Geoffrey Chapple, Auckland, ONZM, for services to tramping, tourism and literature
Mr Geoffrey Chapple founded the Te Araroa Trail, spanning the length of New Zealand. The 3,000-kilometre trail was opened in December 2011. Mr Chapple began promoting the idea of a New Zealand-long trail in 1994, naming it Te Araroa – The Long Pathway, and established the Te Araroa Trust the same year to facilitate its construction. He spent 17 years raising funds for Te Araroa and as Te Araroa Trust’s Chief Executive Officer, personally planned, mapped, walked and helped build the trail as it developed over the years. The trail is internationally recognised, attracting tourists to remote areas of New Zealand’s landscape. Along with the development of Te Araroa he has written six non-fiction books, and was the first Writer in Residence at the Michael King Writers Centre where he wrote the successful one-man play ‘Hatch’. Mr Chapple is a former judge of the New Zealand Book Awards, and has served on the selection panel for the Copyright Licensing Ltd Writers Awards and the Michael King Writers Centre Fellowships. He has received a number of awards including the Montana Book Award for ‘Te Araroa – The New Zealand Trail’ in 2003.