The 2023 New Year Honours are out today. Seven Hawke’s Bay residents are among the 183 people recognised for serving their community or for a significant achievement.

Ian MacEwan
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit: For services to addiction services

Mr Ian MacEwan founded DAPAANZ, the Addiction Practitioners’ Association New Zealand, the membership association which represents the professional interests of practitioners working in addiction treatment.

Mr MacEwan formed DAPAANZ to help create a professionalised career pathway and an accountability mechanism which ensured competent ethical practice.

Formed in 2003, DAPAANZ has flourished under his leadership to become the main platform for AOD practitioners across New Zealand, with more than 2,000 members today.

Earlier, he was significantly involved in the work of the Alcohol Advisory Council and was a member of the group that established the National Addiction Centre in Christchurch.

He contributed to the governance of numerous organisations as a board member, providing addiction input to multiple addiction and broader health leadership forums.

He was a Director of the Addiction Workforce Development Programme, now Matua Raki, the national addiction workforce development centre, providing important support between government and the sector.

He has been coordinating the ‘Cutting Edge’ national addiction conference for 20 years, hosting 300 to 500 attendees with a strong Māori and Pacific presence.

He served as Chair of Kina Families and Addictions Trust, promoting family involvement in teaching. Mr MacEwan has provided support to the Rainbow community affected by addiction through individual and group counselling sessions across 30 years. 

Dr Timothy (Tim) Bevin 

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit: For services to health

Dr Tim Bevin has worked as a general practitioner for more than 30 years in the community of Hawke’s Bay.

In addition to this, Dr Bevin has been a New Zealand Police Medical Officer for more than 20 years and was appointed to the Board of the Hawke’s Bay Primary Health Organisation in 2005.

He has been a Medical Officer for the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board since 1984. He is a highly regarded member of the addictions treatment community and has been volunteering at the Springhill Residential Addiction centre for almost 30 years.

He works closely with clients and has worked tirelessly to retain the residential treatment service.

Dr Bevin also takes an active voluntary role in improving community health, founding City Medical accident and medical service, serving as a doctor to the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union since 2000, a Board member of the Cranford Hospice and a Trustee of the Princess Alexandra Medical Trust, which provides financial support to individuals who cannot pay for medical and dental services. 

Christina (Chrissie) Hape

To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit: For services to Māori and governance

Ms Chrissie Hape (Ngāti Kahungungu, Kai Tahu me Moriori) is the current CEO of Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc and has more than 25 years of management experience within the government and community sectors.

Ms Hape holds various other leadership roles including as Director of Health Hawke’s Bay Board since 2020 and a Director of the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology Establishment Board since 2020. She has focused on strengthening partnerships between government, community and iwi and facilitating improved health, education, social and wellbeing outcomes, as well as the reduction of inequalities within the communities. Ms Hape has built a strong relationship with Ngāti Kahungunu and continues to improve access to services.

Dr Caroline McElnay

To be a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order (QSO): For services to public health

Dr Caroline McElnay was Director of Public Health with the Ministry of Health (MoH) from 2017 until 2022 and helped lead New Zealand’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr McElnay led public health advice to inform policy development, public health risk assessments of local cases and outbreaks, and assessment of outbreaks in quarantine-free travel states in Australia. She has worked with multiple government agencies and public health units to support their COVID-19 response, and provided technical advice on the vaccination programme. She monitored global developments on the fast-moving virus and worked to assess risks with Australian counterparts as a member of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee. She committed to ensuring public health interventions delivered evidence-based and equitable outcomes. She collaborated on a paper analysing the impact of New Zealand’s initial response to COVID-19, which resulted in the team being awarded the Liley Medal from the Royal Society of New Zealand. She had a leading role in MoH’s communications to the New Zealand public, regularly speaking alongside the Director-General of Health and the Prime Minister at press conferences. Dr McElnay is well regarded for remaining calm under pressure and her ability to convey technical information in understandable ways, providing confidence for decision-makers in uncertain circumstances.

Naomi Baker-Wenley

The Queen’s Service Medal: For services to opera

Mrs Naomi Baker-Wenley has been contributing to opera in New Zealand for several decades.

Mrs Baker-Wenley founded the Hawke’s Bay Opera in 1986, holding positions of Chairperson, administrator and taking part of the staged opera. She played several leading roles including in ‘La Traviata’. She engaged nationally and internationally renowned artists to perform in the operas, receiving praise from media globally. She established the James Baker Scholarship, named after her late husband, which encourages local singers, stage and lighting crew to gain experience and knowledge. She was made a life member of Hawke’s Bay Opera in 1997 and was recipient of a Hastings District Civic Honour for voluntary service in arts and culture in 1997. Mrs Baker-Wenley founded the Mary Doyle Choir in 2018 and is currently a soloist.

Brendan Butler

The Queen’s Service Medal: For services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Brendan Butler has volunteered with the Tikokino Fire Brigade since 1972, holding every role from recruit to Station Chief.

He was Chief Fire Officer from 1998 to 2001 and has been Senior Station Officer from 2001 until the present.

He has attended more than 2,000 emergency callouts to date and is recognised within the Brigade for being regularly "first in and last out".

He lives a long way from the station and therefore misses the departure of the fire appliance when called out, making his own way in his personal vehicle to support the Brigade, travelling thousands of kilometres at his own cost.

He has spent many hours fixing and maintaining equipment and looking after the station facilities and grounds. He has fundraised for the Brigade, notably for the purchase of a new tanker vital to fire control, especially during dry Central Hawke’s Bay summers.

He has remained committed to training and upskilling in firefighting techniques and knowledge and has upskilled to a Fire and Emergency medical First Responder.

He has attended weekly training for more than 50 years. Mr Butler was made an Honorary Life Member of the Brigade in 1997.

Mavis Tweedie 

The Queen’s Service Medal: For services to the community

Mrs Mavis Tweedie has been a hands-on volunteer with church and pipe band organisations in the Hastings community.

Mrs Tweedie is a Life Member and Patron of the Hastings City Pipe Band, now Hawke’s Bay Caledonian. She held several roles on the committee and was Treasurer from 1988 to 2017, solely responsible for the band’s finances during this time, as well as coordinating fundraising. She has supported the catering and planning for band trips to concerts and competitions. She is an elder with St Andrews Presbyterian Church in Hastings and served on the Parish Session and Board of Managers from 1980 to 2015. She has volunteered each week in the kitchens, transporting people to church, producing floral arrangements for weddings and funerals, and managing the accounting and banking of collection funds. She has volunteered as a hospital visitor, helping take patients to church services, and providing floral arrangements for people in rest homes. Mrs Tweedie has organised collectors for fundraising appeals for various causes, including for Presbyterian Support and The Parkinson’s Society.

Kevin Watkins
The Queen’s Service Medal: For services to the community and New Zealand-China relations

Mr Kevin Watkins has been contributing to the Hastings and Hawke’s Bay community for several decades.

Mr Watkins has been building floats for the annual Hastings Blossom Parade and Christmas Parade since 1957, having built 46 floats over the years. He built the Hastings Father Christmas float for the city in 2000, which consists of several life-sized reindeer, a sleigh and a live Santa, ensuring there is lollies for the children and enough fuel for the float to be driven around the whole city. He has been a Hastings District Councillor since 2001, continuing to contribute to the diverse community, including creating the Chinese Lantern Festival, which attracts 15,000 people annually. He has been a key driver of the Sister-City friendship between Hastings and Guilin, China, and created the 2015 and 2017 Amazing China Face Races, connecting Hastings secondary school students with their Chinese counterparts across 23 Chinese provinces. He presented an opening address to international invitees at China’s Hen Shui High School opening in 2018 and created the ‘Year of Tourism’, which launched at the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing in 2019. Mr Watkins was awarded The Ambassador of Friendship of Shandon Province for his efforts.

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