Dr David McKee, a senior research and teaching fellow at the University, is a pioneer of teaching New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL). In 1992, he and Rachel Locker McKee established and taught New Zealand's first full-time sign language interpreter training course at Auckland University of Technology.
He was the first Deaf lecturer and researcher at a New Zealand university when he joined Te Herenga Waka to co-found the Certificate in Deaf Studies: Teaching NZSL in 1997 and was the Director of the Deaf Studies Research Unit from 2002 until 2019. Dr McKee is a member of Deaf History International and the Wellington Deaf Society and was awarded life membership of NZSLTA in 2020. Dr McKee was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to New Zealand Sign Language and the Deaf community. Watch him speak to 1News about the honour here.
Dai Henwood graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1999, and his successful entertainment career has made him a household name. According to the citation, Mr Henwood was awarded Best New Face in 1999 for his work on ‘Pulp Comedy’, and he received the Billy T Award in 2002 for most promising young comedian. He is well-known for his role on TV3’s 7 Days and has won Best Male Comedian at the annual New Zealand Comedy Guild Awards seven times.
He has been an advocate for men’s health and those living with bowel cancer since he shared his cancer diagnosis publicly in 2023. Mr Henwood has been named an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the entertainment industry and charitable fundraising.
Alumna Sue Elliott has been a prominent supporter of the arts in Wellington for many years after gaining a Bachelor of Arts from the University in 1979. Her citation states that “as trustee of Wellington Sculpture Trust since 2002 and its chair since 2013, she led the fundraising and installation of six permanent sculptures, eight 4 Plinths Sculpture Awards and instigated Wellington’s annual PARKing Day.” Ms Elliott has been named an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the arts and governance.
Peter de Blois, who graduated from Victoria University with a Bachelor of Music in 1998 and a Graduate Diploma in Teaching in 2013, has had a lifelong passion for music as a singer, choral conductor, and educator. His citation explains how he was a founding member of the Dunedin Youth Choir in the late 1980s and a member of the New Zealand Youth Choir before being appointed as its Assistant Musical Director. He has been both a Regional and National Finale adjudicator for The Big Sing competition before becoming a music teacher and head of department at secondary schools in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Now based at Southland Girls’ High School, he directs the all-comers choir Sanguine and co-directs the auditioned choir Femme which features regularly at The Big Sing National Finale. He is currently studying his PhD on "Liturgical Laboratories or Bastions of Tradition? Tradition and Adaptation in Anglican Cathedral Music in Aotearoa New Zealand" through the Theological University Utrecht in the Netherlands.
The full list of Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington alumni honoured in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours:
To be an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
Mr Peter Michael De Blois—for services to music
Mr Alan Charles Gilmore—for services to astronomy
Mr Dafydd (Dai) Henwood—for services to the entertainment industry and charitable fundraising
Mr John Daniel O’Sullivan—for services to business and philanthropy
Distinguished Professor Emeritus Paul Spoonley—for services to sociology
Ms Jennifer (Jenny) Mary Wake—for services to theatre and television
Mr Neil William Walker, JP—for services to primary industries and the community
To be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
Ms Lalita Vanmali Kasanji—for services to the IT industry and the Indian community
Mr John Kumitau—for services to the Pacific community
Mr Khoa Truong Nguyen—for services to New Zealand-Vietnam relations and the community
The King’s Service Medal (KSM):
Mrs Margaret Jean Cousins—for services to local government and the community
Ms Allyson Teresa Hamblett—for services to people with disabilities and the transgender community
Mr Timothy (Tim) Peter Marshall—for services to the community and waka ama
Mr Graham (Kereama) Douglas Nathan—for services to Māori
Honorary King’s Service Medal (KSM):
Mr Eteuati (Eddie) Fa’avae—for services to the Pacific community.