Welly awards: The 2019 finalists
Hannah Clarke:
Director of NZ
Fringe Festival Wellington, providing emerging and established artists with a platform to launch their creative projects.
Jemaine Clement:
Actor, director, musician, producer and writer. He is famous for Flight of the Conchords, What We Do in the
Shadows and Wellington Paranormal.
Bruce Greenfield:
One of New
Zealand’s finest accompanists and vocal coaches. He retired from NZ
Opera last year after
50 years of service in a variety of roles, mainly as chief repetiteur and vocal coach.
Gerry Paul & Paul Brown:
Cofounders and organisers of Coastella, providing Ka¯piti Coast with a major music festival to showcase the area’s talent.
Stella Reid:
Theatre actress, director, producer, writer, and finalist in the 2017 Wellington Theatre Awards’ Director of the Year for Wine Lips.
BUSINESS
Monique Fiso: Chef/owner of Wellington’s
Hiakai restaurant, highly praised by
Time Magazine. She is credited with putting Ma¯ori cuisine on the map.
Mel Griffiths:
Founded Griffiths Drilling in 1994, he supports the local economy by contracting to other local firms.
Gosia Piatek:
Founder of Kowtow clothing label, putting fair trade and the use of organic, environmentallyfriendly materials at the forefront.
Jamie Selkirk:
Co-founder of Weta Workshop and director of Miramar Creative, providing film students with opportunities. Oscar winner for best film editing, of The Return of the King, in 2003.
Jamie Williams:
Chief executive of Wellington Hospitality Group, the fastestgrowing independently owned hospitality company in New Zealand. He regularly donates to the community.
Avegan cafe owner, a climate change activist, and the man who revealed the ‘‘true’’ purpose of the Bucket Fountain are in the running to be crowned the 2019 Wellingtonian of the Year.
Now in its 31st year, the ‘‘Welly’’ awards seek to recognise the achievements and contributions of Wellingtonians across nine categories. Winners from each category – arts, business, community service, education, environment, public service, science and technology, sport and youth – will then be in the running for the supreme award of Wellingtonian of the Year.
Last year, that honour went to employment lawyer Steph Dyhrberg, who also won the community service category.
She had been vocal in condemning law firm culture following sexual misconduct complaints by law students, criticising the ‘‘absent’’ New Zealand Law Society on the matter.
The awards, which will be held at Te Papa on November 14, have previously honoured such notable names as Sir Peter Jackson, Steven Adams, Dame Kate Harcourt and the Flight of the Conchords.
Judging convener John Dow said this year’s nominees showed a common theme of ‘‘resilience, determination and persistence’’ in the face of adversity. The pool of nominees also showed how ‘‘interconnected’’ the city was with world issues, with many coming from climate change, sustainability or migrant issues backgrounds.
Tickets to the 2019 Wellingtonian of the Year Awards can be reserved at wellys.co.nz/about.
EDUCATION
Dave Appleyard: Principal of Rata Street School, a Hutt Valley decile two primary school, since 2002, focusing on the special needs of pupils.
Vini OlsenReeder:
Lecturer at Victoria University’s Te
Kawa a Maui. He is passionate about revitalising and normalising the Ma¯ori language.
Tute PorterSamuels:
Principal and special educational needs co-ordinator of Wainuiomata
Primary School. She wants better working conditions for principals and teachers.
Elspeth Tilley:
A playwright and associate professor of
Expressive Arts at
Massey University Wellington. Founder of Create1World and multiple award-winner for teaching and playwriting.
Joshua Vial:
Co-founder of Dev Academy, recognised as NZ’s premier web development course. He aims to grow and develop the local talent base.
ENVIRONMENT Kristine Bartley:
Owns vegan cafe Sweet Release Cakes & Treats, the city’s second to ditch takeaway cups. She also runs a vegan night market.
Mike Joy:
A freshwater ecologist, currently a policy researcher at Victoria University of Wellington. His work highlights the impacts of intensive agriculture.
Ollie Langridge:
Spent 100 days standing on Parliament grounds to protest lack of climate change.
Nada Piatek:
Cofounder of Again Again, a reusable coffee cup system in Wellington that aims to reduce waste in landfills.
Eric Zydervelt & Finn Lawrence: Co-founders of award-winning, climatepositive car-sharing company Mevo that provides affordable public access to shared environmentally friendly cars.
Executive Producer of Country Calendar, one of New Zealand’s biggest television shows, where he first started as a reporter in 1985.
Waveney Parkinson:
Senior executive assistant in the Wellington
Mayor’s office. For over 20 years, she has ensured that four mayors have been extremely well organised daily.
Helene Quilter:
Deputy State Services Commissioner at the SSC. Prior to this, she was the first woman to hold the role of Secretary of Defence.
Matt Reid:
Served Hutt City Council and charitable trusts for eight years, leading targeted, meaningful projects to empower tamariki for brighter futures.
SPORT Lewis Clareburt:
Swimmer who won bronze for New Zealand in the 400-metre medley at the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea.
Ameliaranne Ekanasio:
Netballer for the Silver Ferns and winner of the Netball World Cup 2019, where she played an influential role as goal attack.
Jackie Kiddle:
A rower who, paired with Zoe McBride, won gold in the lightweight women’s double sculls at the world rowing championships in Austria.
Katrina Rore:
Netballer for the Silver Ferns, winning the 2019 Netball World Cup, and captain of Wellington’s Te Wananga o Raukawa Pulse.
Ardie Savea:
Flanker for the All Blacks and Hurricanes, and a former captain of Wellington in the ITM Cup.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Ian Apperley:
Director of Tempest Group, a consultancy dealing with strategic technological change. He has worked in business IT for around three decades.
Brett Delahunt:
Professor of pathology and molecular medicine at the Wellington School of Medicine and a world-leading cancer researcher.
Judy Lawrence:
A senior research fellow at Victoria University of Wellington and an expert in climate change adaptation decision-making.
Bruce Marshall:
A taxonomist and malacologist who is a world-leading expert on New Zealand mollusca, responsible for naming hundreds of genera and species.
Andy Reisinger:
Deputy Director of the NZ Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre and vice-chair of Working Group III of the IPCC.
YOUTH Lilia Alexander:
Has been running the Facebook page ‘Wellington – LIVE’ for four years.