Absolutely Positively Wellington Award winners announced

Examples of outstanding service to Wellington have been honoured at this year’s Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Awards.

The 12 recipients of this year’s awards were presented with their certificates by Mayor Justin Lester at an event at City Gallery Wellington on Thursday evening.

The winners’ contributions to the community ranged from years of service to promoting Te Reo Maori to years of involvement and support for local sports clubs, through to promoting greater tolerance and understanding between different ethnicities.

“We all love Wellington and it’s our city’s people that make this such a special place to live,” says Justin Lester.

“The Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Awards are about recognising the people who selflessly give so much to our communities – people who volunteer their time and effort to make our city a better place.

Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Award Citation for
June Te Raumange Jackson

June Jackson has spent much of her adult life helping the Wellington community – and the Government – understand her mana whenua Māori tribal traditions.
Not long after moving to Wellington from Taranaki in the 1950s, June married Sam Jackson. What a couple they were, working ceaselessly to further the understanding of tikanga and te reo Māori. They did so through their work as kaumātua protocol advisors, representing their local iwi at formal ceremonies for visiting Heads of State at Government House, and advising in blessings and ceremonial functions for Wellington City Council and at Parliament – June recalls officiating at the inauguration of the David Lange Government in 1984.
In 2010, Sam and June – often known as Uncle Sam and Aunty June – represented Wellington City Council on a visit to Sister City Harrogate in England, taking with them a specially carved pou that was placed in the New Zealand Garden at Harrogate. They have worked with a succession of Wellington Mayors and have provided protocol services on ceremonial occasions such as citizenship ceremonies.
Sam died in 2013, but June has carried on the work, assisted by son Peter.
It would be impossible to estimate the number of hours the Jacksons have worked for their community and they have always carried out their activities with special grace and dignity.

Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Award Citation for
Don Neely

It would be difficult to think of any area of cricket that Don Neely has not served during a lifetime of devotion to the game.
He played club cricket for Kilbirnie for more than three decades, leading the club to seven Wellington senior titles. He also represented Wellington, captaining the team to the Plunket Shield crown in 1966.
Don had 17 years as a selector, initially for Wellington and then for New Zealand. He was a successful convener of the national selection panel for seven years.
When he was only 25, Don was already a member of the Wellington Cricket Association management committee and he went on to become a life member of the Kilbirnie club, Cricket Wellington and New Zealand Cricket. He coached at many levels, but seemed to have a special affinity with school-age players.
Don was also heavily involved in the cricket media, as a broadcaster, newspaper columnist and a prolific author. Some of his books, such as Men in White, The Summer Game and The Basin, are regarded as New Zealand sports classics.
Don was a long-serving member of the Basin Reserve Trust; indeed his close ties to the ground are reflected in the fact that the scoreboard is named in his honour. He was also pivotal in helping to set up the New Zealand Cricket Museum, which is sited at the Basin Reserve.
Cricket has been fortunate that when he was just a youngster in short pants, Don decided it was his sport. During his long life, Don’s love of cricket has never wavered.

Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Award Citation for
Alastair Smith

Alastair Smith has been a tireless advocate for Wellington cycling since the 1970s.
He is passionate about people using bicycles for transport and recreation and has played a major role in transforming Wellington into a bikeable city.
In 1979, he was appointed as the inaugural general secretary of the Bicycle Association of New Zealand.
Alastair was a lecturer in Information Studies at Victoria University, and retired in 2014 after 25 years of service. He is an avid cyclist, covering up to 70km a day, and has biked across Europe and other parts of the world.
His life has not been without challenge. In 2001, Alastair was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer affecting plasma cells within the bone marrow. In the 16 years since, he has continued to campaign for cycling. In 2012, Alastair wrote Everyday Cycling in Aotearoa New Zealand, an informative and inspiring guide that helps both beginners and more experienced riders.
In 2014, he was involved in organizing the first Miramar Peninsula Ciclovia event, during which a section of the Harbour Road closes for three Sundays over summer so cyclists can enjoy the seashore without the distraction of motor vehicles. Alastair also coordinates Folding Goldies, an initiative for organising trips in Wellington for people with Gold Cards and folding bikes.
He continues his advocacy for cycling in Wellington today through Cycle Aware Wellington.

Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Award Citation for
Esther Fung

Esther Fung, a fourth-generation New Zealander, has devoted much of her life to furthering understanding of ethnic communities in Wellington. Since arriving in Wellington in the 1960s, she has been involved in a large variety of groups.
She has been a committee member, secretary and president of the New Zealand Chinese Association’s Wellington branch, whose work has ranged from helping to organise the early dragon boat festivals in the 1990s to reviving Wellington’s Chinese Festival celebrations. She has also been heavily involved in the organisation of the cultural component of the New Zealand Chinese Association’s annual sports tournament, held in Wellington every fourth year.
Among other initiatives Esther has been involved in was securing for the Chinese community an apology from Prime Minister Helen Clark for the poll tax imposed by the New Zealand Government on Chinese migrants from 1881 to 1944. She became a trustee of the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust, established by the Government following the apology.
Wider community involvements included working for the Wellington Ethnic Council (now the Wellington Multicultural Council), and Multicultural Learning and Support Services (MCLaSS).
Esther was the inaugural president of the Wellington Xiamen Association. She has also been a trustee in the Community Trust of Wellington.
Over the past two decades, Esther has helped to lead the Chinese Garden Society’s drive to get a Chinese Garden established in Wellington and was one of the organisers of the formal launch of fund-raising for the Garden in April.

Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Award Citation for
Jeff Khan

It would be hard to imagine Wellington’s Hindi Radio Programme without the voice of Jeff Khan.
Jeff has dedicated almost three decades of his life to broadcasting, spending much of his time in a studio passing on important national and community news to the Hindi communities in Wellington, Auckland and his native Fiji.
In the 1970s Jeff joined local politics in Fiji, as a councillor and then Deputy Mayor of the northern Fiji town of Savusavu.
But the radio waves called and he began his broadcasting career in 1988. He worked at four major radio stations there – Radio Fiji, Radio Navtarang, Radio Sargam and Radio Mirchi. He was reportedly known as the ‘Voice of the Nation’.
Jeff moved to New Zealand in 2008 and worked for Radio Terana in Auckland before arriving in the Capital in 2010. For the past seven years, Jeff has kept his community up-to-date on current affairs, births, deaths and marriages and local events.
The community has also benefited from Jeff’s media experience in times of natural disasters, including the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake and the damage in Fiji after Cyclone Winston. Jeff was a key source of information for the community, giving live updates on air about closures, damage and civil defence information, and organising for donations of food and clothing to be collected and sent to Fiji.
When he is not in the studio, he is planning, reading the news and selecting what needs to be in his show. He also enjoys cooking, playing billiards and watching rugby.

Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Award Citation for
Adrienne Girling

Adrienne Girling is one of Canada’s gifts to Wellington. Adrienne moved from Halifax to Wellington in 2008 to study for a PhD in cross-cultural psychology. She completed her doctorate in 2014, and by then was so happy living in Wellington she decided to stay.
Adrienne has thrown herself into the community. Since 2015 she has chaired Out Wellington, the organisation that produces the Wellington Pride Festival/Tū whakahīhī e Te Whanganui-ā-Tara.
Out Wellington is a small all-volunteer organisation that has done a superb job with the festival, despite operating on a shoestring budget.
The festival has had a significant cultural impact on Wellington, honouring and showcasing Wellington’s LGBTIQ community. In 2016 it involved 30 events over nine days; this year there were 70 events over 17 days. Out in the Park, a highlight of the festival, this year drew 8000 people. And the Wellington Pride Parade this year became a full street parade, attracting more than 2000 people.
Helping such events to grow has not been easy. Adrienne and her team spend much of the year planning and seeking sponsorship, but she has been heartened by the response, feeling she is helping to cater for a community need.
Adrienne’s commitment to the community can be seen in other aspects of her life, including participating in the takatāpui kapa haka group Tiwhanawhana and promoting diversity and inclusion in her workplace at Inland Revenue.



Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Award Citation for
Ashley Peters

Ash Peters’ world revolves around mountain biking.
The American-born Wellingtonian moved here ten years ago for a job and fell in love with the city, especially the proximity of the outdoors. She discovered a love of mountain biking and has spent years passing on that joy to others.
When Ash moved to Wellington, the biking community welcomed her warmly when she took up the sport and it gave her a sense of belonging, fun and friendship.
However, she noticed that the riding groups catered primarily for adults. With her background in outdoor instruction and with the help of some friends, Ash set up Revolve Cycling in 2009, a club to encourage women into the activity. Four years later she set up WORD (Wellington Off-road Riding Department), a programme that gets Wellington children off their sofas and on to their bikes.
Both groups have been huge successes. Revolve has almost 2000 women signed up for its newsletter and Facebook page and attracts dozens of women at weekly events in Wellington and Rotorua.
WORD has progressed from 12 children with two instructors to 175 keen young riders per term and 25 instructors. There are after-school programmes, holiday camps and other events designed to encourage a lifelong love of mountain biking.
Ash has also established JoyRide - a professional mountain bike instruction company running half-day courses and multi-day skills camps around New Zealand.



Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Award Citation for
Laurie Foon

Laurie Foon is a born-and-bred Wellingtonian who has worked tirelessly to advocate and educate the business sector on how to be more sustainable.
Laurie started Starfish Clothing in 1993, after her OE in London opened her eyes to the business model used by The Body Shop – a sustainable business that acted responsibly and also used its profile to communicate issues that were happening around the world.
For 20 years she was a leader in the ethical and eco-fashion industry, winning an NZI Sustainable Business Network Award in 2007.
She later decided to close the business and move on to another exciting opportunity. In 2014 she joined the Sustainable Business Network and as its Wellington Regional Co-ordinator has supported other businesses in their sustainable journeys.
Through the Network, she has been a champion of Wellington as a Fair Trade City, worked with the events sector in encouraging them to become waste-free, and advocated with businesses for the environmental clean-up Million Metres Streams project.
The busy mother of two coaches two netball teams and enjoys cycling, walking and music. She also runs a blog and a radio show called B-Side Stories, in which she interviews people who make Wellington tick.

Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Award Citation for
Lucy Revill

Lucy Revill is a 27-year-old Wellingtonian who provides outstanding service to the city through her blog The Residents.
She is a former lawyer and works for the New Zealand Stock Exchange. Lucy grew up in Karori and started The Residents in 2015 after noting there was a lack of blogs promoting the people and things that make Wellington wonderful.
Lucy is passionate about Wellington’s stories and covers both star players and quiet achievers. She profiles a range of businesses, activities, people and ideas in Wellington, and helps her audience to discover Wellington and its hidden secrets. Her blog illustrates that Wellington is a city of growth and opportunity and many Wellingtonians have come to rely on it to keep up with events and the best places to eat, drink and enjoy.
Her blog receives 14,000 unique hits a month. In addition, she has 7000 followers on Instagram, 5000 on Facebook, nearly 1000 on Twitter and over 400 via email.
Lucy devotes 20 hours of her week to her blog, on top of her role as the sole in-house policy advisor at the New Zealand Stock Exchange.
Her efforts demonstrate how a new generation of Wellingtonians are voluntarily engaging with the city through new media online and how social mediums such as blogs can make a difference in taking our stories to a wider audience.

Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Award Citation for
Father Barry Scannell

Father Barry Scannell is the tireless worker who was behind the reopening of earthquake-damaged St Mary of the Angels, one of Wellington’s much-loved landmarks.
Fr Scannell has become a well-known figure around Wellington since moving from Auckland in 2010. He has involved himself in many tasks quite apart from being the Parish Priest of St Mary of the Angels - his roles include being a member of the Archdiocesan Council of Priests and being the Marist St Pat’s Rugby Club chaplain.
When St Mary of the Angels was damaged in the 2013 earthquakes, its strength was estimated at less than 20 per cent of the building code and it was closed for public safety. Fr Scannell launched an ambitious fundraising campaign to strengthen the building.
His team raised the $9.35 million required and there was a successful reopening last Easter. Fr Scannell’s work has taken the building to almost 100 per cent of the building code. The inside of St Mary of the Angels looks wonderful, with hardly a visible sign of the strengthening work that has taken place.
Throughout the challenging process, Fr Scannell and his team continued to lead their congregation. St John’s Presbyterian Church recognised Father Scannell’s leadership by providing alternative accommodation for the St Mary’s congregation and for ancillary events.
Since it was reopened, St Mary of the Angels has not only been used for religious services but for arts events such as the New Zealand Festival and concerts.

Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Award Citation for
Geraldine Murphy

Geraldine Murphy has spent the past decade helping to build the Inner City Association, which was recently renamed Inner-City Wellington.
The group has provided an effective voice for its residential and business members by making representations to organisations such as Wellington City Council, the Police and Government, particularly the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Geraldine grew up in Hikurangi, north of Whangarei, and moved to Wellington in the late 1970s.
As a public policy contractor who lives in central Wellington, she was really an ideal person to drive an organisation such as the Inner City Association, even if sometimes it has felt as if she was continuing her day job in her spare time as well. She attended the initial meetings to set up the association in 2008, was secretary in 2010, chaired it from 2011 until the AGM in 2017, and is now deputy chair of Inner-City Wellington.
The association has done good work in areas such as highlighting the demands that seismic strengthening requires of property owners, helping to increase the uptake of EYES ON among retailers, putting a spotlight on inner-city begging and anti-social behaviour resulting primarily from overuse of alcohol, and promoting small businesses.
Geraldine has been a determined advocate for the association and her patience and persistence have resulted in more understanding of key issues facing people who live or run businesses in the inner city. She has done much to help the organisation grow in membership and significance.


Absolutely Positively Wellingtonian Award Citation for
Paula Warren

Paula Warren has dedicated herself to conservation. Not only has she worked for the Department of Conservation since moving to Wellington from Northland in 1987, but she devotes a lot of her spare time to environmental projects as well.
One initiative that is greatly helping the Wellington region is the Growing Places Charitable Trust she helped to set up three years ago. The trust makes it easier to do work in transport corridors such as railway lines.
It helps local residents and groups do ecological restoration on unused land, delivers ecological benefits and solves problems such as rubbish dumping, tagging and management costs. Paula spends hundreds of hours a year organising projects and doing work on the ground.
This work has included planting areas and removing graffiti around the Kaiwharwhara Station, planting along the Ngauranga coastal edge and upgrading the areas surrounding the Takapu Road, Linden and Redwood train stations. Another target has been the Clifton Terrace car park bank, which is being cleaned up. Planting there includes stinging nettles to help reduce anti-social behaviour and breed butterflies.
Growing Places is just one of many of Paula’s projects. Her environmental interests range over a wide spectrum, including chairing both the Friends of Galapagos and the Friends of Baring Head.
Paula is also a strong advocate of light rail and is a member of Living Streets, which promotes walking-friendly communities.

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