The 2026 King’s Birthday Honours list has been released, with 178 New Zealanders recognised for the often quiet work they have done in their schools, hospitals, sports clubs, marae and communities. The list announced on Monday names 83 women and 95 men, and the largest groups of recipients come from community and voluntary service, education, health, and sport and recreation, according to RNZ.
Two women have been made Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Susan Hassall, who became the first woman to lead a state boys’ school as headmaster, was recognised for her services to education. She is joined by Professor Elizabeth Rata, a sociologist at the University of Auckland, who was also honoured for her contribution to education.
Four men have been made Knights Companion. They are Dr Paul Baker, an anaesthetist recognised for services to health, Peter Boshier, the former Chief Ombudsman honoured for services to the state and the judiciary, David Ellis, a member of the Racing Hall of Fame recognised for his work in the thoroughbred industry and for his philanthropy, and Professor Emeritus James Chapman, a literacy researcher from Massey University.
Chapman’s knighthood may be one of the most quietly consequential on the list. Over more than three decades he and his long time research partner Professor Bill Tunmer built the case for what is now known as structured literacy, an approach that teaches children to decode and spell through explicit, systematic instruction rather than guessing words from context. That method became the national approach in New Zealand classrooms in 2025, after years in which a large share of children struggled to read from their earliest days at school.
Chapman told RNZ the honour arrived “out of the blue” and that it still did not feel quite real. “It does feel unreal. It’s not something I would have ever, ever have imagined,” he said. He pointed to how long the work had taken to change classroom practice. “It’s taken 30-plus years for Bill Tunmer and me to really try to get these changes in place,” he said. For decades a quarter to a third of New Zealand children were failing almost from the moment they started school because of the teaching approach in use, and shifting that took repeated meetings with education ministers, opposition spokespeople and select committee chairs before the policy finally moved.
The honours also celebrate some of the country’s best known faces. Discus thrower Beatrice Faumuinā, a former world champion and Olympian, was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to sport and governance. Cricketer Suzie Bates, one of the most capped players in the international game, was made an Officer for services to cricket and basketball, a nod to a sporting career that has spanned two codes at the top level. Former All Black Earle Kirton and former representative player Vania Wolfgramm were also recognised for their services to rugby.
Several recipients were honoured for lifting up Māori education and scholarship. Dr Reuben Collier and Emeritus Professor Pare Keiha were each made Companions for services to Māori and education, while Dr Te Ripowai Higgins was made an Officer for her work in education and te ao Māori. In health, Professor Caroline Crowther was made a Companion for her long contribution to maternal and perinatal health, work that has shaped the care mothers and newborns receive across the country. Veteran political journalist Barry Soper was recognised for his services to journalism after decades in the Parliamentary press gallery.
The list runs well beyond the headline names. The bulk of the 178 recipients are people honoured at Member and Officer level for years of volunteering, coaching, fundraising, teaching and caring that rarely makes the news. Former school principals Patrick Gale, Alan McIntyre and Charles Norrish were among the educators recognised, and the community and voluntary services category once again accounted for one of the largest blocks of awards, reflecting the network of unpaid effort that holds local life together.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon marked the announcement with a message to everyone on the list. “Congratulations to all the King’s Birthday 2026 Honours recipients. New Zealand is incredibly proud of you and stands alongside each of you in celebration,” he said.
The King’s Birthday Honours are awarded twice a year alongside the New Year list, and are the main way the country formally thanks the people who give their time and skill to others. For many recipients the recognition comes after a lifetime of work, and for some, like Chapman, it lands at the end of a long campaign to change something that affects thousands of children they will never meet. The full citations for every recipient are published by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
What do you make of this year’s honours list. Are the right New Zealanders being recognised, and is there someone in your own community who deserves a place on a future list. Share your thoughts in the comments below.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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