Mrs Muriel Naomi TeHuikau Johnstone, of Aparima, Riverton, has been named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Maori and conservation in the Queen’s Birthday Honours listed unveiled today.

Mrs Muriel Johnstone has voluntarily dedicated for more than 40 years for her Iwi, Rūnanga and community she is knowledgeable in Iwi histories, shares Whakapapa advice, and is a passionate environmental advocate. 

Born and raised in Aparima Mrs Johnstone said she developed a deep sense of connection to the land, her whakapapa and the environment from growing up in the southern town and spending many years living with and learning from her grandparents. 

"We lived in Aparima which was right on the coast so when we went to the beach you learnt about the name of it, you learn the name of the water you learnt the names of everything, it was part and parcel of our life."

"Life was a history lesson," she said. "But then we watched changes happen to the environment, so we learnt to look at things differently."

It's for this reason where her passion for conservation began. She served on the Guardians of Lakes Manapouri Monowai and Te Anau for 15 years to represent an iwi voice in local conservation. She served on the Southland Conservation Board from 2005 to 2009, has been a member of the Department of Conservation’s Kaitiaki Roopu o Murihiku for almost 20 years, and is a member of the Milford Opportunities Governance Group. 

Mrs Johnstone said she was blessed to learn traditional Māori medicine and healing, Rongoā, from her taua and paua after they helped heal her with it when she was three years old. 

 "I spent many of my formative years living with [my grandparents] and so I was able to learn [Rongoā] right there on the spot and it was wonderful."

"It's my resolve in my tribe [now] to do the things that I was taught from my grandparents, so that's what's driven me, so we never lose those teachings."

She has been acknowledged as one of the key southern informants on Māori place names throughout Murihiku and Fiordland for the Ngāi Tahu cultural mapping project Ka Huru Manu. 

She has represented Ōraka-Aparima Rūnanga and Ngāi Tahu on numerous governance boards. She is Chair of the Taramea Management Committee where she has been a member for 20 years, a Ministry of Primary Industries appointed Tangata Tiaki Kaitiaki for the rohe Moana of Ōraka-Aparima, and Ministry for the Environment accredited RMA Hearings Commissioner. 

On top of all of her community work, she also had a successful career in social work, raised a family- all while "supporting [her late] husband on [their] farm."

"I studied nursing and social work at the same time, I worked in the first psycho-geriatric unit in Southland and whilst I was there, I had the opportunity to study social work."

"I was very aware of the challenges that whanau faced when caught into the system," so she said she wanted to help and be a voice for whanau who needed it.

A respected Kaumātua and Kai-Rongoā, Mrs Johnstone is a Te Waipounamu Trustee on the National Te Kāhui Rongoā Trust.

She said if she could impart one piece of wisdom onto future generations it would be to; "never forget the teachings of the past."