Twin Dames glad to share Topp honour
New Zealand’s most famous twins may have to change their name now. Lynda and Jools Topp joked they may adopt something more fitting for their next show — say, “A Couple of Dames” — after they were made Dame Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to entertainment.
The singers, who were born in Huntly in 1958 and raised on a dairy farm, were honoured during a special all-women ceremony at Government House yesterday, marking 125 years of suffrage.
Other distinguished women receiving honours included Kirsten Hellier, the former coach of Dame Valerie Adams, and entertainer Jackie Clarke.
As Jools Topp was the first to receive her medal from Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy, Lynda made a point of it, whipping her head around to quip: “she’s the oldest”.
The pair were draped in korowai — the first dames in New Zealand to wear them, after the cloaks, woven by Kiri Nathan, were added to the investiture ceremony.
The Topp Twins then sang a waiata, of course, with Jools ending it with “Kia kaha, be strong”.
Jools said the honour was a very special one but also an acknowledgement of the fight other people had fought along with them over the years.
When their names appeared on the Queen’s Birthday honours list in June, the pair briefly debated whether to accept the title.
“I said, ‘Jools, what do you reckon?”’ Lynda recalled. “‘The rebels are getting their medals,’ she said.”
“It feels right to be acknowledged for all the fights we’ve fought. We’re being acknowledged as entertainers but we’ve had a voice over all these years.”
Their parents, Jean and Peter, said they were “very proud” of their daughters too, with Jean quickly adding “not only today but for the last 60 years”.
“The girls have succeeded far beyond any wishes we ever had” she said.