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The Order of New Zealand is New Zealand’s highest honour. It was instituted by Royal Warrant, dated 6 February 1987, “to recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity.”
It is a single first level Order and is modelled on the (British) dynastic Order of Merit (OM), founded in 1902, and the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH), founded in 1917. It was instituted to fill a need for regular access to a high or first level non-titular honour (i.e. one that did not confer a title on the holder).
The Order comprises The Queen as SOVEREIGN and ORDINARY, ADDITIONAL and HONORARY members. The ordinary membership is limited to twenty persons [20] living at any time.
Additional members may be appointed in commemoration of important royal, state or national occasions. Additional appointments were made in 1990 for the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi and in 2002 for The Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Honorary membership includes citizens of Commonwealth nations of which The Queen is not Head of State and of foreign nations.
See the list of current Members of the Order.
Members of the Order may use the letters "ONZ" after their name. Members usually meet annually at Government House, Wellington. In 1990, The Queen held a reception and in 1995 a luncheon for all members of the Order following the admission of new members.
In 2007 a dinner for all Members of the Order was held to celebrate the Twentieth Anniversary of the establishment of the Order.
In a speech, the Governor-General "acknowledged the people who have been appointed as Members of The Order of New Zealand for having made a signal contribution to our country".
The Prime Minister, in a media release, said "It recognises citizens whose contribution has been truly outstanding".
The Order is administered by a Secretary and Registrar (Clerk of the Executive Council).
The badge of the Order consists of an oval medallion in gold and coloured enamels, bearing in the centre the design of the shield of the New Zealand Coat of Arms within a Kowhaiwhai rafter pattern. The ribbon is red ochre (kokowai) with a narrow white stripe towards either edge.
The badge must be returned to the Crown on the death of the holder or on the holder ceasing to be a member of the Order. The badge is then passed to another appointee to the order.
The badge of the Sovereign is surmounted by a Royal Crown and the Secretary and Registrar’s badge by crossed quills.
The badge is not worn in miniature. A lapel badge was instituted in 1990. The insignia of the Order is currently made by Spink & Son Ltd., of London, United Kingdom.
See also the Design of the New Zealand Orders Insignia - the Maori Dimension and the Designer.
