King's Birthday honours
Profiles of all Southern recipients (or those with Southern connections) from this year's King's Birthday honours list.
Julie Leslie Paterson, Auckland
For services to women and sport
Julie Paterson has done more for women in sport than many will ever know.
But that work has finally been recognised with a MNZM.
The former Netball South chief executive co-founded Women in Sport Aotearoa (Wispa) in 2016 — which advocates for women and girls to gain equity opportunities to be involved in sport in all capacities — when she was determined to create a better pathway for women in sport.
She stepped down as co-chair last year and at the time told the Otago Daily Times she was not moving on because the job was done, but because it was time for fresh voices to lead Wispa.
"There’s still definitely work to be done and I will continue to be involved, but in a slightly different capacity."
Ms Paterson co-chaired the successful bid to deliver the 8th International Working Group World Conference on Women and Sport, which had 1850 participants, in 2022.
From 2005 to 2012, she was the chief executive of Netball South, where she led the Southern Sting and later the Southern Steel.
She later moved to Netball Northern where she was chief executive, which included the Northern Mystics until 2017.
Ms Paterson has been chief executive of Tennis New Zealand since 2017, where she had helped foster significant growth in women in the sport, particularly in coaching and management roles. The wahine coaching scholarship programme won an international award as a result.
She has also been a member of the International Tennis Federation’s gender quality committee.
She was chairwoman of Auckland Badminton from 2014 to 2017, during which time facilities were upgraded for the World Masters Games.
Adine Rachel Wilson, Auckland
For services to netball
Adine Wilson has done it all in netball — both on and off the court.
The former University of Otago student played and captained her country, winning both the World Cup and Commonwealth Games gold.
Originally from Taranaki, she played representative netball for her province while still at school.
Adine Harper, as she was known then, came to Dunedin for university study, and her netball career took off.
She made her debut with the Silver Ferns in 1999 after captaining the under-21 national side.
She was part of the national squad which won the World Cup in 2003 in Jamaica.
During her stint as captain of the year, her side won the Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2006 in Melbourne.
She retired from international play in 2007, following 79 test appearances.
She was a board member of the New Zealand Netball Players’ Association (NZNPA) from 2007-23, chairing the board from 2017-23, with time as interim executive manager in 2015 and 2021.
She was prominent in establishing the New Zealand Netball Players Association, eventuating in netballers having a collective voice as the sport headed into the semi-professional era.
She was a board member of Auckland Netball from 2012-22. Domestically, she played for Southern Sting from 2001 to 2007 and captained the Southern Steel in 2009.
She has been an athlete mentor for the Tania Dalton Foundation since 2018, which supports young women in sport through a range of programmes and is a current trustee.
Ms Wilson is a member of the Integrity in Sport and Recreation Establishment Board.
She is married to double international Jeff Wilson, who has a MNZM. The couple, who live in Auckland, have two children.
Mary Helen Lee, Wānaka
For services to snow sports and tourism
For Mary Lee, her recognition in the King’s Birthday Honours rekindled memories of decades spent transforming the Cardrona Valley into the snow sports hub it is today.
"It’s brought back all the memories of the people that have helped us as well and assisted us through. Because no-one can do things by themselves."
Beginning in the 1970s, Mrs Lee and her husband John developed Cardrona skifield, Snow Park and the Snow Farm in the Cardrona area.
From 1987 to 2008, Mrs Lee managed and developed Snow Farm, New Zealand’s only dedicated cross-country skifield, continuing now in voluntary roles.
Her efforts have provided employment opportunities and attracted national and international ski tourists, with trails providing offseason business.
The Lees sold Snow Farm in 2008 and formed the Pisa Alpine Charitable Trust to ensure it remains a recreational area in perpetuity. They developed the Merino Muster race at Snow Farm in 1995, which in 2014 was included in the Worldloppet international race series.
She remains New Zealand representative for the Worldloppet Ski Federation, and director and secretary of the Merino Muster.
Mrs Lee said she still committed "quite a few hours to teaching cross-country skiing on a voluntary basis, and still got up to the snow at least four days a week during the ski season.
"I’ve worked with the Nordic youth a lot and that was the thing I loved the most, she said.
"I loved the pathways that gave kids so much more confidence in life.
In addition to setting up Wanaka Nordic Ski Club’s youth development group in 1999, designed to help young people compete in overseas competitions, she also founded Snow Girls, a cross-country skiing and social network for women of all ages.
In 2022, she was the first person to receive the NZQA snow sports instructor award — cross-country skiing level 4.
Mrs Lee volunteers with SeniorNet and Cardrona Heritage Trust, and has held founding and executive roles with the New Zealand Cross Country Ski Association and Biathlon New Zealand.
She said the award was both "very humbling and "very surprising, but that she was honoured to accept it.
"John was also awarded several years ago, in 2016, and I got a lot of satisfaction out of that, but to be awarded in my own right is just wonderful.
Patricia (Trish) Elizabeth Clare Lindsay, Invercargill
For services to netball and governance
Trish Lindsay has dipped her toes into many different parts of Southland and the region is all the better for her interests.
She has contributed significantly in Southland to netball, the arts and governance.
Mrs Lindsay was a founding director of the Southern Teamco Board (Southern Sting Netball), which helped revitalise netball in the south of the South Island.
She undertook key initial actions to drive the franchise to success. She became a director of the ILT Stadium board in 1999, established for the build of a multipurpose sports and leisure facility in Invercargill.
She had a crucial role in fundraising, stakeholder engagement, design and build of the new facility, which is now a key Southland stadium for events. She was trustee and deputy chairwoman of the Community Trust of Southland from 2006 to 2014.
Mrs Lindsay was a founding trustee of Shakespeare in the Park Trust, which presents an annual outdoor production and provides scholarship opportunities for locals. She is the secretary of the trust and manages its sponsorship for continuation.
She has been a trustee of the Southland Art Foundation, promoting the visual arts, and overseeing and growing a collection of public art works. She became a member of the Museum Governance Group in 2021, to upgrade the museum, looking at its long-term purpose.
Mrs Lindsay was a board member and is now trustee of Southland Disability Enterprises, a director of Invercargill Rotary, and an executive member of the Southland Medical Foundation Council.
She said she really loved doing her volunteer work as it involved initiatives which benefited the whole community.
That involved the Zero Fees scheme, the Southern Sting, Stadium Southland and the Shakespeare in the Park Trust.
