The 1961 Queen's Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrating the official birthday of

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, were appointments made by the Queen on the advice of the New Zealand government to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. They were announced on 10 June 1961. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour.

Knight Bachelor

* James Lawrence Hay – chairman and managing director of Hay's Limited,

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. For civic and charitable services. * Roy Hunter Stevenson – managing director of the Dunedin Engineering & Steel Company. For public and philanthropic services.

Order of Saint Michael and Saint George

Companion (CMG)

* Frederick Horowhenua Melrose Hanson – Commissioner of Works. * Brian Edwin Keiller – chairman of the Wellington Harbour Board.

Order of the British Empire

Knight Commander (KBE)

;Civil division * Alfred Hayward – formerly deputy chairman of the Dairy Board.

Commander (CBE)

;Civil division * George Bartrum Baker – of

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

. For services to the farming community. * George Philip Proctor – president of the New Zealand Manufacturers' Federation. * Frank Felix Reid – chairman of the Town and Country Planning Board. *

William Arthur Whitlock William Arthur Whitlock (1891–1977) was a notable New Zealand journalist, newspaper editor and proprietor. He was born in Nelson, New Zealand, in 1891. In 1953, Whitlock was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. In the 1961 Qu ...

– of Havelock North. For services to journalism. ;Military division * Brigadier Walter Sneddon McKinnon –

New Zealand Army The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...

Officer (OBE)

;Civil division * James Douglas Aitchison – of

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; , colloquially known as Palmerston or Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatū Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manaw ...

. For services to local government. * Malcolm Scott Galloway – of

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. For services to the New Zealand Red Cross Society. * John Houston – of

Hāwera Hāwera is the second-largest centre in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight. The origins of the town lie in a government military base that was establishe ...

. For services to the community in

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

. * Pei Te Hurinui Jones – of

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kūiti and 55 km west of T� ...

. For services to the

Māori people Māori () are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand. Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of Māori migration canoes, c ...

. * Captain Walter Geoffrey Kelsey – harbourmaster at

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. * Morten Rennerberg Lawson – of Mangamaire. For services to local government. * Ronald Wright McCredie – of Balclutha. For services to the community. * Alexander Gibb Monahan – of Motueka. For services to local government and the community. * Horace McDonald Scott – of Auckland. For services to education. * John Turnbull – formerly general secretary of the New Zealand

Public Service Association The Public Service Association (), or PSA, is a democratic trade union with over workers in the New Zealand public sector. The stated aims of the PSA are to provide support for public and not-for-profit community services, support worker voic ...

. * Denys William Wanklyn Williams – of Tokomaru Bay. For services to local government. * Pearce Melvin Eddy Williams – mayor of

Kaikohe Kaikohe is the seat of the Far North District of New Zealand, situated on State Highway 12 about from Auckland, and about from Whangārei. It is the largest inland town and highest community above sea level in the Northland Region. With a pop ...

, and chairman of the Northland Hospital Board. ;Military division * Commander Cyril Howard Hilliard –

Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve The Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNZNVR) is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). History Early history The first Naval Volunteer Force (New Zealand), Volunteer units were formed in Auckland and Nels ...

. * Lieutenant-Colonel Leo Adolphus Kermode – New Zealand Regiment (Regular Force). * Wing Commander Lawrence Hugh Edwards –

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Perm ...

. File:Mr M S Galloway.jpg, Malcolm Galloway File:PeiTeHurinuiJones1930.jpg, Pei Te Hurinui Jones

Member (MBE)

;Civil division * Margaret Mariner Bain – of Christchurch. For social-welfare services. * Lucy Elizabeth Cook – of Marton. For services rendered under the auspices of the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children. * Helen May Downer – of

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

. For services to the kindergarten movement. * Edwin Edwards – of

Paeroa Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, and is approximately 20 kil ...

. For services in the fields of social welfare and local government. * Henry Charles Goffin – of Wellington; brigadier,

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

. * John James Halcrow. For services in the New Zealand Police. * Herbert Gladstone Hill – of Wellington. For services in the fields of social welfare and music. * Basil Hundleby – in recognition of his services as engineer to the

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

County Council. * Charles William Sherlock Keinan – mayor of Milton, since 1944. * Christian Lassen – of

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

. For services to local government. * The Reverend Pakake Heketoro Leonard – of Rotorua. For services to the Māori people. * John William Macleod – of Loburn. For services to local government and the Returned Services' Association. * Harry Archibald Mildon – honorary treasurer of the Auckland Returned Services' Association. * Stanley John Snow – deputy mayor of

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...

. * Norman McLeod Speer – of Auckland. For services to the electrical industry. * Constance Egmont Tulloch – of

Putāruru Putāruru is a small town in the South Waikato District and the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It lies on the western side of the Mamaku Ranges and in the upper basin of the Waihou River. It is on the Oraka Stream 65 kilometres s ...

. For social-welfare services. * Norman Webley – of

Dannevirke Dannevirke ( "Earthworks (archaeology), work of the Danes", a reference to Danevirke; or ''Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua'', the area where the town is) is a rural service town in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New Zealand. It is the ...

. For services to local government. * Kathleen Gertrude Hurd-Wood – of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

. For services to the League of Hard of Hearing in New Zealand. ;Military division * Lieutenant-Commander Douglas Gerald Bamfield –

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; ) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of eight ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser , whi ...

. * Captain John James Ayton – Corps of Royal New Zealand Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (Territorial Force). * Warrant Officer Second Class Cecil Balfour Fowler – Royal New Zealand Infantry Corps (Territorial Force). * Major Robert Ewen Johnston – New Zealand Regiment (Regular Force). * Major Robert James Moor –

Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery The Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery is the artillery regiment of the New Zealand Army. It is effectively a military administrative corps, and can comprise multiple component regiments. This nomenclature stems from its heritage as an of ...

(Regular Force). * Squadron Leader Lancelot James McLean – Royal New Zealand Air Force. * Flight Officer Ernestine Graham Hume – Women's Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Companion of the Imperial Service Order (ISO)

* John Francis Filmer – formerly director, Animal Research Division,

Department of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

. * Raymond Edward Kemp – private secretary to the

Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. History The practice of having a government officia ...

British Empire Medal (BEM)

;Civil division, for gallantry * Joseph Sheehan – detective, New Zealand Police Force. For courage and devotion to duty when effecting the arrest of a criminal armed with a rifle. * Kenneth Miles Jones – constable, New Zealand Police Force. For arresting a mentally unstable person armed with a knife. ;Military division * Chief Petty Officer Edward Charles Frederick Barnes – Royal New Zealand Navy. * Chief Petty Officer Henry Cyril Melville Brock – Royal New Zealand Navy. * Chief Petty Officer William Montgomery Cedric Gibbs – Royal New Zealand Navy. * Chief Petty Officer Writer Reginald Owen Smyth – Royal New Zealand Navy. * Warrant Officer Second Class (Temporary) Raymond Alfred Arthur Burnett –

Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers The Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers is the administrative corps of the New Zealand Army responsible for military engineering. The role of the Engineers is to assist in maintaining friendly forces' mobility, deny freedom of movement to the ...

(Regular Force). * Warrant Officer Second Class (Temporary) Healy Preston – Royal New Zealand Army Service Corps (Regular Force). * Sergeant John Charles Hart – Royal New Zealand Air Force. * Corporal Francis Murphy – Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Bar to Air Force Cross

* Wing Commander Geoffrey Reid Burton Highet – Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Air Force Cross (AFC)

* Flying Officer Brian Gordon Anderson – Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air

* Flight Lieutenant Mervyn Ryburn Breed – New Zealand Air Force. * Flight Lieutenant Winston Ross Swap Royal New Zealand Air Force.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birthday Honours 1961 (New Zealand) Birthday Honours (New Zealand) 1961 awards 1961 in New Zealand