Veteran Māori broadcaster, documentary maker and academic Dr Reuben Tūwhakahekeao Collier has been appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours, for services to Māori and education.
The appointment recognises a career of national significance in carrying te reo Māori, tikanga Māori and iwi knowledge from marae, whānau and communities onto the screen and into the national record. For more than three decades, Dr Collier has helped preserve the voices of Te Ao Māori, including native speakers, kuia, koroua, kaumātua and iwi knowledge holders, ensuring these taonga remain accessible to future generations. His work stands as a lifelong commitment to Māori memory, language and cultural preservation, education and the strengthening of te reo and tikanga Māori as a living taonga for generations yet to come.
Dr Collier was previously appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in 2017 for services to the television industry and Māori. This honour recognises distinguished service across Māori broadcasting, Indigenous research, mātauranga Māori, doctoral education, archival practice and the preservation of Māori histories.
Dr Collier said the honour acknowledges the many people, whānau and communities whose stories he has had the privilege to carry.
“For more than three decades, I have had the privilege of walking with, sitting with and listening to veterans of the 28th (Māori) Battalion. Those intimate moments changed my life,” Dr Collier said.
“To hear first-hand their wartime experiences, their courage overseas, their sacrifice, their hurt, their trauma and the inequalities they faced on return left a deep responsibility in me to help carry their stories forward.”
Dr Collier is a nationally recognised custodian of Māori war commemoration. He serves as a member of the Ngārimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Fund Board and as Deputy Chair of the 28th Māori Battalion B Company History Trust.
His work has contributed to the national and international remembrance of the Māori Battalion through documentary production, commemorative journeys, archival work and long-standing engagement with veterans, historians, scholars, ambassadors, international archives and commemorative partners.
“The story of war does not sit only with the soldier,” Dr Collier said.
“It sits with the wives, the mothers, the children, the whānau and the communities who were left behind, and with those who carried the absence of fathers, brothers and future leaders.”
Through his works, Dr Collier has helped bring Māori histories into homes, classrooms, lecture theatres, archives and commemorative spaces in Aotearoa and overseas. His work records military service, and also the grief, resilience, whānau memory and the continuing legacy of sacrifice across generations.
Dr Collier has also provided strategic guidance to iwi, the New Zealand Defence Force, Crown institutions and international partners on taonga and legacies of national importance. He is regularly sought for his expertise in the staging, interpretation and preservation of nationally significant events.
“My work has sought to contribute to that lived history, alongside veterans’ families, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, historians, scholars, ambassadors, universities, archives and repositories in Aotearoa and overseas,” Dr Collier said.
“These histories belong to many nations, and they continue to speak across generations.”
In education, Dr Collier’s contribution extends to the revitalisation of reo Māori and tikanga, Indigenous research, creative scholarship, mātauranga Māori and doctoral practice. His work has helped strengthen the recognition of Māori knowledge, oral history, visual storytelling and creative practice within tertiary education.
He said the honour also recognises the importance of Māori broadcasting as a vehicle for memory, identity and education.
“Broadcasting has allowed our people to speak in their own voices, in their own language, from their own places,” Dr Collier said.
“It has helped carry our histories beyond the marae, beyond the classroom and beyond the archive, so that future generations may continue to see and hear the strength of who we are.”
Dr Collier was awarded the Pou Aronui Medal by Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2025 for his distinguished service and sustained contribution to the humanities.
“This honour is carried with humility,” Dr Collier said.
“It acknowledges the veterans, the whānau, the kaumātua, the native speakers, the scholars, the communities and the many production teams who helped make this work possible.
“For me, the greatest recognition sits with those whose stories have shaped the work. This honour belongs to them, and to the kaupapa of carrying Māori knowledge forward for the generations still to come.”
