Justice, food and a CatWalk: King's Birthday Honours in Wairarapa and Wellington

RNZ News

02-06-2025

Dame Catriona Williams.
Photo:
Supplied
A new dame and knight in Wairarapa have met their titles with surprise and humour, while over the hill in Wellington, a renowned food critic is chuffed to be honoured for doing what he loves.
Dame Catriona Williams has been honoured for her services to spinal cord injury and equestrian sport.
A former Olympic equestrian rider, Dame Catriona founded the CatWalk Spinal Cord Injury Trust in 2005 - a few years after a catastrophic fall during competition left her with a broken neck.
Since then, CatWalk - which marks its 20th anniversary this year - has raised more than $10 million towards research for a spinal cord injury cure through various fundraising events and challenges, such as climbing to Everest Base Camp on a hand cycle and completing the New York City Marathon.
Most recently, she cycled 1100km over 11 days from Scotland to London to raise funds for the cause - an intense, but fun feat which followed a second spinal cord injury in 2021.
Speaking to RNZ, Dame Catriona said she felt honoured to have been considered for a damehood, but was quick to point out that CatWalk's work to promote a cure for spinal cord injuries was a team effort.
"What we do at CatWalk has taken legs - if you can take the pun out of that - we're really excited about where things are heading at the moment and I'm excited about what my body is doing - and that is 20 years post-injury.
"I feel we're at a critical stage in the research - getting legs and bodies moving - if this [damehood] can help expediate the process, I'm all for it."
However, she said the ultimate goal was to make CatWalk obsolete and believed a cure for spinal injuries wouldn't come from a single pill or operation, but a combination of factors.
Until that time, Dame Catriona said she would continue to encourage those in a wheelchair to keep going - as the late American actor who played Superman Christopher Reeve once did for her.
Reeve suffered a spinal cord injury after being thrown from a horse in a competition in 1995.
"He sent me a letter wishing me all the best and said, 'You'll find new ways to do the same old things,' and he's right.
"But I guess what gets me out of bed every morning these days is the young ones. Seeing what they go through daily and knowing what's ahead of them ...
"Don't give up on that dream of walking or dancing or doing what you did on your feet before - because I absolutely believe we're going to see some massive changes over the next five to 10 years."
Regarding her new title, she said it would take some getting used to.
"I can't wait to tell my husband - he's going to laugh at that one for sure."
Meanwhile, former judge Sir Mark Cooper (Ngāti Mahanga, Waikato-Tainui) has received a knighthood for his services to the judiciary.
While pleased and concious of the honour, he said he would not be printing new stationery.
"It's a nice thing to happen at the end of a long career."
Sir Mark Cooper.
Photo:
Supplied
After graduating in the 1970s and spending some time as a lawyer, Sir Mark rose through the ranks of the judiciary, becoming a Kings Counsel in 2000, before being appointed to the High Court bench in 2004. Ten years later he was elevated to the Court of Appeal.
He said one of the most memorable years during that time was leading the the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Building Failure caused by the Canterbury earthquakes.
From 2011-2012 he chaired 33 public hearings and led the commission to deliver four reports under intense time pressure and public scrutiny - a task he admitted was daunting at times, but ultimately a privilege.
The inquiry was conducted at a time when Canterbury was still being rocked by aftershocks, he said, and the devastation was in your face, not just in the ruined buildings, but in the community's shared grief and anxiety.
"I felt the need to try and reach people who had suffered through the earthquake, who'd lost loved ones and also people who had been maimed ... sometimes I think we perhaps didn't do enough [for them]."
He said it was a moving experience listening to people's stories and was determined to be as empathetic as possible.
"In a situation like that, that affected so many... I don't think you can afford to be aloof and hold people at arms length."
Reflecting on his career, Sir Mark said his cases had run the gamut, with some easier to talk about than others, such as 153-day hearing concerning a malfunctioning boiler that ended up settling.
"The other end of the scale are the cases involving horrific murders, which stick in the mind.
"In the criminal jurisdiction there's a constant parade of things like that - terrible things that people have done to their fellow citizens."
He said classical music and his dogs were a lifeline throughout - "You never return from a walk with a dog without feeling better than when you set out."
Of his time on the bench, Sir Mark said he'd tried to be "user-friendly," respectful, and in contrast to his own experience with judges as a young lawyer - unintimidating.
"You know most people in court would rather be somewhere else, and you've got to bear that in mind.
"You're usually dealing with something which has had a serious impact on the people who are there."
He admitted he probably didn't always succeed, but noted that a well-timed joke could make the experience more enjoyable.
"I have on occasions tried to be funny, a bit of light-hearted humour on the bench ... can help to lighten the atmosphere and you can be self-deprecating as well.
"That's all part of making it all a bit more human."
Renowned Wellington food critic David Burton was happy to admit that getting "bling" from King Charles now ranked as one of his proudest moments.
Photo:
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The critic and author of several books on food history has been appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to food writing.
"As a writer I'm delighted to be honoured simply for doing what I enjoy best. I realise the etiquette requires me to say I feel humbled but, if I'm being honest this is the proudest moment of my life - apart from my wedding day, of course."
Burton has been contributing to the field since 1982, first as a food columnist and restaurant critic for
The Evening Post
newspaper (later
The Dominion Post
) and continues to write reviews for
Cuisine
magazine - a relationship that has lasted more than 30 years.
Although perhaps best known for his critiques, he said he primarily saw himself as a food writer, with the coffee-table edition of
French Colonial Cookery
a favourite.
Photo:
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
While some of his reviews still featured on local restaurant walls, he said ultimately the power of the critic's pen had waned over the 40-odd-years he'd been reviewing.
He cited a changing media landscape where "everybody is a critic, everybody has an opinion" as the root cause, but wasn't fazed by it.
On balance, there were overwhelmingly more good meals than bad over the years, he said - a few brilliant, some terrible, and the rest just middling, which proved to be the hardest reviews to write.
He knew the skewerings were typically the most memorable, but defended them as the right of a critic to express an honest opinion, as long as it was done without malice.
"[The restaurants] think that we're writing for them, but no, we're writing for the reader, we're writing for the customer - a very important distinction."
Photo:
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
On his Order of Merit, Burton said he had many people to thank, not least those in hospitality who had entertained and "suffered" him over the decades.
And despite the recent tough years for the industry, he was still excited by what chefs were doing - highlighting Rosella's on Wellington's Majorbanks St as delivering some of the most surprising dishes of late, and the recently opened Supra on Eva St as one to watch.
Burton said he'd be enjoying the capital's culinary scene in celebration of his honour on Monday night, but was determined to leave his critic's hat at the door.