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Professor Emeritus Sir Mason Durie (Rangitāne, Ngāti Kauwhata, Ngāti Raukawa Te Au ki te Tonga) (KNZM) – is among several Massey luminaries to be recognised in the 2021 New Year Honours list. Sir Mason has been made a member of the Order of New Zealand (ONZ) in recognition of his service to New Zealand.

And former Massey staff member Professor Angie Farrow was recognised for her services to theatre, while Adjunct Associate Professor Jim Tully was honoured for his services to journalism education.

Sir Mason's latest honour marks more than 40 years of being “at the forefront of a transformational approach to Māori health and has played major roles in building the Māori health workforce,” according to the official citation.

He and historian Distinguished Professor Dame Anne Salmond were the only recipients of the award this year, which is limited to 20 living people.

Sir Mason, 82, told the Manawatu Standard from his Feilding home after the announcement: “The thing about it is, it’s New Zealand’s own order. All the others have been inspired by Britain, like the knighthood, the Order of the British Empire, all those things.

“That’s what is distinctive about this one. If there’s a reason I feel honoured to be part of it, it’s because it’s got a New Zealand flavour to it.”

Sir Mason, the citation says, has also championed higher education for Māori. He has provided national academic leadership for Māori and indigenous development in roles as Deputy Chair of Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Professor of Māori Research and Development, and as Deputy Vice-Chancellor at ������Դ until 2012. He remains Emeritus Professor of Māori Research and Development at ������Դ. 

His accomplishments include gaining funding to establish a Centre for Māori Health Research, Te Pūmanawa Hauora, and negotiating the Māori mental health programme, Te Rau Puawai, which provides up to 100 scholarships annually for students studying health-related subjects. 

He served on the Boards of Te Papa Tongarewa, the Museum of New Zealand and the Foundation for Research Science and Technology. He has been Chair of the Guardians Group for the Secondary Futures project, and a Commissioner for the New Zealand Families Commission. He chaired the Ministerial Taskforce on Whānau Ora and was Chair of Te Kāhui Amokura, a Standing Committee of the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee. 

As Chair of the Palmerston North based Tu Toa Trust, Sir Mason helped establish two new secondary schools in Palmerston North. His efforts have been recognised by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the Public Health Association of New Zealand, the Māori Medical Practitioners Association, the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, and the Polynesian Society. Sir Mason was appointed in 2019 as one of three inaugural Ruānuku by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, New Zealand's Māori Centre of Research Excellence, and received the Blake Medal in 2017.

His previous awarded honours are: Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, New Year 2010; Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, New Year 2001 and New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.

Theatre creator and pioneer Angie Farrow

Professor Angie Farrow has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to the arts, particularly theatre. 

Professor Farrow has been active in theatre, creative leadership and arts education in New Zealand since 1990. Beginning her career in the United Kingdom, she has written more than 50 plays across a range of formats, which have been widely performed internationally. She scripted, produced, and directed two award-winning, full-length community plays, “Before the Birds” (2009) and “The River” (2011), and from 2008 to 2019 she was executive producer of the annual Manawatū Summer Shakespeare. 

She began lecturing with ������Դ in 1995 and in 2019 became the first Professor of Theatre Studies at ������Դ. She instituted the Expressive Arts programme within the University’s Bachelor of Communication. She set up a resident artist scheme in partnership with Palmerston North City Council, ������Դ and Square Edge Community Arts, which has run for 14 years. 

She developed the Festival of New Arts, in which students from ������Դ collaborated with members of the public to devise original scripts and choreograph stories, performances and multimedia presentations that were performed for the public in a festival format. Professor Farrow was Chair of the Manawatū Arts Committee from 2001 to 2018, is currently President of the Playwrights Association of New Zealand, and has been a judge of the Women’s International Playwriting Conference.

In 2019 she received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement in Theatre Award at the Manawatū Regional Theatre Awards and retired that year from Massey. She now resides in Wellington.

Professor Farrow says; "I feel humbled and honoured to be the recipient of this award. Palmerston North was always a great place to work and experiment and now that I’ve moved to Wellington, I reflect on how much fun I had, how much backing I received and how exciting it was to make new things happen. And I will always be grateful for the support I received from the city as well as colleagues and students at Massey.  

"This award is an acknowledgement of the whole community of artists and teachers and stakeholders who backed me over a period of two decades. Theatre is always about community and I could not have worked with a better one. When I receive this honour at Parliament House, I will be receiving on behalf of all the many people who stood behind me."

Journalism educator Jim Tully

Adjunct Associate Professor James (Jim) Tully, was also made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to journalism and education.

Associate Professor Jim Tully, who has been a Researcher in Residence and senior tutor at ������Դ since 2013, has contributed to journalism in New Zealand across 18 years as a journalist and 32 years as an educator. He began his career as a reporter in 1969 before holding senior editorial roles at the Opotiki News, Auckland Star and 8 O’clock News. 

In 1987 he was appointed Head of Journalism at the University of Canterbury, has since held other Head of School positions, and was Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Arts). 

As an educator he has trained more than 600 journalists, many of whom have gone on to hold influential posts in print and broadcast media nationally and internationally. He organised and judged the New Zealand Secondary Schools Newspaper of the Year competition from 1989 to 2004. 

In the 1990s he was a UNESCO consultant on journalism in the South Pacific. He has contributed to industry standards, research and accreditation, with a particular focus on the reporting of mental health, suicide and trauma. In 2004, he chaired a process between the Ministry of Health and the Commonwealth Press Union Media Freedom Committee to negotiate protocols for the reporting of suicide in New Zealand. Associate Professor Tully is a voluntary member of the Suicide and Media Expert Panel.

Other Massey alumni and former staff named in the 2020 New Year Honours were:

• Professor Shaun Hendy - MNZM for services to science (Bachelor of Science (Honours) in 1993)
• Professor Cindy Kiro (former staff) – DNZM for services to child wellbeing and education (PhD (Social Sciences in 2001)
• Superintendent John Price - ONZM  for services to the NZ police and community (Bachelor of Education in 2006)
• Max Robins - QSM for services to healthcare and seniors (Master of Management in 2006, Postgraduate Diploma in Business and Administration in 2004, Certificate in Science in 1993, Diploma in Guidance Counselling in 1978 and Bachelor of Arts in 1976).
• Janet Wilson - QSM for services to wildlife conservation (Diploma in Horticulture Fruit Production in 1985)
• Melissa Moon - MNZM for services to athletics and charitable causes (Master of Business Studies in 2001)
• Vanisa Dhiru - MNZM for services to the community and gender rights (Bachelor of Design (Honours) in 2004)
• Helen Johnson - MNZM for services to Special Olympics and community (Bachelor of Arts in 2007)
• Lisa Argilla - MNZM for services to animal welfare and conservation (Master of Veterinary Science in 2016 and Bachelor of Veterinary Science in 2006)
• Reverend Alison Stewart - QSM for services to choral music (Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Secondary))

MNZM: Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit

ONZM: Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit

DNZM: Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit

QSM: Queens’ Service Medal

Full list of 154 people in this year’s list