The 1956 Queen's Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrating the official birthday of

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, were appointments made by the Queen on the advice of the New Zealand government to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. They were announced on 31 May 1956. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour.

Knight Bachelor

* Robert Lachlan Macalister – mayor of the City of Wellington. File:Robert Macalister.jpg, Sir Robert Macalister

Order of Saint Michael and Saint George

Companion (CMG)

Clarence Edward Beeby Clarence Edward Beeby (16 June 1902 – 10 March 1998), most commonly referred to as C.E. Beeby or simply Beeb, was a New Zealand educationalist and psychologist. He was influential in the development of the education system in New Zealand, fi ...

– Director of Education. * Edward George Sayers – a prominent physician, of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. For public services. File:Clarence Edward Beeby (crop).jpg, C. E. Beeby File:Edward-Sayers-in-uniform.jpg, Edward Sayers

Order of the British Empire

Knight Commander (KBE)

;Civil division * Bernard Carl Ashwin – formerly

Secretary to the Treasury In the United Kingdom, there are several Secretaries to the Treasury, who are Treasury ministers nominally acting as secretaries to HM Treasury. The origins of the office are unclear, although it probably originated during Lord Burghley's tenure ...

Commander (CBE)

;Civil division *

Arnold Fielder Downer Arnold Fielder Downer (4 February 1895 – 16 July 1984) was a New Zealand civil engineer, construction contractor and company director who founded the Downer Group in 1933. He was born in Alexandra, Victoria, Australia, on 4 February 1895. ...

– engineer in charge of various public works. * James Peter Speid Jamieson – of

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

; a prominent medical practitioner. * The Honourable Makea Nui Teremoana Ariki – a member of the

Legislative Council of the Cook Islands A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known a ...

. * Arnold Wall – professor emeritus,

Canterbury University College The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...

. For services to education. ;Military division * Captain John George Nicholson Hilliard –

Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve The Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNZNVR) is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). History Early history The first Naval Volunteer units were formed in Auckland and Nelson in 1858. Over the rest of th ...

. File:John George Hilliard.jpg, Jack Hilliard

Officer (OBE)

;Civil division * Ernest Cook Bathurst –

mayor of Ashburton The Mayor of Ashburton officiates over the Ashburton District of New Zealand's South Island. The district is administered by a district council. From 1878 until the 1989 local government reforms, the area was administered by a borough council. ...

since 1944. * Winifred Delugar – matron-in-chief, Auckland Hospital Boards' Institution. * Douglas Ralph Auckland Eden – general manager, New Zealand Reparation Estates, Western Samoa. * William Grieve – chairman of the

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

Centennial Association (Inc.). * Albert Victor Hartley – of

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

. For services to the farming community of New Zealand, especially in Southland. * Albert John Orchard – a medical practitioner in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

for over 50 years. * Basil Otto Peterson. For services to the

City of Wellington Wellington City Council is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, ...

, especially as town clerk. * Hugh Thomas Speight – of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. For social welfare services, especially to the Crippled Children's Society. * Clement George Trotter. For services to the Farmers' Co-operative Organisation Society and other bodies. ;Military division * Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Wilfred Robertshaw – Royal New Zealand Infantry Corps (Territorial Force). * Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Geoffrey Wooller –

Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps The Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps (RNZAC) is the overall umbrella grouping of Regular Force and Territorial Force units equipped with armoured vehicles in the New Zealand Army. The corps was formed in 1942 as the New Zealand Armoured Corps, ...

(Regular Force). * Wing Commander William Dale Abernethy –

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...

Member (MBE)

;Civil division * Harold Iver Austad – chairman of the management committee,

New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association Athletics New Zealand (ANZ) is the national governing body for athletics in New Zealand. This includes responsibility for Track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking. History The organisation was founded in 1887 as the ...

, for many years. * Marian Eva Baxter – matron of the Rhodes Convalescent Home, Cashmere Hills, Christchurch. * Henry Reginald Billing – chairman of the New Plymouth High School Board for many years. *

Cora Louisa Burrell Cora Louisa Burrell (née Keetley, 19 June 1889 – 20 October 1962) from Christchurch was a National Party activist, on the Canterbury Division executive and a Dominion councillor. National Party historian Barry Gustafson said that she was "one ...

– of Christchurch. For social welfare services. * Arthur Hellyer Collins – chairman of the Wanganui County Council. * Viva Donaldson – of

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, Whangārei District, a local body created in 1989 from the former Whangārei City, Whangārei County and ...

. For public services. * Peter Graham – of

Franz Josef Glacier The Franz Josef Glacier (; officially Franz Josef Glacier / ) is a temperate maritime glacier in Westland Tai Poutini National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Together with the Fox Glacier to the south, and a third glacie ...

; a mountaineer and alpine guide. * Sydney Jefcoate Harbutt – of Auckland. For services to various local and public organisations. * Vera Annie Hayward – of Dunedin. For services rendered in connection with educational and women's organisations. * Robert Telford Kinaston – of

Roxburgh Roxburgh () is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at leas ...

. For services to the farming community. * Charles Gordon Macauley. For services rendered in connection with the tourist movement in Southland. * Margaret Emma Magill – of

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

. For social welfare services. * Bridget Ellen Moran (Sister Mary St Athanasius) – of the Māori Girls' College, Greenmeadows,

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

. * Mary Anne Reidy – of

Kawhia Kawhia Harbour (Maori: ''Kāwhia'') is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southwe ...

. For services to nursing. * Robert John Smith – president of the

Bush Rugby Football Union The Bush Rugby Football Union is a former provincial rugby union team from New Zealand, existing between 1890 and 1971. The union was formed on 19 April 1890 at Pahiatua by the Pahiatua, Woodville and Eketahuna rugby football clubs. The origin ...

for many years. * Arthur William Taff – of Napier; an inventor and manufacturer of appliances for disabled persons. * James Frederick Thompson – president of the Greytown Chamber of Commerce. * Charles Morgan Williams – of

Kaiapoi Kaiapoi is a town in the Waimakariri District of the Canterbury region, in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is located approximately 17 kilometres north of central Christchurch, close to the mouth of the Waimakariri River. It is con ...

. For public services. ;Military division * First Officer Lorelle Henderson Corbin – Women's Royal New Zealand Naval Service. * Captain Frederic Rex Bartley –

Royal New Zealand Artillery The Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery is the artillery regiment of the New Zealand Army. It is effectively a military administrative corps, and can comprise multiple component regiments. This nomenclature stems from its heritage as an off ...

(Regular Force). * Major Robert Maynard Gurr – New Zealand Regiment (Regular Force). * Major Robert Bruce Reed – Royal New Zealand Infantry Corps (Territorial Force). * Major John William Rolleston – Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps (Territorial Force). * Flight Lieutenant Peter Harry Lumley – Royal New Zealand Air Force. * Warrant Officer John Niven – Royal New Zealand Air Force. File:Lorelle Corbin (cropped).jpg, Lorelle Corbin File:James Frederick Thompson.jpg, J. F. Thompson File:Charles Morgan Williams 1944.jpg, Morgan Williams

Companion of the Imperial Service Order (ISO)

* Francis Bernard Dwyer – Army Secretary. * George Ernest Francis Wood – government statistician.

British Empire Medal (BEM)

;Civil division * Thomas James Cotter – constable,

New Zealand Police Force The New Zealand Police ( mi, Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa) is the national police service and principal law enforcement agency of New Zealand, responsible for preventing crime, enhancing public safety, bringing offenders to justice, and maintai ...

Putāruru Putāruru is a small town in the South Waikato District and the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It lies on the western side of the Mamaku Ranges and in the upper basin of the Waihou River. It is on the Oraka Stream 65 kilometres s ...

. * Theodore Royden Heighway – station officer, Auckland Metropolitan Fire Brigade. ;Military division * Chief Petty Officer Writer William Douglas Dinmore –

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...

. * Chief Engineering Mechanic Ernest Benjamin Gascoigne – Royal New Zealand Navy. * Chief Electrician Robert Brian Harvey – Royal New Zealand Navy. * Ordnance Artificer 1st Class Charles Hepburn – Royal New Zealand Navy. * Stores Chief Petty Officer Richard Allan Jefferies – Royal New Zealand Navy. * Staff-Sergeant Dorothy Kendall Baxter – New Zealand Women's Royal Army Corps (Regular Force). * Sergeant William Aubrey Biber – Royal New Zealand Air Force. * Sergeant Ernest Frederick Fraser – Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Air Force Cross (AFC)

* Flying Officer Ian Albert Hutchins – Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air

* Flight Lieutenant Helge Hall Torgersen – Royal New Zealand Air Force.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birthday Honours 1956 (New Zealand) Birthday Honours 1956 awards 1956 in New Zealand New Zealand awards