Honoured — some famous, some unknown
AUCKLAND: Many of the people lauded in this year's New Year honours will come as no surprise — they are already household names.
One of those is musician Dave Dobbyn, whose classic tunes are well known to many and will more than likely be on the playlist at many New Year gatherings tonight.
Dobbyn is one of four people to be made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Then there is public health expert Prof Michael Baker, who frequently appeared in the news offering his expertise as the Covid19 crisis consumed New Zealanders throughout the year.
Prof Baker has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to public health science.
But there are other names many people will have never heard of.
Many of the 154 people honoured today are not household names.
Two, serving members of the New Zealand Defence Force, cannot even be named.
By far the greatest number of honours have been awarded for contributions to the community, voluntary and local services.
They include men and women from every region of New Zealand.
At the zenith of today's honours are Maori health visionary and leader, Prof Emeritus Sir Mason Durie, of Feilding, and Dame Anne Salmond, of Auckland.
Both have been made members of the Order of New Zealand, joining Richie McCaw and Helen Clark. Past members include Sir Edmund Hillary and Dame Whina Cooper.
Sir Mason and Dame Anne have earned accolades in careers over decades.
Their achievements cover many fields, and space quickly runs out when describing their work. Dame Anne, a Pakeha who learned Te Reo Maori in the 1960s when it was far from fashionable to do so, is a mouldbreaker.
Perhaps Dobbyn is, too.
His musical output has covered decades and different genres, providing a soundtrack to some of New Zealand’s brightest and darkest moments.
Dobbyn said his celebrated 1986 hit Slice of Heaven did not really belong anywhere when it was released.
Despite the song's defiance of convention, Dobbyn was confident.
‘‘I knew it was a winner.’’