The 1946 New Year Honours in New Zealand were a set of appointments to various orders and honours of the British Crown, announced on 1 January 1946. The honours were conferred by King George VI on the advice of the New Zealand government and were intended to recognise and reward meritorious service by New Zealand citizens in both civil and military capacities, as well as to mark the transition from 1945 to 1946.
Background
New Year honours are an annual tradition in the Commonwealth realms, whereby the sovereign recognises individuals for outstanding achievements or service. In New Zealand, the recommendations are prepared by the government and submitted to the monarch for approval. The 1946 list was the first such honours after the conclusion of World War II and reflected both wartime contributions and peacetime public service.
Orders and Honours
The honours were allocated across several British orders, each with civil and military divisions where applicable:
| Order | Rank (selected examples) | Division | Notable recipients |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order of the Bath | Knight Commander (KCB) | Military | Lieutenant‑General (temp.) Edward Puttick (New Zealand Military Forces) |
| Order of St Michael and St George | Knight Commander (KCMG) | Civil | Carl August Berendsen – New Zealand minister to the United States, former Secretary of External Affairs |
| Order of the British Empire | Knight Commander (KBE) | Civil & Military | Alfred Clarke Turnbull – Administrator of Western Samoa (civil); Fred Thompson Bowerbank – senior medical officer, New Zealand Medical Corps (military) |
| Commander (CBE) | Civil & Military | Leonard Monk Isitt – Royal New Zealand Air Force (military); Ernest Marsden – Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (civil) | |
| Officer (OBE) | Civil & Military | Andrew Henson Allen – Mayor of Dunedin (civil); Group Captain Trevor Watts White – Royal New Zealand Air Force (military) | |
| Member (MBE) | Civil & Military | Annie Constance Affleck – Public Service Commissioner inspector (civil); Group Captain Gordon Hamish Martin Pirie – Royal Air Force (military) | |
| Companion of the Imperial Service Order (ISO) | – | Civil | Various senior public servants, e.g., James Fletcher – services to industry and commerce |
| British Empire Medal (BEM) | – | Civil & Military | Recognised for meritorious service at lower levels of government, health, and the armed forces |
Notable Civil Honourees
- William Joseph Jordan – High Commissioner for New Zealand in the United Kingdom.
- The Honourable Walter Nash – Minister of Finance and Customs.
- The Honourable William Perry – Member of the War Cabinet and War Council.
- James Fletcher – Recognised for public services to industry and commerce.
Military Honourees
- Lieutenant‑General Edward Puttick – Senior commander of the New Zealand Military Forces.
- Brigadier Leonard George Goss – Senior officer in the New Zealand Military Forces.
- Air Vice‑Marshal Leonard Monk Isitt – Senior officer in the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Significance
The 1946 honours reflected New Zealand’s transition from wartime to peacetime, acknowledging both wartime service and contributions to reconstruction, public administration, and community welfare. The list also demonstrated the continued use of the British honours system in New Zealand before the later development of a distinct New Zealand honours system in the 1970s.
References
- “1946 New Year Honours (New Zealand).” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Accessed via the Jina AI content extraction service.
- Official New Zealand government publications on honours and awards (historical records, 1946).
