New Year honours awarded
By Serene Hatt,WNS New Zealand Correspondent
AUCKLAND - A diverse pair of New Zealanders top the New Year's honours list - one is a religious scholar and the other a potter whose work graces galleries all over the world. At 92 Doreen Blumhardt's hands may not have the skill of her youth but she has not lost her feel for beauty. "I still enjoy creating, I think everyone should create in some form or another - it's the most satisfying thing you can do," says Blumhardt. "I don't feel any different. But I think it's wonderful that they've awarded me that."
Blumhardt has joined the Order of New Zealand, the elite group of fewer than 20 living New Zealanders. It is as an art teacher that Blumhardt has had her greatest impact and she shares the honour with another teacher, religious studies revolutionary Lloyd Geering. Ordained as a Presbyterian minister, Geering was charged with heresy after questioning the resurrection of Christ. He is the author of several books and the first university chair of religious studies in Australasia.
Another 200 New Zealanders were also honoured in fields ranging from embroidery to life-saving rescues and the arts. Actor Sam Neill, 59, is a little embarrassed at making it to Distinguished Companion of the Order of Merit. Actress Jennifer Ward-Lealand becomes an Officer of the Order of Merit while also in the world of acting and film, director Vincent Ward becomes an Officer of the Order of Merit. Consumer affairs champion David Russell has been made a Companion of the Queen's Service Order.
posted by wnsworld @ 8:59 PM
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