Mrs Beatrice Yates, MNZM, Rotorua
For services to the community. Mrs Beatrice Yates was instrumental in establishing the Te Whakapono Health Trust in 2004, which has raised $780,000 for a dialysis unit. She also raised money for a mobile ear unit, and an upgrade to the chemotherapy unit at Rotorua Hospital. The trust continues to raise money for health equipment in Rotorua. She has been a school teacher in the Rotorua area for more than 50 years and is a Justice of the Peace. She is a renowned educator, with a strong belief in ‘education for life’. Her skill in song-writing and teaching Māori music and dance is highly regarded around New Zealand. She is the author of several books for children, including ‘One Day a Taniwha’, and 'Hoha the Taniwha', which was published in 2010. Mrs Yates received the Queen's Service Medal in 1993, and the New Zealander of the Year Local Hero Award, for the Rotorua and Taupo area in 2010.