Queen's Birthday Honours 2016: 'Brooklyn' producer, Black Grace founder recognised

The producer of the Best British Film of 2015, Finola Dwyer, and the founder of the Black Grace dance group, Neil Ieremia, feature among those from the creative industries and science to receive Queen’s Birthday Honours.

In alphabetical order they are:

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZOM)
George Farrant,of Auckland, is a national leader in heritage protection. He has been heritage manager since 1982 and principal heritage adviser since 2010 for the Auckland Council and predecessor council. His restoration projects include the Civic Theatre, Auckland Town Hall, Auckland Art Gallery and the Pah Homestead.

Dianne McCarthy, of Blenheim, encouraged women into science and research careers as chief executive of the Royal Society of New Zealand from 2007-14. She is a board member of the Cawthron Institute, Nelson, and a director of Powerhouse Ventures. Dr McCarthy was made an Officer of the NZOM in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2008.

Tom Miller, of Auckland has contributed to medical research for 60 years and has published more than 140 research papers. He  played a key role in the 1960s in the development of the research platform required to establish a School of Medicine in Auckland, focusing on kidney disease. Dr Miller joined the University of Auckland in 1994, where he is now Emeritus Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine.

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZOM)
Finola Dwyer produced last year’s Oscar-nominated film Brooklyn, which won Best British Film at the Baftas, the British film awards. She is co-owner of London-based Wildgaze Films and also produced An Education and Quartet. Her career began with the National Film Unit and TVNZ, as well as working on Kiwi films such as Came a Hot Friday and The Quiet Earth. She moved to the UK in 1990.

Wei Gao, of Auckland, is a world-leading material scientist and engineer, who has made a significant impact in helping to address the environmental, industrial, and technological issues. Professor Gao has taught at the University of Auckland for more than 23 years,

Neil Ieremia, of Auckland, founded Black Grace in 1995 and turned the troupe into an internationally-recognised act that performs in North America, Europe, Japan, South Korea, Mexico and Australia. Last year, its 20th anniversary, Black Grace toured from Kaitaia to Oamaru with “20 for 20” – 20 venues for $20 tickets.

Victoria Spackman, of Wellington, is chief executive of film company Gibson Group and contributes to the theatre, film and television sectors in governance roles. Last year, she joined the board of Education New Zealand and has worked on a Mandarin language television series called Dragons in a Distant Land about Chinese students studying in New Zealand.

Barry Holland, of Auckland, has been a broadcaster for 53 years, specialising as a radio personality, sports presenter and newsreader. He has spent much of his career at NewstalkZB, where he was most recently a sports producer. He hosted television shows such as Break 21 in the 1970s, Top Town, Superstar Series and the On the Mat.

Billie Jordan,of  Waiheke Island, founded The Hip-Operation Crew, a hip-hop dance group consisting of 22 members aged 68 to 96 years old. They were the subject of the 2014 documentary, Hip Hop-eration, which followed the group from their inception to their performance at the World Hip Hop Championships in Las Vegas.

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