Awarded for work in music, politics and fashion
A musician, a local body politician and a fashion designer are among the South Island recipients of major awards in the New Year Honours list.
Dunedin fashion designer Margarita Robertson has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (NZOM). Robertson founded the iconic Dunedin fashion label NOM*d in 1986, which captured the tonal darkness and humour that became hallmarks of the city’s fashion scene and influenced the style known as ‘‘The New Zealand Look’’. Later, Robertson’s work was shown in the inaugural New Zealand Fashion Week. She is a long-time supporter of Dunedin’s iD Fashion Week.
Lyttelton musician John Harrison was made an Officer of the NZOM for his services to music and the theatre. He was executive officer of the New Zealand Brass Bands’ Association for 24 years and held the same position with the Royal New Zealand Pipe Band Association for 19.
He oversaw the National Band of New Zealand competing and touring overseas and was influential in bringing the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo to New Zealand in 2000. He has been involved with the Court Theatre in Christchurch since the mid-1970s and was made its inaugural fellow in 2016. He compiled and hosted the weekly Band Programme on National Radio from 1985 to 2003 and was appointed executive music producer at the public broadcaster.
Former Central Otago District Mayor Malcolm MacPherson has also been appointed an Officer of the NZOM for his decades of service to the region. He served as mayor for three terms between 2001 and 2010 and was a councillor for eight years before that.
He chaired the regional economic development agency and oversaw new flood recovery projects for Alexandra. He served four terms on the Otago (now Southern) District Health Board and eight years on the Otago Polytechnic Council. He is a past chairman and still a member of the Central Lakes Trust.