Mr Jack Thatcher, of Tauranga, CNZM, for services to Māori and education
Jack Thatcher is Chairman of Te Puna I Rangiriri Trust (TPIRT), which he co-founded.
Through TPIRT, he and other staff have taught hundreds of children and young people about waka and other traditional Māori knowledge through programmes in schools, polytechnics and wānanga.
He has run events and classes based on traditional Māori activities. He established a traditional navigation school where students can gain NZQA qualifications.
He leads educational tours of Mount Maunganui and the Mauao historic reserve during Matariki.
Mr Thatcher navigated the Mātaatua Waka for the 150-year commemorations of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, captained the Waka Odyssey voyage for the 2018 New Zealand Festival of the Arts, was flotilla kaitiaki for Tuia 250 commemorations, and was chief navigator for Sir Heke Busby’s Waka Tapu project.