Wānaka resident Paul McEwan was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to neonatal care in the Queen’s Birthday Platinum and Jubilee Honours List.

Paul is a founding trustee and chair of the Canterbury Neonatal Unit Trust formed in 1992.

His leadership of the trust has raised more than $600,000 since its establishment, which has benefited Canterbury and the Westland provinces. 

Under his leadership the trust has supported several projects and causes including supplying incubators adapted for the rescue helicopters, and providing a support package to families who reside outside of Christchurch but have their infant in the Christchurch Women’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. 

The trust helped establish New Zealand’s first human milk bank at Christchurch Women’s Hospital which collects, processes and stores human milk for mothers in Canterbury and throughout New Zealand. 

More than 2,000 mothers have helped since the milk bank was established in 2014. 

The trust has provided equipment to facilitate training in emergency new-born resuscitation, and supports research projects to improve surgical techniques for repair of congenital abnormalities. 

As an experienced financial planner and advisor, Paul has led the trust to maintain a high level of the capital raised and support regular funding. 

Paul is a retired cricket player who played four tests and 17 one-day international matches for the Black Caps and made more than 100 appearances for Canterbury cricket.

The timing of the New Zealand celebration of the Queen's Birthday in 2022 coincides with the timing of the main events in the United Kingdom to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. On the Prime Minister's recommendation, the Queen has agreed that the significance of the Jubilee should be acknowledged in New Zealand by renaming the Queen's Birthday 2022 Honours list as the “Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours List 2022.

PHOTO: Supplied