Honouring Courage, Compassion and Cuisine: King’s Birthday Recognitions 2025
Today I want to talk about something that genuinely moved me – the 2025 King's Birthday Honours, a celebration of exceptional New Zealanders who've made a real difference in our communities. From Wairarapa to Wellington and across the South, this year’s recipients are as diverse in their talents as they are inspiring in their stories.
One name that truly stood out is Dame Catriona Williams. Once an Olympic-level equestrian, Catriona's life changed forever after a catastrophic fall that left her with a spinal cord injury. But rather than let that define her, she turned tragedy into purpose. In 2005, she founded the CatWalk Spinal Cord Injury Trust, which has since raised over $10 million for research into finding a cure. That’s twenty years of commitment, resilience, and fundraising feats like hand-cycling to Everest Base Camp and biking over 1100 kilometres from Scotland to London. Her latest efforts came after a second spinal injury in 2021—yet she’s still going strong. Catriona says she’s honoured by the damehood, but humbly insists it’s a team effort. And her long-term goal? To make CatWalk obsolete by helping find a cure. That’s the kind of leadership that lifts everyone.
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Then there’s Sir Mark Cooper from Wellington—former High Court judge, now knighted for his service to the judiciary. He’s best known for leading the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Canterbury earthquake building failures. Imagine the responsibility of overseeing 33 public hearings, all while the community was still grieving and aftershocks were ongoing. He admitted it was tough, even overwhelming at times, but his dedication to justice and empathy shone through. He believes in making the courtroom more human—adding humour where possible, being approachable, and never forgetting the real people behind every case.
And what’s a celebration without flavour? Food critic David Burton was recognised for his contribution to food writing with an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. For over 40 years, he’s shaped how Kiwis experience dining out, especially through his long-standing role with Cuisine magazine. David’s honesty is refreshing—he openly calls this honour one of his proudest moments, second only to his wedding day. He’s not just a critic, though. He’s a historian of food, capturing culinary culture in beautifully written works like French Colonial Cookery . He believes strongly that reviews should be for the readers, not the restaurants, and that criticism—when done right—is about truth, not malice.
Each of these honourees brings a different flavour to the table—resilience, justice, and creativity—but all of them remind us what the King’s Birthday Honours are really about: recognising those who’ve quietly, consistently, and passionately contributed to making our society better. Their stories aren’t just worth celebrating—they’re worth remembering.
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