THE 2019 DOMINION POST WELLINGTONIAN OF THE YEAR AWARDS
THE 2019 DOMINION POST WELLINGTONIANS OF THE YEAR:
TAHIR NAWAZ & SOPHIE HANDFORD
For the first time in three decades, the Wellys judges votes were evenly split between two leaders, each fighting critical issues facing the future not only of Wellington but the world.
Tahir Nawaz (Winner 2019 Community Service Welly) leads in the fight against hate and Sophie Handford (winner 2019 Youth Welly) leading the grassroots campaign to save our planet from the ravages of climate change. The Dominion Post Editor Eric Janssen was very proud to present the dual trophies.
The 2019 winners (and finalists) in each Category were as follows...
ARTS in association with The Wellington Company
2019 RECIPIENT: JEMAINE CLEMENT
Jemaine is an actor, director, musician, producer and writer. He is famous for Flight of the Conchords, What We Do in the Shadows and most recentlyWellington Paranormal.
FINALISTS
Hannah Clarke is Director of NZ Fringe Festival Wellington, providing emerging and established artists with a platform to launch their creative projects.
Bruce Greenfield is one of NZ’s finest accompanists and vocal coaches. He retired from NZ Opera last year after 50 years of service in a variety of roles, mainly as Chief Repetiteur and Vocal coach.
Gerry Paul & Paul Brown are the co-founders and organisers of Coastella, providing Kapiti Coast with a major music festival to showcase the area’s talent.
Stella Reid is a theatre actress, director, producer and writer. She was a Finalist in the 2017 Wellington Theatre Awards’ Director of the Year for Wine Lips.
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BUSINESS in association with ANZ
2019 RECIPIENT: JAMIE SELKIRK
Jamie is Co-founder of Weta Workshop and Director of Miramar Creative, providing film students with opportunities. Oscar winner for Best Film Editing in 2003.
FINALISTS
Monique Fiso is the Chef/Owner of Wellington's Hiakai restaurant, highly praised by Time Magazine. She is credited with putting Maori cuisine on the map.
Mel Griffiths founded Griffiths Drilling in 1994, he supports the local economy by contracting to other local firms.
Gosia Piatek is Founder of Kowtow clothing label, putting fair trade and the use of organic, environmentally-friendly materials at the forefront
Jamie Williams is CEO of Wellington Hospitality Group, the fastest growing independently owned hospitality company in New Zealand. He regularly donates to the community.
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COMMUNITY SERVICE in association with The Dominion Post
2019 RECIPIENT: TAHIR NAWAZ
Tahir Nawaz is President of the International Muslim Association of New Zealand, working to bring Kiwis of all backgrounds together against racism and discrimination.
FINALISTS
Helen Brookes is a Special Olympics coach, voluntarily training athletes with disabilities since 2005. She is active in the community, managing the Events Team in Porirua City.
Caroline Herewini is Manager of Te Whare Tiaki Wahine, a sister agency to Women’s Refuge, dedicating her life to helping local women in need.
Glen McDonald has been the co-ordinator of Vincents Art Workshop for over 19 years, providing a creative community space and support for all.
Julia Milne is Founder of Common Unity. A Community-based urban development project, growing food, skills, leadership and enterprise.alongside families in the Hutt.
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EDUCATION in association with Wellington City Council
2019 RECIPIENT: DAVE APPLEYARD
Dave has been the principal of Rata Street School, a Hutt Valley decile two primary since 2002, focussing on the special needs of pupils.
FINALISTS
Vini Olsen-Reeder is a lecturer at Victoria University's Te Kawa a Maui. He is passionate about revitalising and normalising the Maori language.
Tute Porter-Samuels is Principal and Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator of Wainuiomata Primary School. She wants better working conditions for principals and teachers.
Elspeth Tilley is a playwright and Associate Professor of Expressive Arts at Massey University Wellington. Founder of Create1World and multiple award-winner for teaching and playwriting.
Joshua Vial is Co-founder of Dev Academy, recognised as NZ’s premier web development course. He aims to grow and develop the local talent base.
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ENVIRONMENT in association with Upper Hutt City Council
2019 RECIPIENT: ERIK ZYDERVELT & FINN LAWRENCE
Erik and Finn are co-founders of award-winning, climate-positive car-sharing company Mevo, which provides affordable public access to shared environmentally-friendly vehicles.
FINALISTS
Kristine Bartley - owns vegan cafe Sweet Release Cakes & Treats. It is the 2nd café in Welly to ditch takeaway cups. She also runs a vegan night market.
Mike Joy is a freshwater ecologist, currently a Policy Researcher at Victoria University of Wellington. His work has highlighted the environmental impacts of intensive agriculture.
Ollie Langridge spent 100 days in a row, from 8.30am to 4pm, standing on Parliament grounds to protest lack of climate change action by politicians.
Nada Piatek is Co-founder of Again Again, a reusable coffee cup system in Wellington that aims to reduce the number of disposable cups in landfills.
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PUBLIC SERVICE in association with Meredith Connell
2019 RECIPIENT: HELENE QUILTER
Helene is Deputy State Services Commissioner at the SSC. Prior to this, she was the first woman to hold the role of Secretary of Defence.
FINALISTS:
Peter Boshier is Chief Ombudsman for New Zealand. He was appointed to the position in 2015 following a notable career as a judge.
Julian O’Brien is Executive Producer of Country Calendar, one of New Zealand’s biggest television shows, where he first started as a reporter in 1985.
Waveney Parkinson is the Senior Executive Assistant in the Wellington Mayor’s office. For over 20 years she has ensured that four Mayors have been extremely well organised daily.
Matt Reid served the Hutt City Council and charitable trusts for eight years, leading targeted meaningful projects to empower tamariki for brighter futures.
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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY in association with Hutt City Council
2019 RECIPIENT: BRETT DELAHUNT
Brett is Professor of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at the Wellington School of Medicine and a world-leading cancer researcher.
FINALISTS
Ian Apperley is Director of Tempest Group, a consultancy dealing with strategic technological change. He has worked in business IT for around three decades.
Judy Lawrence is a Senior Research Fellow at Victoria University of Wellington and an expert in climate change adaptation decision-making.
Bruce Marshall is a taxonomist and malacologist who is a world-leading expert on New Zealand mollusca, responsible for naming hundreds of genera and species.
Andy Reisinger is Deputy Director of New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre and vice-chair of Working Group III of the IPCC.
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SPORT in association with Porirua City Council
2019 RECIPIENT: KATRINA RORE
Katrina is a netballer for the Silver Ferns, winning the 2019 Netball World Cup, and captain of Wellington’s Te Wananga o Raukawa Pulse.
FINALISTS
Lewis Clareburt is a swimmer who won bronze for New Zealand in the 400-metre medley at the 2019 FINA World Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea.
Ameliaranne Ekenasio is a netballer for the Silver Ferns and winner of the Netball World Cup 2019, where she played an influential role as goal attack.
Jackie Kiddle is a rower who, paired with Zoe McBride, won gold in the lightweight women’s double sculls at the world rowing championships in Austria.
Ardie Savea is a flanker for the All Blacks and Hurricanes, and an ex-captain of Wellington in the ITM Cup.
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YOUTH in association with Massey
2019 RECIPIENT: SOPHIE HANDFORD
Sophie is the national co-ordinator of School Strike 4 Climate NZ and the winner of the climate category at the inaugural Impact Awards.
FINALISTS
Lilia Alexander has been running the Facebook page ‘Wellington - LIVE’ for 4 years, which keeps the community informed of incidents and events.
Jacinta Gulasekharam & Miranda Hitchings are co-founders of Dignity, a buy-one-give-one women’s wellbeing initiative that provides corporates with period products.
Maggie Jenkins made her debut for the Football Ferns at just 16-years-old and played in the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in 2018.
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Turns out you do know lots of great Wellingtonians and these are just a few of the people that make our region so great. Thank you for all of your Nominations and a bigger thank you to our 2019 Wellys Winners and Finalists.