Mr Matahi Brightwell, ONZM, of Gisborne, for services to Waka Ama
Matahi Brightwell founded New Zealand’s first Waka Ama Club, the Mareikura Canoe Club, in 1985, and served as the first President to the National body.
He is a Tohunga Tarai Waka (Master Canoe Builder). He completed the building of Hawaikinui-1, a double-hulled canoe, in Tahiti, sailing to Rarotonga and New Zealand under captaincy of Tahitian traditional navigator Francis Cowan to replicate the journey of Māori migration from East Polynesia to New Zealand.
He travelled the country reintroducing Waka Ama to Māori communities.
He assists the development of new clubs nationwide. Through his waka ama work in South Auckland, he was bestowed the Samoan high chief title of Avauli.
Mr Brightwell designed and sculpted the likeness of his tipuna, the navigator Ngatoroirangi, on the shores of Lake Taupo.