In a very fitting start to Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, three wāhine toa were among the 11 recipients welcomed to Government House for their investitures this morning. Champion canoe racer Lisa Carrington received her Damehood, producer Chelsea Winstanley received an ONZM and Libby Hakaria received an MNZM for her contributions to the film and media industries.
After her successes at the Tokyo Olympics, Dame Lisa became New Zealand's most decorated Olympian, with a six medals throughout her career to date, five of those being gold medals.
Chelsea Winstanley has recently produced three te reo versions of Disney classics; Moana, Lion King and the soon to be released Frozen. Libby Hakaria launched the Māoriland Film Festival – the largest indigenous film festival in the Southern Hemisphere.
As Dame Cindy is travelling to the United Kingdom for the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, the Hon Dame Susan Glazebrook, the Administrator of the Government, presided over these investitures.
