A Thames name on the list of honours released today.
"To be an Honorary Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
HUMPHRY, Mrs Louisa
For services to the Kiribati community and culture
Mrs Louisa Humphry helped set up a Kiribati community group in Auckland to ensure a support network and was part of the group who established some of the first Kiribati Independence celebrations and the body now recognised as the New Zealand Kiribati National Council.
In the 1970s Mrs Humphry was a key advocate for Kiribati’s presence in Auckland Pacifica festivals. She has been involved with the wider art community to preserve and share weaving practices to maintain Kiribati traditions. As an artist herself, she has exhibited throughout New Zealand and abroad, and has passed on her knowledge through workshops. She has exhibited with the Pacific Collections Access Project at Auckland War Memorial Museum, Artists of Pacific Heritage in Auckland (2012) at Auckland Art Gallery, the ninth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Brisbane in 2018, and ‘Names Held in our Mouths’ (2019) at Te Uru Waitākere Gallery. She helped support immigrant workers in the agricultural industry, ensuring they had adequate clothing and food on arrival and helping with translation. She continues to translate in New Zealand Courts and District Health Boards. She was a member of the group who established the first Pacific health clinic in Hamilton, K’aute Pasifika Trust. Mrs Humphry managed the combined Christian food bank from 2004 to 2019."
Source: https://dpmc.govt.nz/honours/lists/qb2021-mnzm#humphrylo accessed 6 June 2021
A list of past recipients of awards is available - CLICK HERE
