Congratulations to the following recipients in the King’s Birthday Honours for 2025 for their services to Music. Education, Music and Puoro.
Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Ms Catherine Joy Andersen
Ms Cath Andersen (Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga) has been Chief Executive of the New Zealand Music Commission (NZMC) since its inception in 2000, providing leadership and support to the New Zealand music industry for 25 years.
Ms Andersen has played a pivotal leadership role in the growth and resilience of the New Zealand music industry, developing numerous programmes and administering funding and support for the music community. She has helmed New Zealand Music Month since its inception in 2001, which has become a cornerstone of the cultural calendar, fostering national pride and boosting awareness of local music. Her work with the Outward Sound programme has significantly enhanced New Zealand’s global music profile, enabling New Zealand artists to access international audiences. She has led the NZMC through a period of immense transformation in the music industry, including the rise of digital streaming, the Global Financial Crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Her collaborative responses to these challenges, and her ability to develop new and practical ways to support and strengthen the music industry, have helped safeguard the livelihoods of music professionals. Ms Andersen has advocated for the power of music to effect positive change in society, through initiatives such as Music Mentoring in Schools, and the music support and mental health charity MusicHelps.
Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Ms Suzanne Noreen Cato
Ms Suzy Cato has been a central figure in children’s programming, music, and education for more than 35 years, using her profile to promote literacy, mental health, and well-being for young people and their families.
Ms Cato became a household name in the early 1990s as the host of children’s television show “You and Me”, guiding children through educational activities, stories, and songs. This was followed by “Suzy’s World”, and other television projects including “Bryan & Bobby” with the New Zealand Police. She is an accomplished author and singer/song-writer, having released several children’s books and albums dedicated to children’s music. She frequently participates in community events, educational workshops, and charity initiatives to help promote children’s literacy and well-being, at a local and national level. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she produced online content including storytelling, science experiments and musical activities for children, creating a sense of connection, continuity and normalcy, and helping children continue to meet educational milestones. She has volunteered her time and expertise to the New Zealand Book Council, Storylines Children’s Literature Charitable Trust, and MENZA. She is Ambassador of organisations such as the SPCA and Pink Shirt Day. Ms Cato is a founding member and Chair of Kiwi Kids Music Trust, and is a key organiser of the New Zealand Children’s Music Awards each year.
Mr Peter Michael de Blois
Mr Peter de Blois has dedicated his life to music, particularly as a singer, choral conductor, and educator.
Mr de Blois was a founding member of the Dunedin Youth Choir in the late 1980s and a member of the New Zealand Youth Choir before being appointed as its Assistant Musical Director. He sang in the Ely Cathedral Choir in the early 1990s and was a Music Examiner with the Trinity College of London Examinations Board between 1999 and 2007. He served as the Director of Music at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Auckland between 2000 and 2010, where he established two children’s choirs and scholarships for junior choristers and directed the choir at events of importance such as state funerals, and Anzac Day commemorations. He has been both a Regional and National Finale adjudicator for The Big Sing competition prior to becoming a Music Teacher and Head of Department at secondary schools in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Now based at Southland Girls’ High School, he directs the all-comers choir Sanguine and co-directs the auditioned choir Femme which features regularly at The Big Sing National Finale. Mr de Blois is an Honorary Associate of The Royal School of Church Music for services to church music in New Zealand.
The King’s Service Medal
Mr Kaiaho (Butch) Kereama Green
Mr Butch Green (Ngāti Porou) has been an influential musician and swing band leader in Christchurch for more than 30 years.
Mr Green is a renowned trumpet player and the musical director of Sideline Swing, a popular Christchurch big band he started in 1994. He has been a key figure in every aspect of running the multigenerational band, volunteering his time to arrange music, mentor musicians, and organise performances. His continued direction and leadership have been essential to the band’s survival and success, as well as instrumental in developing the swing scene in Christchurch. He is a passionate advocate for younger players, providing them with opportunities to showcase their talent and encouraging them to pursue music to a high level. He was a founding member of the Christchurch Big Band Festival, helping to organise the annual event. He has long supported the local swing dancing scene, with Sideline Swing playing countless gigs for Swingtown Rebels dance company. He often volunteers his time bugling on Anzac Day and helps to facilitate community events. Mr Green previously played in the New Zealand Army Band, and wrote many musical arrangements that they still use today.
Mr Clem Burnard Mellish
Mr Clem Mellish (Ngāpuhi) has worked as an expert stone carver since the 1980s, specialising in the creation of taonga pūoro, Māori traditional instruments.
Mr Mellish was one of the founding members of the group Haumanu in 1994, which included Brian Flintoff, Hirini Melbourne and Richard Nunns, who worked on reviving Māori culture, particularly music through taonga pūoro and waiata. He worked with the group to research and share oral histories to rediscover once-lost treasures and bring them to the fore again, and to host a series of wānanga at Onetahua Marae in Golden Bay introducing people to these instruments. He has created carved instruments from pounamu and argillite and is credited with inspiring other jade carvers in New Zealand. His instruments follow or relate to Māori tradition, particular wind instruments, and he continues to innovate to create new designs, most recently creating a flute combining the playing methods of a nose-flute and traditional flute. His works are exhibited in various establishments nationally and internationally, including a nephrite pendant on display at the British Museum, London, and his karanga weka, a small stone nguru-like instrument, at Te Papa Tongarewa. His works are included in Brian Flintoff’s book ‘Taonga Pūoro’ as masterly examples of traditional Māori instruments. Mr Mellish was awarded the Marlborough Living Cultural Treasure Award in 2016.
Mrs Alison Isabel Perrin, JP
Mrs Alison Perrin has contributed significantly to the Rotorua community since 1980.
Mrs Perrin has dedicated her time to several community groups, most notably the Rotorua Citizens’ Advice Bureau (CAB) where she has volunteered for more than 40 years and was the paid Coordinator between 1991 and 2002. She volunteers weekly, mentoring other CAB volunteers and assisting others with a range of issues. She worked as a Grants Assessor for the Rotorua Trust for 16 years, in particular assisting community groups with funding and philanthropy. She has been involved with the Community Organisation Grant Scheme, Geyser Community Foundation, Civic Arts Trust, and Creative New Zealand. As a qualified piano teacher, she is involved locally with the Institute of Registered Music Teachers’ Association and has been the Convenor of Trinity College Music Exams in Rotorua for over 30 years. She has been pivotal as Trustee of the New Zealand Aria Trust, securing funding and organising the continuation of the country’s oldest aria competition. She has been an active Justice of the Peace since 1997. She assists with a wide range of community activities and organisations, including Big Brothers, Big Sisters and Rotorua Hospice. In 2011 Mrs Perrin received an Outstanding Women’s Achievement Award from Rotorua Zonta Club for her ongoing community work.