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National | Queen's Birthday Honours

Queen's Birthday Honours 2017 - Māori QSM recipients

A number of Māori were acknowledged on this year's Queen's Birthday Honours List.  The following are recipients of the Queen's Service Medal (QSM).

Mrs Miroroa Te Kune Blackmore

Te Kune Blackmore of Ngāti Parewahawaha descent has been involved with governance and preserving and passing on knowledge of tikanga.

Blackmore has taught traditional weaving both voluntarily in the community and formally.

From 1996 to 1998 she was involved with the Tū Tangata Training Programme as Coordinator of the Awhina Mai programme teaching traditional weaving.

She was also a member of Moana Nui a Kiwa Weavers during this time.  She taught traditional weaving at Te Wānanga o Raukawa from 1998 to 2000, and at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa from 2000 to 2007 where she was also involved with Te Kāhui Tuara mō Te Wānanga Tauira Support Group.

She was a key weaver involved in the creation of the tukutuku panels for the wharenui during the construction of Parewahawaha Marae in the 1960s.

In the 1960s she was involved with kapa haka and was a member of Bulls Floral Art and Garden Circle.

She was a member of Raukawa Māori Women’s League District Council from 1965 to 1972 and served as President from 1970.

Blackmore is a long-time member of Rangitikei Manawatū Anglican Māori Pastorate and was involved with the church’s cultural group in the 1960s.

Mrs Keita Rangimarie Dawson

Katie Dawson was General Manager of Te Oranga Kaumatua Disability Support Services Trust from 2000 until her recent retirement.

In the 1980s Mrs Dawson was instrumental in the establishment of the Hauora Clinic at the Papakura Marae, having identified a need for culturally sensitive services for young Māori mothers.

Between 1992 and 1996 she played a key role in establishing a kōhanga reo to cater for the Papakura, Manurewa and Takanini area.

She facilitated Te Reo Māori night classes for the parents of the children attending the kōhanga reo.

In 2000 she was involved in the development of a Kaupapa Māori Elder Abuse and Neglect Prevention Service, having been involved with meetings held around the country to research elder abuse and neglect in Māori communities.

She also contributed to the New Zealand Guidelines Group in the Assessment Processes for Older People (Best Practice Evidence-based Guideline) published by the Ministry of Health in 2003, and the Family Violence Intervention Guidelines (Elder Abuse and Neglect) published in 2007.

In 1972 she established a sports and culture club in Papakura that operated for almost 30 years.

Dawson identified a need to support young teenagers by providing them with the opportunity to participate in netball, softball, kapa haka, and other activities.

Mrs Rehia Shirley Te Amere Hanara

Rehia Hanara has been a strong advocate for Māori education, Te Reo and tikanga and has contributed to Te Reo revitalisation in a range of settings such as marae, kōhanga reo and wānanga.

Hanara played a key role in the establishment of the first kōhanga reo on Omahu Marae in Ngāti Kahungunu rohe.

She is a Trustee of the marae and has taught at the kōhanga reo since 1981.

She has been kuia and taught te reo Māori at Te Kura Kaupapa o Te Ara Hou since 1996.  She is currently kuia and kaikaranga for Ngāti Kauhungunu.

She was involved in fundraising for the construction of the Omahu Marae wharekai, which was opened debt free in 1990.

She has been involved with Omahu Māori Committee, which has engaged with local authorities on various issues affecting the Omahu community.

Hanara received the Heretaunga Taiwhenua Living Taonga Award in 2016.

Mrs Sharon Julie Maynard

Sharon Maynard has been an educator for more than 40years, first as a teacher, and for the past 25 years as manager of Turanga Ararau, an iwi tertiary education provider offering education and employment services to Gisborne youth and mature job seekers.

Maynard has been at the forefront of adult education in the community, including literacy initiatives, and maintains important regional and national networks to promote employment and business opportunities for Gisborne and the wider Tairawhiti rohe.

Maynard’s management has seen Turanga Ararau develop from a small iwi provider to a highly-regarded establishment offering a wide variety of disciplines and industries focusing on iwi and regional development.

Mrs Marara Kaweora Te Tai Hook, JP

For services to Māori

Marara Te Tai Hook has contributed significantly to both Ngāti Kuta and Patukeha hapū in Te Tai Tokerau.

Te Tai Hook has been heavily involved in traditional activities on Bay of Islands marae, especially on her home marae of Te Rawhiti.

She is recognised as the senior kuia of her marae and has passed on her tikanga knowledge to the younger generations.

As a central figure in the establishment of Te Māhurehure Marae and Hoani Waititi in West Auckland, she also helped establish a welfare committee to provide food, clothing and shelter for people in need in the urban community.

The first Māori to do shorthand in English and Māori, her secretarial skills were honed by serving on various Trust Boards for years under notable Māori leaders.

She was Secretary and Treasurer for the Te Rawhiti Marae Trust for many years.

Te Tai Hook has been a "hands-on" leader for her hapū, her involvement in pest control projects has helped ensure the successful return of native birds to the islands and mainland and restore fishery in the Bay.