Penelope Hansen, Auckland, QSM
For services to literature and the community. Mrs Hansen was the first manager of the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival since its inception in 1999. She retired in 2009 after being instrumental in establishing a Founding Patrons programme which provided a $100,000 nest egg to ensure the festival’s longevity. In a voluntary capacity, she has given many hours to planning and fund raising for a community centre to be built in Mount Eden. As secretary of the Wilfred Hansen Technical Scholarship Trust, Mrs Hansen makes a major contribution to administering scholarships that are distributed to students of the Unitec School of Performing and Screen Arts. She is secretary of the Mount Eden Methodist Trust and has worked in a voluntary capacity for the construction of a Mount Eden Village Centre.