The 2019 New Year's Honours have today been announced. The Herald talks to some of the recipients.

Dr Siouxsie Wiles

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to microbiology and science communication.

She's the pink-haired fun-loving microbiologist who takes the jargon out of science.

Dr Siouxsie Wiles, the head of Auckland University's Bioluminescent Superbugs Lab, is a "science communicator".

She has used blogging and podcasts to make science less of a mystery for the masses.

Bioluminescent bacteria art exhibitions, and a show about microbiology for kids co-hosted with her daughter Eve, are other ways she's shown the public just how much fun can be had in a lab.

Wiles was flabbergasted to be told of her New Year Honour.

"I mean it's amazing. It came in a letter and it was fancy writing and it was like 'wow'. I didn't know what it was at first."

Yet the science nut felt like she'd only got started, saying NZME she couldn't list her proudest career moment.

"I still feel like I really haven't achieved much yet. There's so much more I want to do."

Professor Patricia Jean Langhorne

The New Zealand Antarctic Medal for services to Antarctic science.

New Zealand's foremost sea-ice scientist is startled at being the first woman to be awarded the Antarctic Medal, though she has seen an epic thaw in gender equality over her career.

Professor Pat Langhorne is being honoured for services to Antarctic science.

When told she would be the first woman to receive the decoration, she was very surprised.

"It is nonetheless a great honour and I am very excited about it," Langhorne said.

The Otago University physics professor has been travelling to Antarctica on research visits for more than 30 years and said the demographics in the field had changed dramatically.

"Nowadays, when we go to a sea ice conference, there are nearly always as many women as men in the audience – and what's more, the women are younger. So, carrying on, there's going to be lots of women out there doing great stuff.

"And there are now many women who are right up there at the very highest levels of the research career path and making a big difference in science."

The Scotswoman first made her way to New Zealand and then Antarctica in 1985 to take part in an experiment examining the strength of sea ice, which had since underpinned the use of sea ice runways for large aircraft.

She'd been fascinated with Antarctica since she was a teenager.

"I think it's the kind of thing that gets under people's skin. You might even think about it as an addiction perhaps … it's a stunning part of the world. It is vast. Is it awesome."

As a young woman, Professor Langhorne never thought she'd make it to Antarctica, as the British Antarctic Survey didn't take women at the time.

"So to have it turn around, is doubly satisfying."

Associate Professor Selina Tusitala Marsh

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to poetry, literature and the Pacific community.

Just days before her New Year Honour was announced, New Zealand Poet Laureate Dr Selina Tusitala Marsh was proving she's a woman of actions as well as deeds.

Marsh, the first person of Pacific descent to graduate with a PhD in English from the University of Auckland, was fixing a water pump at her Waiheke Island home before a supermarket shop for her family's Christmas dinner.

She said receiving the honour felt wonderful and was external validation not just for her but for poetry in our communities.

The Associate Professor at Auckland University, Marsh, our 11th Poet Laureate, was also on the board of the New Zealand Book Council, brought poetry to low-decile schools via its Writers in Schools Project and was conference convenor of the Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies.

She represented Tuvalu at the 2012 London Olympics Poetry Parnassus event, won the 2015 London Literary Death Match poetry slam event and was the 2016 Commonwealth Poet which meant writing and performing a poem before the Queen in Westminster Abbey.

Philip Frederick Bagshaw
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to health.
Surgeon Philip Bagshaw is being made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to health.

He was among four people who established the Canterbury Charity Hospital just over a decade ago - and remained a volunteer specialist general surgeon.

Bagshaw said it started out as an experiment in a mobile surgical bus, and had helped something like 18,000 people who were otherwise falling through the gaps between the public and private systems.

He had led a long list of health bodies and committees over his career and believed we were way behind in our thinking on health, and hooked on the idea it was a big expense.

"Trying to save money in health and education are both very bad ideas. The more you put into them the more you get back. Not only in terms of very healthy people – but actually it saves money at the same time."

Major Alfred Campbell Roberts

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the community.

A man who has dedicated his life to New Zealanders who are doing it tough is being recognised for services to the community.

The Salvation Army's Major Campbell Roberts had been with the Sallies since 1970 and was the founding director of its Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit.

He had overseen the organisation's hospice and home care, community food banks, early childhood education, plus prison reintegration and addiction treatment.

He was appointed to The Salvation Army International Moral and Social Council in London from 2007 to 2016 and was a consultant in the establishment of the International Social Justice Commission of the Salvation Army at the UN in New York.

Roberts had also held governance roles on a range of boards including the New Zealand Housing Foundation, Habitat for Humanity and the Dunedin Council of Social Services.

Lieutenant General Timothy James Keating

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the New Zealand Defence Force.

Lieutenant General Timothy Keating – Chief of New Zealand's Defence Force – has been made a companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to the Defence Force.

Appointed to the job in 2014, Keating was responsible for the Defence Force's training of Iraqi Defence Force personnel to respond to the rise of Islamic State.

He also oversaw New Zealand's contributions to anti-piracy efforts in the Middle East.

Outside the Middle East, Keating was in charge of the Defence Force when it responded to natural disasters in Vanuatu, Fiji and Tasmania as well as a number of natural disasters domestically.

He was also responsible for a number of programmes within the Defence Force that aimed to improve welfare and support for military families.

These include Force for Families – an information hub and discount scheme for military families – and the Operation Respect programme, which was established to challenge deep-seated cultural norms to make the Defence Force a safer place to work.

He also championed the More Military Woman programme, as well as new mental health and wellbeing strategies.

Keating oversaw New Zealand's World War I/Gallipoli centenary commemoration programmes in November.

Keating was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit on the Queen's Birthday, 2008.

Celeste Mojo Mathers

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to people with disabilities.

Former Green Party MP Mojo Mathers has been made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to people with disabilities.

Mathers was New Zealand's first deaf MP, coming into Parliament in 2011 and sitting until 2017.

"It's really lovely to have my work recognised in this way. I'd not had any idea that my name had been put forward, so it came as a surprise, and I feel very touched," she said.

As an MP, she advocated for improved accessibility and access to political information for those with disabilities.

Her efforts resulted in the use of sign language interpreters in Parliament and the captioning of live screening of Parliamentary sessions.

Mathers said it was important that parliamentary debates were accessible to everyone. "It is one of these fundamental things that helps ensure a healthy strong democracy".

Mathers also engaged in more general advocacy for the right of people with disabilities, including raising awareness of the barriers disabled people face in accessing employment.

Beyond disability advocacy, Mathers was the founder of the Malvern Hills Protection Society, a group which prevented the construction of a new dam in Canterbury which would have flooded part of the Waianiawaniaw River.

She also led an eight-month campaign which resulted in a ban on animal testing of cosmetics, for which she received the international Lush prize in 2015.

Shirley Yeta Horrocks

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to documentary filmmaking.

Documentary maker Shirley Horrocks is being honoured for her work chronicling the lives of some of New Zealand's most well-known artists.

The prolific filmmaker had profiled figures such as Len Lye, Marti Friedlander, Allen Curnow, Albert Wendt and most recently Sir Paul Callaghan.

She had also covered minority areas such as Māori and Pacific Island topics, disability groups, women's issues, and diversity.

Many of her films had a strong regional focus, such as her film on Free Theatre's activities following the Christchurch earthquakes, or Tom Kriesler's art activities in New Plymouth.

Her documentaries had been presented at film festivals within New Zealand and internationally and she had won a number of awards.

Horrocks had been the most screened New Zealand director at the New Zealand International Film Festival.

The full list

Knight Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit

Sir Stephen Robert Tindall, KNZM, for services to business, the community and the environment.

Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Distinguished Professor Margaret Anne Brimble, CNZM, for services to science.

Diana Buchanan Crossan for services to the State.

Kerry Leigh Prendergast, CNZM, JP, for services to governance and the community.

Gaylene Mary Preston, ONZM, for services to film.

Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Dr Ian Bruce Hassall for services to the welfare of children.

Robert Arnold McLeod for services to business and Māori.

Timothy Richard Shadbolt, JP, for services to local government and the community.

Robert Kinsela Workman, QSO, for services to prisoner welfare and the justice sector.

Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Philip Frederick Bagshaw for services to health.

Professor Margaret Ann Bedggood, QSO, for services to human rights law.

Barbara Joan Chapman for services to business.

Professor Peter Roy Crampton for services to education and health sciences.

Carmel Miringa Fisher for services to business.

Lieutenant General Timothy James Keating, MNZM (Rtd.), for services to the New Zealand Defence Force.

Barbara Anne Kendall, MBE, for services to sport.

Owen Thomas Mapp for services to Māori carving and bone art.

Major Alfred Campbell Roberts for services to the community.

Andrée Elizabeth Talbot for services to the Plunket Society.

Jennifer Cecily Ward-Lealand, ONZM, for services to theatre, film and television.

Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Malcolm James Prentice Black for services to the music industry.

Robert Falconer Campbell for services to the wine industry.

Lindsay Griffiths Corban, JP, for services to governance.

Ronald Crichton for services to Paralympic sport.

Dr David Gordon Crum for services to dentistry.

Dr Dianne Margaret Elliott (Dianne Sharp) for services to ophthalmology.

Murray Edward Fenton for services to design and business.

Dr Ian Robert Hall for services to mycology and agri-business.

Robert Andrew Hamilton for services to business.

Shirley Yeta Horrocks for services to documentary filmmaking.

William Russell Howie for services to environmental resource management.

Dr Michael Robert Johnston for services to geological science and history.

Diane Jean Lucas for services to conservation.

Kristy Pearl McDonald, QC, for services to the law and governance.

Dr Jennifer Anne McMahon, MBE, for services to the Red Cross.

Frances Ann O'Sullivan for services to journalism and business.

Rore Stafford for services to Māori.

Ahmed Hassan Tani for services to refugee communities.

Robert Gerard Tapert for services to the film and television industries.

Thomas Dawson Thomson for services to the manufacturing industry, philanthropy and the community.

Maryanne Jennifer Tipler for services to mathematics education.

Associate Professor Selina Tusitala Marsh for services to poetry, literature and the Pacific community.

Professor Adrianus Marie Van Rij for services to health, particularly vascular surgery.

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Vaine Arai Areora for services to the Cook Islands community and sport.

Glenn Thomas Ashby for services to sailing.

Luisa Avaiki for services to rugby league.

Quentin Mountfield Bennett for services to optometry, diving and conservation.

Carole Anne Beu for services to the literary industry.

Edmund Bohan for services to music, historical research and literature.

Robert Allan Brooke for services to education and heritage preservation.

Valerie Ann Burrell for services to the community and horticulture.

Associate Professor Andrew Brian Connolly for services to health.

Malcolm Cowie for services to football.

Rae Crossley Croft for services as a violinist.

Ingrid Joy Culliford for services to music and education.

Rex Clifton Davy for services to rugby and the community.

Gina Rosanne Dellabarca for services to the film industry.

Paul Vincent Ellis for services to music.

Lani Beth Evans for services to social enterprise.

Annette Cherie Fale for services to youth and Pacific peoples.

Tanu Daniel Gago for services to art and the LGBTIQ+ community.

Barry Robert Gardiner for services to sport, particularly squash.

Rosalie Maria Goldsworthy for services to wildlife conservation.

Glen Norman Green for services to youth and sport.

Elizabeth Sarah Harford for services to palliative care.

Sergeant Arthur John Harris for services to the New Zealand Police and the community.

Dr Rosemary Collinge Hipkins for services to science education.

Alan Frank Hitchens for services to journalism and the community.

Daphne Annette Hull, QSM, for services to tourism and recreation.

Denise Pamela Hutchins, ED, for services as a Justice of the Peace and to the health sector.

Gerda Christine Sophie Johnson for services to outdoor recreation and support for people with Multiple Sclerosis.

Professor Barbara Alison Jones for services to education and sociology research.

Ruxmani Vanmali Kasanji for services to the Indian community.

Laurie Tamati Ngarue Sadler Keung (Laurie Wharemate-Keung) for services to children.

Elizabeth Mary King for services to aviation.

Wana Joelle King for services to squash.

Bogyung Ko (Lydia Ko) for services to golf.

Margaret Joy Kouvelis for services to local government and education.

Roberta Hannah Laraman for services to tourism and heritage preservation.

Joan Lardner-Rivlin, QSM, for services to seniors.

Professor Peter James Lineham for services to religious history and the community.

Peter Stevenson Little for services to Māori land development and administration.

Fay Looney for services to the arts, particularly photography.

Vinka Dragica Lucas for services to the fashion industry and design.

Terry Isobel MacTavish for services to theatre and education.

Vivien Rae Maidaborn for services to human rights and social entrepreneurship.

Heidi Melissa Mardon for services to environmental education.

Celeste Mojo Mathers for services to people with disabilities.

Professor Tracey Kathleen Dorothy McIntosh for services to education and social science.

Dr Karlo Estelle Mila for services to the Pacific community and as a poet.

Dr Arbutus Mitikulena for services to health and the Pacific community.

William Hugh Moran for services to the State, sport and youth.

Jennifer Patricia Morris, OAM, for services to music and charity fundraising.

Dr Paula Jane Kiri Morris for services to literature.

Simon George Mortlock for services to the community and education.

Dr Susan Mary Bennett Morton for services to epidemiology and public health research.

Philip James Newbury for services to glass art.

Pouroto Nicholas Hamilton Ngaropo, JP, for services to Māori and governance.

Thomas Michael O'Connor, JP, for services to seniors, local government and journalism.

Kerry Louise Owen for services to children.

Raewyn Margery Peart for services to environmental and conservation policy.

Cushla-Mary Piesse for services to Highland dancing.

Emeritus Professor Thomas Kenneth Prebble for services to tertiary education.

Anne Patricia Rodger for services to women.

Georgina Hera Salter, deceased, for services to netball. (Her Majesty's approval of this award took effect on November 27, prior to the date of death.)

Fiona Samuel for services to television and theatre.

Sharon Norma Shea for services to Māori health and development.

Professor Emeritus Ivan Augustine Snook, deceased, for services to education. (Her Majesty's approval of this award took effect on October 18, prior to the date of death.)

Paul Stanleigh Spiller for services to chess.

Wendy Sporle for services to kiwi conservation.

Karen Louise Staples for services to the food industry.

Dr James Robert Garfield Stewart for services to children with genetic immune deficiency disorders.

Ava Marisha Strong for services to karate and the community.

Lance Allan Strong for services to karate and the community.

Vic Henery Tamati for services to the prevention of family violence.

Sharon Wallace Torstonson for services to the community.

Tukua Turia for services to Cook Islands art and culture.

Elisabeth Vaneveld for services to arts management.

Mele Luisa Wendt for services to governance, the Pacific community and women.

Rosemary Maud Wildblood for services to literature.

Dr Siouxsie Wiles for services to microbiology and science communication.

Kerry-Jayne Wilson for services to seabird conservation.

The Queen's Service Order

Eleanor Anne Bodger for services to seniors.

Martin John Dunne, CNZM, for services to the State.

Sonia Ann Faulkner for services to Girl Guiding.

Colin Archibald MacDonald for services to the State.

Queen's Service Medal
Virinder Kumar Aggarwal, JP, for services to Asian communities.

Frank Paul Bax for services to lawn bowls and the community.

Bhikhu Bhana for services to the Indian community and sport.

Winifred Norah Bickerstaff for services to music education.

Barbara Joan Brinsley for services to art curation.

Warwick Peter Brooks for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the community.

Reverend George William Bryant, JP, for services to publishing and the community.

Mark Niven Buckley for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the community.

Andrew Buglass for services to outdoor recreation and conservation.

Gerard Bullimore for services to the community and sport.

Margaret Hamilton Campion for services to the community.

Garrick Alan Child for services to hockey.

John Leonard Clark for services to the community.

Geoffrey Robert Crutchley for services to water management.

Elizabeth Jean Curtis for services to music.

Elizabeth McInnes Dickens for services to Girls Brigade.

William Peter Dixon for services to the Coastguard.

Pete Donaldson for services to the Coastguard.

Rodney Kelvin Eatwell, deceased, for services to the community and outdoor recreation.
(Her Majesty's approval of this award took effect on November 27, prior to the date of death.)

John Gordon Elliott for services to the community.

Kenneth Donald Fairbrother for services to seniors and the disabled.

Paul Ernest Gay for services to outdoor education.

Marilyn Anne Glover for services to the community and education.

Jacqueline Goodison (Jackie Clark) for services to women.

Colleen Janet Grayling for services to wildlife conservation.

Elizabeth Ann Haylock for services to the Returned and Services Association and the community.

Graeme Leslie Hoole for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the community.

Douglas George Hutchinson for services to conservation and the community.

Lindsay Howard Kerr for services to sport.

Donald Henry John Kirdy for services to cycling.

Sheryl Anne Law for services to hockey.

Gwendoline Eileen Lawson for services to sports administration.

Salamina Kaliatama Leolahi for services to the Niuean community.

Neill Livingstone for services to Taekwon-do.

Pauli Hifo Ma'afu for services to the Pacific community.

William John McLachlan for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the community.

Heather Yvonne McLean for services to genealogy and historical research.

Michael Joseph Merrick for services to the community.

Richard Morton Mitchell for services to the community and music.

Heather Juliet Moore for services to the community.

Janice Robyn Kathleen O'Connor for services to local government and the community.

Garry William O'Neill for services to historical research.

Kevin George O'Sullivan for services to the Coastguard.

Brian Hart Parker for services to the community.

Janet Evelyn Pentecost for services to the community, particularly seniors.

John William Pullar for services to the community.

Ross Richards, for services to the community.

Patricia Anne Roser for services to the Coastguard and children.

Ngaire Ethel Rowe for services to the community.

Ronald William Rowe for services to the community.

Florence Melva Shearman for services to seniors.

James Frederick Simpson for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the community.

Graeme John Smith for services to the community and theatre.

Tracey Lyn Swanberg for services to victims of domestic violence.

Derek Teariki for services to the Cook Islands community.

Alison Muriel Thomson, JP, for services to the community.

Reverend Tauinaola Tofilau for services to the Pacific community.

Reverend Penesikoto Togiatama for services to the Niuean community.

Alison Grace Vautier, JP, for services to the community.

Elsie Valentine Walkinshaw for services to the community.

Walter James Walsh for services to the community and broadcasting.

Anthony Graham Warren for services to youth.

Eileen Isobel Whaitiri, JP, for services to Māori and the community.

Derek Meredith Williams for services to the Welsh community and athletics.

Dr Allan Young for services to ethnic communities and dentistry.

The New Zealand Antarctic Medal
Professor Patricia Jean Langhorne for services to Antarctic science.

Andrew Leachman for services to New Zealand's Antarctic maritime capabilities and scientific research. (Posthumous. Deceased September 16, 2017.)

The New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration
Serviceman S for services to the New Zealand Defence Force.

Lieutenant Commander Jan Joseph Tupuola Peterson for services to the New Zealand Defence Force.

Colonel Ruth Leonie Putze for services to the New Zealand Defence Force.