New Zealanders are honoured for a wide range of achievements. Shown here after their April 2009 investiture ceremony at Government House in Auckland are Olympic and world champion shot-putter Valerie Vili (later Valerie Adams) and Major Hone Waititi (retired, 28th (Māori) Battalion). Vili became an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to athletics, while Waititi became a companion of the Queen’s Service Order for services to the community. Awards were given in the same honours list (New Year, 2009) for services to fields as diverse as special education, conservation, New Zealand–Japan relations, brass bands, art and otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat medicine), among many others. In 2017 Valerie Adams was appointed a Dame of the New Zealand Order of Merit.