A man who’s made his mark
Respected academic Sir Mason Durie is awarded the Blake Medal for his outstanding contribution to the country
A commitment to making a difference in the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders — and ensuring Maori play a significant part in the future of the country — has seen Sir Mason Durie awarded the Blake Medal at this year’s Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards.
Durie was presented with the title, awarded to acknowledge and celebrate an extraordinary New Zealand leader who has made an exceptional contribution to the country, by Governor- General Dame Patsy Reddy at Government House in Wellington last night.
In a glittering career, Durie has become one of New Zealand’s most respected academics and been an outstanding contributor to the health sector. He said he was delighted with the accolade.
“Sir Peter Blake has become a great legend for New Zealand and I think the awards that are made in his name really reflect how much the country respected him. Not just in sailing, but beyond.”
Durie’s philosophies around the wellbeing of New Zealanders have influenced a generation of policymakers and politicians across education, health and social sectors.
His work has had a significant influence of the delivery of frontline healthcare, with much emphasis on Maori health and education.
“The most important thing has been the difference to health. That’s where my career started and it’s continued to be what I spent most of my time doing,” he said.
“It’s really how to make people more aware that health is not just a question for doctors and nurses, but a question people have themselves.”
Born in 1938, of Rangitane, Ngati Kauwhata and Ngati Raukawa descent, Durie grew up in Feilding, and he still lives in the region, with wife Lady Arohia Durie.
His parents showed him the importance of a strong work ethic; his paternal grandfather, John Mason Durie, was a highly respected tribal and community leader who encouraged Sir Mason and his two brothers to attend Te Aute College in Hawkes Bay.
It was there a young Durie was inspired by t wo former pupils of the school — Sir Peter Buck and Sir Maui Pomare — the first Maori to train as doctors.
He left Te Aute convinced medicine was his future and went on to a stellar career.
Among a raft of achievements and accolades, he is a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, a Fellow of the Humanities Council of New Zealand Academy and an Honorary Fellow of the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine.
Durie, 78, continues to be involved in projects, in areas including suicide prevention and health force work development, and would like to see the health sector focus on preventive strategies.
“If I look back over three or four decades we’ve spent a lot of time developing health services that provide good treatment and approaches,” he said.
“Ahead we’re faced with a more sustainable challenge and that’s how to prevent things occurring in the first place.
“What we’re not so good at i s implementing strategies that will actually lead to prevention.
“That I think is the next challenge.”
Sir Mason Durie