Leading Waitakians recognised at 2025 Citizens Awards

Maria may be the most well travelled of this years Citizens Awards recipient. Born in Salta, Uruguay she has lived in Venezeula and Colombia – before returning to Montevideo to graduate as a clinical psychologist, get married and have three children. In 2003, her family made the decision to move to New Zealand to build a new future.

Arriving in a new place, not speaking English, was a very different and at times isolating experience. She joined Waitaki Multicultural in 2008, giving her a sense of connection and belonging.

Maria has served as the Chair of Waitaki Multicultural for the last four years, her proactive leadership, her demonstrated empathy, dedication to perfection has led Waitaki Multicultural through tough waters.

Covid -19 was the big one, with borders closed and uncertainty regarding visa status. Maria made sure they weren’t left behind by securing MSD funding for grocery vouchers, organising food deliveries and rallying volunteers to keep everything safe.

She has also built a stronger, more connected community. A prime example of this is the monthly Migrant Meet and Share, where everyone is invited for a chat and share a meal (as a potluck). These events help break down cultural barriers and bring people together.

As Maria says: “Being part of this journey has allowed me to turn my own challenges into opportunities to support others. What began as seeking connection for myself has grown into a passion for helping others feel at home in our community.”

Another success is the accreditation of Welcoming Communities, the collaboration between Stronger Waitaki, Welcoming Communities and Waitaki Multicultural was essential to this success. Maria took part in the selection of Ana as coordinator and has made sure Welcoming Communities events were co-funded and well resourced, usually by volunteers from Waitaki Multicultural.

Both in her role as chairperson and as a volunteer for Waitaki Multicultural, she has helped migrant families setting in the Waitaki welcomed new whanau from across New Zealand Aotearoa to the district to make Waitaki a more inclusive place. Even though she has resigned as chairperson, she is continuing the mahi by acting as treasurer and as a volunteer with Waitaki Multiculture.

Maria again: “. For me, it’s not only about events or programmes—it’s about the small moments of connection, the smiles, and the sense of belonging we help create. Knowing that our work has a real impact on people’s lives is what makes the role so meaningful.”

For all her mahi, the kind that often goes unseen but makes a real difference. Maria absolutely deserves the Waitaki Citizens Award.

It’s rare for a Citizens Award to be received jointly, but Debbie and Susie come as a pair – inseparable. Hailing from the North West and North East of England, married Kiwis and made their lives in New Zealand. Their husbands are engineers, and they describe themselves as social engineers.

Susie’s background is in childcare and social work, and Debbie’s in aged, dementia care, and community work. Together they make a formidable team. They connected at Iona Rest Home, to the happy hour in the dementia unit. In their own words ‘they kicked up a storm’ and haven’t stopped since.

The Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) Group volunteers have unanimously nominated both Debbie Melton and Susie Sinclair to receive a Waitaki Citizens Award.

Debbie and Susie are facilitators of the CST memory group which they started in 2019 as a pilot which they then took on themselves. They recognised a need for our community for people with cognitive decline and this was the catalyst for the start of the group, starting with 5 members and now with approximately 20 members. This is testament to the need and success of the group, meeting once a week for 90 minutes, also assisted by 7 volunteers.

Both Debbie and Susie have years of experience working with people with cognitive decline and now utilise these professional skills in a voluntary capacity.  The group promotes brain health using proven techniques to enhance the wellbeing of the members. 

A typical session includes members receiving a warm individual welcome with morning tea and a social chat, physical exercises, mental stimulation activities and communal singing, also promoting friendship between members.  Members are invited to donate a gold coin if they wish to cover hall costs.

In addition to CST, both Debbie and Susie also facilitate the Ronnie Gardner Method (RGM) Group, and have undertaken formal, intensive training to become authorised facilitators of this movement, which is the only group of its kind in North Otago. 

This group meets twice a week, sessions providing rhythmic, brain gym styled movements to promote neuroplasticity. These movements are devised to promote, brain health, stroke recovery, Parkinsons symptoms and improvements to coordination, balance, memory and energy plus the music is uplifting and sessions are fun.

The nomination asks for “work of a ‘substantial nature’ is defined as short- or long-term projects or activities that have benefitted the district to add quality of life of the residents”. 

This group is not a flash in the pan group, Debbie and Susie have both put their money where their mouth is and created a true hidden gem in the community, offering services unlike any other. Their dedication to creating something unique to the Waitaki District makes them extremely worthy recipients of a Citizen Award. 

Edie and her family first visited in the Waitaki Valley 45 years ago thanks to her husband’s fishing, and his father who had a small place in the Hakataramea.

Outside of the Waitaki she’s had a life dedicated to supporting schools, churches, refuges and her fellow nurses – and continues to work as a celebrant today.

Many years of spending time, both caravaning and eventually building a house on Freyberg Avenue – before moving to their current lifestyle block on Paddy’s Flat.

Following a career as an occupational health nurse, Edie retired to Kurow – describing it as a ‘no brainer’, even if she’s always going to be a loopy rather than a local.

She has spent many years Waitaki Valley volunteering for numerous service organisations and clubs. This includes social outings assistant as a trained occupational nurse Edie has assisted with Health and Safety assessments at Whalan Lodge, volunteer driving for the Waitaki Valley Vehicle Trust, as well as her work as a Heart Foundation volunteer, organising free blood pressure checks in Kurow during their last Hearth awareness week.

On the Waitaki Valley Community Society committee she has taken on many roles and projects as soon as she joined, which has led many small and large ideas to come to conclusion and improved Kurow’s environment.

Edie is always the first to put her hand up if any help is needed as well as bring great ideas to the table so the society can fulfil its purpose. As she says, it’s not an I / Me thing, it’s all about ‘We’.

That’s partially why she was reluctant to accept the award, but then realised it’s about her, but also on behalf of all volunteers that she’s had the privilege to work alongside, the communities, kids, organisations would never have survived if we didn’t have the generosity of those who get out there.

However, if you know Edie, you’ll know she’s fully deserving of this year’s Waitaki Citizens Award. Congratulations Edie.

Barry Gamble grew up on a sheep farm in West Otago, before moving to Green Island. After finishing high school he trained and worked as a telegraphist at Awarua Radio, Invercargill. Five years serving in the Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals included a two-year posting to Singapore. This continued a family tradition of military involvement stretching back to 1798.

In 1991 he settled in Oamaru with his wife to raise their four children.

Barry has been nominated for exceptional voluntary service as Regional Coordinator for New Zealand Remembrance Army (NZRA) Royal NZ RSA Local support advisor, tireless advocacy for veterans, and leadership in preserving the memory of New Zealand’s servicemen and women. 

Barry is an extraordinary community volunteer whose impact reaches across Otago, South Canterbury, and beyond, as the NZRA Regional Coordinator and Waitaki Branch Leader. Barry’s leadership, dedication, and initiative have transformed remembrance activities, veteran advocacy, and community engagement across the region.

In just a few short years, Barry has revitalised local remembrance culture through storytelling, cemetery restoration, community speaking engagements, and the establishment of memorial infrastructure. His ability to mobilise volunteers, secure funding, and build relationships across generations has made him a deeply respected and inspirational figure.

Barry has successfully secured more than $35,000 in funding through grants, donations and partnerships.

For Barry, the most rewarding part of his work is bringing headstones back to life. Each one represents a story, a sacrifice and a family connection that deserves to be remembered. Once a solider, always a soldier, and at means never leaving anyone behind – even in memory.

Barry exemplifies the spirit of service, remembrance and community leadership. His voluntary work honours the past, while inspiring the present, and his reach – from school children to centenarian veterans – is as heartfelt as it is far reaching.

Raised in a secure, humble, loving home with her siblings, Rosemary credits her upbringing for her strong sense of compassion, community and social justice.

After working as a kindergarten teacher for some years in Oamaru, Rosemary moved north to Taupo and while teaching in Huntly, Ngaruawahi and Te Awamatu also supported her husband’s work in becoming a dairy farmer.

Forty years ago they moved back to the South Island to convert a sheep and horse breeding farm to dairy – one of the first six to do so in Southland. During this time she was always involved in community work with the Scouts and Plunket Groups.

Returning to Oamaru, she has worked with Victim Support, Adult Literacy and was invited to volunteer at the then Oamaru Combined Churches Foodbank, and she has been chairwoman for the past 11 years

As chairwoman she has been instrumental in managing the improvements and outcomes at the Foodbank.

Her leadership has been crucial in fostering relationships with Social Agencies and the Community in general.

Rosemary’s caring and kind personality has created an atmosphere which has enabled the Foodbank to provide a very valuable service.

Rosemary volunteered at Iona Hospital and Home for many years. She served as the foodbank representative on Budget Advice Committee, involved with Victim Support and in recent years has held with the “What’s Cooking” classes.

Being able to show someone compassion, to recognise they’re in a tough spot, and give them the opportunity to get back on their feet is something she has valued throughout all of her community work.

Rosemary is very proud of how much the food back is supported by the community, and that it continues to draw support and be sustainable.

Her kindness, and dedication, to helping others – and the many, many people and families and organisations she has supported in the Waitaki District make her an exceptionally deserving recipient of this year’s Citizen Award.

Maurice has lived in Weston his whole life, being brought up on the family farm at the end of Gordon Street. The rail line that ran past their property was his playground, for adventures and hut building with his siblings and friends. There were also some hi-jinks involving the brakes on trucks in the siding as well, to the annoyance of the men looking after them.

A career spent as a motor mechanic, with a brief spell running a milk-run, was accompanied by thirty years of ‘fairly serious’ tramping and volunteering with DOC to maintain tracks and trap-lines.

Maurice, supported by his wife Phillis, has voluntary adopted a long section of bank on the northern side of the Alps 2 Ocean Trail at Weston where he used to play as a child.

Over some years Maurice has propagated a large number of native plants and has planted these along the bank. It started as noticing the broom growing on the bank, deciding to do something about it, and then realising some planting needed doing. A few weekends work has become years of careful work.

Various other people have donated plants for the project, these planted and watered by Maurice and now providing a healthy green display along what was a plain bank.

Maurice has at his own cost purchased weed eating equipment to cut the grass on the bank and around the native trees. He provides the fuel and replacement nylon blades to cut the grass at his own cost.

The bank is steep and if wet, is quite challenging to work on. The regular grass cutting and plant maintenance is a task that would challenge people of a much younger age than Maurice. He’s also pleased that one of his nominators, Colin Wollstein, is volunteering to help him out in future – even if Colin may have only just discovered this fact as I read it out now.

The nominators consider Maurice to be a very suitable person for nomination for a Citizens Award. He has over a period of some years, at his own financial and personal exertion costs, created a significant improvement for the enjoyment of walkers and cyclists using the A2O trail.

Maurice has been a member of the North Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club for 30 – 40 years, with several terms as president.

His commitment to improving the place he’s lived, and loves, makes him deserving of this Citizens Award.

Craig Alter was born in Waiuru, and his upbringing took him from Christchurch to Murchison to Paraparaumu and the back down South. This instilled a love of the outdoors, tramping, hunting, fishing and – of  course – mountain biking. His first loan was to purchase some state of the art rock shock front forks for his bike, and his first race – the Karapoti Classic.

After completing an Outdoor Recreation and Leadership course, he thought spending an apple season in Motueka would be a nice break. That turned into 20 years, meeting his wife and having two girls – Mikayla and Bella. At this point he expanded his outdoor talents to rock-climbing.

Moving first to Waikouaiti, and working as a track-cutter in Fiordland and the Auckland Islands – a desire to be a bit closer to home led to his work for the Otago Mountain Bike Club, and eventually a move to Palmerston five years ago.

Craig is passionate about mountain biking, but there was no facility in Palmerston. So he set about creating one, jumping through numerous hoops on the process. He was required to establish a community interest, get concepts approved, work through North Otago Mountain Bike Club as an overriding entity, organise volunteers and contractors, meanwhile keeping Council and the Waihemo Community Board posted on his progress.

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The mountain biking tracks along with the walkway connections make this available for all and is a great testimony to his contributions towards improving our community. Without Craigs’ initiative and personal commitment, this would never have been possible. It is great to see this facility being used as intended.

Craig has also contributed his knowledge and time to the Puketapu Community Trust: helping the year 10 boys of East Otago High School plant daffodils on the zig zag path to the lookout. Craig has also made a valuable contribution to the design of the proposed 24/7 “reinstated” track to the summit of the Puketapu, working with the Puketapu Community Trust.

Craig says what makes him happy is seeing people walking their dog, fresh tyre tracks, or fellow riders when he’s out on the trail. He says there’s still plenty of work left to do, but that he hopes it becomes a valuable asset to the community.

While the track is a valuable asset, it’s not as valuable to Palmerston and Waitaki as Craig himself – who is fully deserving of this years Waitaki Citizens Award.

David has lived in Waitaki his entire life, raised in Tokarahi and educated at Duntroon School and Waitaki Boys High School.

His over forty-year association with the Operatic Society, Musical Theatre Oamaru and the Oamaru Repertory Theatre began with a decision to wait inside for a flatmates girlfriend to finish rehearsing for a production of South Pacific, ahead of a Sunday cruising the trees on Thames Street.

Upon declining to sign up for the auditions for Hello Dolly, he encountered Lynette Budge who asked if he could sing (no, but we know that’s not true now) or dance (well, I don’t mind) – and by opening night he was singing, dancing and had lines in the production.

It might have been safer to have waited in the car. After a few productions, he considered that maybe just having some lines in a play would be easier than singing and dancing, and the association with the Repertory Theatre began.

One performance of the villainous Mr Manningham in Gaslight received a glowing, if unconventional review, as a friend of the leading lady commented that she “had no idea how you could stand being in the same room as that man”. Well, David hopes that was about his acting.

He’s a life member of both Musical Theatre Oamaru, the Oamaru Repertory and has received a Merit Award from Musical Theatre New Zealand.

His nominators say that David is a quiet charismatic gentle man happy to help where and when needed with good heart, a very cheerful attitude, and his quick wit!

David is humble person – not one to push his own skills and only wants the best for others – assisting them to achieve.

His most recent role was in the MTO production of ‘Oliver’ – where David played the role of Fagin as well as assisted in set building and became a role model for the younger members of the cast.

David himself says he can’t pick a single performance, but that Fagin was always a role he wanted to play – that the Addams Family production was glorious nonsense – and that he gets the most satisfaction at working with kids and watching their confidence blossom throughout rehearsals.

David doesn’t feel he should be getting this award, which anyone who knows him recognises as his humble nature – and is also glorious nonsense. Congratulations on your Waitaki Citizens Award.