WAIKATO BUSINESS HALL OF FAME
The Waikato Business Hall of Fame showcases achievers in the past and current Waikato business community who have excelled regionally, nationally or internationally.
Two inductees are recognised each year, with one of these usually being given posthumously. Carved by Tainui master carver Warren McGrath, recipients are awarded a Waka Huia which symbolises a journey, physically, spiritually and metaphorically.
View photos from the 2022 Induction Ceremony below, as well as videos from the evening including speeches by Michael Barnett, Rt Hon Jim Bolger, Sir Dryden Spring, Hon Nanaia Mahuta, and the citation readers Chris Simpson and Ezra Hirawani.
2022 Inductees
Sir Robert Mahuta
Sir Robert Mahuta was the director of Maori Studies and Research at the University of Waikato from 1972 to 1977, and served as a Treaty of Waitangi fisheries commissioner, chairman of the Maori Development Corporation and chairman of the Tainui Maori Trust Board. For his services to Maori, he was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 1996.
Read the citation for Sir Robert, read by Ezra Hirawani during the Induction Ceremony, here, and view the video here.
Sir Dryden Spring
Sir Dryden Spring’s name is synonymous with New Zealand’s dairy industry. He was chairman of the New Zealand Dairy Board from 1989 to 1998, and of the New Zealand Dairy Group from 1982 to 1987, as well as chairman of ANZ New Zealand from 2007 to 2012. He was also a member of the APEC Eminent Persons Group. His achievements in the dairy industry and service to New Zealand were recognised with a Knight Bachelor in 1994.
Read the citation for Sir Dryden, read by Chris Simpson during the Induction Ceremony, here, and view the video here.
Previous Inductees
Credit: Barker Photography
