Eric Murray
Four Cambridge-based people, including a husband and wife who help raised thousands of dollars for Festival One, have received recognition in the New Year Honours List.
Karen and Ken Morris both receive the Queen’s Service Medal (QSM) for services to the community while Anita Mazzoleni becomes an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) and Eric Murray joins an elite list as a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM).
Pānia Papa (Ngāti Korokī-Kahukura, Ngāti Mahuta), who lives in Auckland, was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori language education and broadcasting
Murray, who won gold medals in the coxless pair at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics with Hamish Bond, is one of 12 trustees of Perago Trust, established in 2012 to support young athletes in the Cambridge to achieve in their chosen sport, and also patron of Autism New Zealand.
Anita Mazzoleni
Mazzoleni, who moved from Auckland to Kaipaki in 2013, is rewarded for her services to corporate governance. She has had an extensive career as a lawyer, chartered accountant, independent company director and corporate finance advisor specialising in the evaluation and funding of investments, particularly in infrastructure.
Karen Morris has led and coordinated the Mainly Music programme – a nationally regarded music and movement, socialisation, learning and development programme for babies and pre-schoolers – since 1997.
She and her husband Ken have managed Festival One’s General Store since 2016, with all profits supporting the running of this non-commercial youth and family-oriented festival, which attracts 6500 attendees annually.
Pānia Papa
Ken, who is Waipā District Council’s chief financial officer and deputy chief executive, has been national treasurer of Boys’ Brigade New Zealand since 2014, serving on the executive committee and as a member of the executive management team.
How to nominate someone for a New Zealand honour.
Citation details follow:
Ken and Karen Morris
Eric Gordon Murray, MNZM
For services to rowing
Eric Murray represented New Zealand in rowing at four Olympics Games between 2004 and 2016, when he retired from competing.
Mr Murray won gold medals with Hamish Bond in the coxless pair at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, setting both world and Olympic records at the London Olympics. Between 2009 and 2016, he and Mr Bond had an unbeaten partnership with 69 consecutive wins in the men’s coxless pair and two in the coxed pair. They won seven consecutive World Rowing Championship titles in the coxless pair and a further two in the coxed pair. Their world best times in the coxed pair, set in 2014, and coxless pair from 2012 still stand in 2021. They won 16 World Rowing Cup medals, and have had 11 wins at the Henley Royal Regatta, two wins at the Holland Beker, and 14 domestic wins in New Zealand. He has been an ANZ Olympic Ambassador since 2012, a member of World Rowing’s Indoor Rowing Commission from 2021 and Patron of Autism New Zealand since 2019. He continues to be regularly involved with rowing regattas at Lake Karapiro. Mr Murray is one of 12 Trustees of Perago Trust, established in 2012 to support young athletes in the Cambridge to achieve in their chosen sport.
Anita Jane Mazzoleni – of Cambridge. For services to corporate governance.
Anita Mazzoleni has had an extensive career as a lawyer, chartered accountant, independent company director and corporate finance advisor specialising in the evaluation and funding of investments, particularly in infrastructure.
Ms Mazzoleni held significant roles as Director and Chair of Audit and Risk and Finance committees for major public companies, non-governmental organisations and iwi businesses. She was a Commerce Commissioner for nine years, focusing on telecommunications. She was Corporate Finance Manager for ECNZ and Acting Finance Director and General Counsel for Contact Energy Ltd following its separation from ECNZ. She was on the Board of Civil Aviation Authority and Aviation Security Services from 2010 to 2012 and a Director of ACC from 2014 to 2021. Ms Mazzoleni was a director on the Boards of Ngāti Whatua o Orakei Corporate Ltd, Ngāti Whatua o Orakei Whai Maia Ltd and chaired the commercial arm of Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara, also chairing the Audit Committees of these organisations.
Karen Anne Morris
For services to the community
Karen Morris has led and coordinated the Mainly Music programme in Hamilton from 1997, Taupō from 2005 and Cambridge since 2010.
Mainly Music provides a nationally regarded music and movement, socialisation, learning and development programme for babies and pre-schoolers, as well as building support networks for parents and caregivers. Weekly sessions have been held for up to 60 pre-schoolers and 40 caregivers at a time. Mrs Morris introduced Mainly Music as a new programme in Taupō and Cambridge, building volunteer teams to deliver the programme. She was a Board member and inaugural Trustee of the National Board and New Zealand Trust of Mainly Music from 2000 to 2009. Since 2002 she and her husband Ken have managed the catering for the annual Baptist Youth Ministries Northern Easter Camp, which involves coordinating a team of volunteers to provision four days of meals for up to 5,500 teenagers. She and her husband have managed Festival One’s General Store since 2016, with all profits supporting the running of this non-commercial youth and family-oriented festival, which attracts 6,500 attendees annually. Mr and Mrs Morris manage a team of volunteers and have expanded their efforts to run a real fruit ice cream stall and undertake crew catering for the festival.
Kenneth Michael (Ken)
For services to the community
Ken Morris has been National Treasurer of Boys’ Brigade New Zealand since 2014, serving on the Executive Committee and as a member of the Executive Management Team.
Mr Morris played a key role in guiding Boys’ Brigade through funding challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and has made significant contributions in addressing critical financial situations, complex legal and staffing issues, health and safety requirements and recruitment procedures. He has been Waipā District Council’s Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief Executive. He has voluntarily chaired the Waikato Local Authority Shared Services Insurance Advisory Group and the Shared Valuation Database Service Advisory Group. He has been Treasurer of the Waipā Community Trust since 2010 and held various church and para-church treasurer and governance roles. Since 2002 he and his wife Karen have managed the catering for the annual Baptist Youth Ministries Northern Easter Camp, which involves coordinating a team of volunteers to provision four days of meals for up to 5,500 teenagers. He and his wife have managed Festival One’s General Store since 2016, with all profits supporting the running of this non-commercial youth and family-oriented festival, which attracts 6,500 attendees annually. Mr and Mrs Morris manage a team of volunteers and have expanded their efforts to run a real fruit ice cream stall and undertake crew catering for the festival.
Pānia Christine Papa
For services to Māori language education and broadcasting
Pānia Papa (Ngāti Korokī-Kahukura, Ngāti Mahuta) has supported revitalisation of te reo Māori as an award-winning television presenter, Māori language consultant, curriculum and resource designer, translator, and editor for the broadcasting industry and education sector.
Ms Papa has lectured in Māori Studies at Waikato University for 10 years and was a tutor of Te Panekiretanga o te Reo (Institute of Excellence in the Māori Language) from 2004 until 2019. She has been a director of Takatū Associates since 2000, focusing on innovations in Māori language education and broadcasting. She presented and wrote the te reo Māori educational shows ‘Ako’ from 2010 and ‘Ōpaki’ from 2016 on Māori Television and has produced Māori versions of cartoons such as ‘Spongebob Squarepants’ and ‘Dora the Explorer’. She was a panel member reviewing New Zealand’s Māori Language Strategy in 2011 and the group that oversaw translation of the Māori Language Act 2016. She was on the Waikato-Tainui Reo Advisory Group, working to implement the Waikato-Tainui language strategy, and has helped develop language strategies for other iwi including Ngāti Korokī-Kahukura. She has translated 12 children’s books into te reo, composed more than 40 waiata and authored the children’s lullaby anthology ‘Pita Mata’. Ms Papa was a founding Trustee of the charity supporting the Kotahi Rau Pukapuka plan to publish 100 books in Māori over 25 years.
