Six Southlanders - three of whom who now live outside the province - have received the King's Birthday Honours today (3rd Jun).

ONZM

Officer of The New Zealand Order of Merit

Peter Michael de Blois, for services to music

de Blois has dedicated his life to music, particularly as a singer, choral conductor, and educator.

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 sang in the Ely Cathedral Choir in the early 1990s and was a Music Examiner with the Trinity College of London Examinations Board between 1999 and 2007.

He served as the Director of Music at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Auckland between 2000 and 2010, where he established two children’s choirs and scholarships for junior choristers and directed the choir at events of importance such as state funerals, and Anzac Day commemorations.

He has been both a Regional and National Finale adjudicator for The Big Sing competition prior to 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.

de Blois is an Honorary Associate of The Royal School of Church Music for services to church music in New Zealand.

MNZM

Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit

Lloyd James McCallum JP, for services to the dairy industry and the environment

McCallum is a church elder, award-winning dairy farmer and active community member in Southland.

McCallum was one of the original Southland sheep and arable farmers to convert his property to dairy production in 1990, a move that helped to bring prosperity and growth to the region.

He has won several farming awards, including Westpac NZMP Dairy Farmer of the Year in 2002 and Balance Farm Environment Award for best dairy farm and Lincoln University Farmer of the Year, both in 1997.

He was a member of the original Fonterra Shareholders Council (SHC) between 2000 and 2013, providing leadership during a period of significant change in the dairy industry.

He has been involved with many industry bodies including the South Island Dairy Event committee, Livestock Improvement Co-op, and the Southland Demonstration Farm.

He was elected as an Environment Southland Councillor in 2013 and became Deputy Chair in 2016.

Significant improvements in the Southland waterways are now visible due to policies made by Environment Southland in his tenure.

He has been instrumental in leading farmers in best practice farm management and taking responsibility for environmental effects.

McCallum was one of the first Co-Chairs of Whakamana te Waituna Charitable Trust, which focused on improving freshwater quality in the Waituna region of Southland.

Bruce Winston Ross, for services to cycling

Ross has been a leading figure in Cycling Southland for more than 45 years.

From 1985 to 2020 Mr Ross served as Tour Manager for the Tour of Southland.

During his tenure, he transformed the event from a three to six-day format.

He also oversaw the progression from an individual race to a team-based event.

In 2002 he secured accreditation for the Tour from UCI, the world governing body for cycling. This international accreditation drew overseas cyclists to the event.

He supported youth participation in cycling while serving as Cycling Southland Development Manager from 1999 to 2020.

During this time, he created a cycle education programme for schools.

He established the Schools’ Top Bike competition which continues to this day.

He played a key role in the establishment of New Zealand’s first covered velodrome in Invercargill.

Ross has received a Cycling New Zealand Long Service Award, a Service to Southland Sport Award and Southland Administrator of the Year, as well as the Cycling New Zealand Malayan Cup for his services to the sport in 2006.

KSM

Kings Service Medal

Annie Elizabeth McCracken, for services to the community

McCracken has had a varied involvement with community organisations, outdoor recreation and local government in Southland.

McCracken and her husband have farmed in Western Southland for many years, where she has supported community projects including the Southern Scenic Route, the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track, McCrackens Rest, the Southland Locator Beacon Charitable Trust, and Tuatapere Promotions.

She was a Waiau Health Trust Director from 2000 to 2012, campaigning for improved rural health support for the Tuatapere area.

She has been on the Executive committee of Southland Medical Foundation for more than 20 years.

She is a Life Member of the Borland Lodge Adventure and Education Trust and has been Secretary and Vice President over 30 years.

She has been President of the Southland Women’s Club, chaired the Policy and Planning Committee, and became a Life Member after 21 years’ involvement.

She was elected to the Southland District Council from 2001 for two terms and served on the Southland Conservation Board.

She was President of the Southland Art Society in 2009.

She has coordinated the Dictionaries in Schools project for Invercargill North Rotary Club and has volunteered for the Invercargill Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

McCracken is a programme maker for Radio Southland and has interviewed people for a Southland Oral History project.

Fergus Charles Denis More, for services to the community and the law.

Dr Glenys Margaret Weir, for services to health.

Weir has served the Gore community as a General Practitioner since 1981.

Dr Weir began working at the Gore Medical Centre in 1981 and was the first female GP in the Gore District. She volunteered her services to rural health days offering free consultations for health screening and promotion.

She has been a co-director of the Gore Medical Centre from 1996 to 2023 and participated in the local after-hours roster.

Since 2005 she has been a teacher with the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners’ vocational training programme, and she has provided daily teaching, mentoring and supervision of registrars as a contracted teacher between 2008 and 2019.

Many of her former students have stayed on to serve the Southland community.

She arranged and led a local doctor peer review group, providing collegial support and a place to review cases.

She has engaged with the wider community at various times to develop community-based care initiatives, and supported timely access to care through weekly rural clinics in Waikaka, Cremation Referee services and free school-based health clinics.

For 20 years she served as a medical sexual assault clinician assessing and supporting victims of sexual abuse.

Since 1981, Dr Weir has been involved in the leadership of the Waikaka-Knapdale Presbyterian Church, including teaching Sunday School.

CLICK HERE for the full list of 2025 Kings Birthday Honours.