has been awarded life membership of the Milton Volunteer Fire Brigade, the South Otago Sub Association, and the Otago Southland Provincial Fire Brigade Association. He has taken part as both competitor and coach in waterway and road crash competitions, and served on the Otago Southland Challenge Panel for eight years, with half of that as Chairperson. Mr Tapp has also contributed to the wellbeing and emergency preparedness of his community through his roles on the Clutha District Emergency Services Committee, the Milton Civil Defence Group, and Clutha District Search and Rescue.
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