W-Z

A list of the University’s most decorated alumni, including Distinguished Alumni Award recipients, inductees to New Zealand’s Royal Honours system, and other notable achievements where available.

Names are ordered alphabetically by surname, from W-Z.

W

Richard Waddel ONZM

  • New Year’s Honours 2012: Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to corporate governance

Mr Tama Waipara MNZM

  • New Year’s Honours 2024: Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Maori music

James Terence Wakelin MNZM

  • New Year’s Honours 2011: Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to surf lifesaving

Emeritus Professor Ranginui Walker DCNZM – BA (1962), MA (1966), PhD (1970)

  • Distinguished Alumni Award 2012
  • Professor of Māori Studies from 1993–1997
  • Pro–Vice Chancellor (Māori) from 1996–1997
  • Appointed to the Waitangi Tribunal in 2003
  • Awarded a Tohu o te Maramatanga Research Excellence Award in 2007
  • Received the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in Non–Fiction in 2009

Gavin Walker ONZM

  • Queen’s Birthday Honours 2016: Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the State and business

Professor Michael Mathew Walker ONZM

  • Queen's Birthday Honours 2009: Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to science

Sir James Hay Wallace KNZM

  • Queen's Birthday Honours 2011: Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the arts

John Waller ONZM

  • New Year’s Honours 2016: Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and the community

Emeritus Professor Patrick Walsh CNZM

  • New Year’s Honours 2015

Dr James Watson – BSc, MSc, PhD

  • Distinguished Alumni Award 2001

The Honourable Dr Peter Watson ONZM CNZM – LLB

  • Distinguished Alumni Award 2007
  • New Year’s Honours 2012: Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to New Zealand-United States of America relations

Ian Wedde ONZM – MA

  • Distinguished Alumni Award 2007
  • Queen's Birthday Honours 2010: Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to art and literature

Ngapo Wehi JP QSM

  • New Year’s Honours 2011: Queen's Service Medal for services to Māori

Mark Weldon – BA, BCom, MCom, DipIntlLaw with Honours, JD

  • Distinguished Alumni Award 2006

Professor John Scott Werry CNZM

  • New Year Honours 2009: Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to child and adolescent psychiatry

Graeme Wheeler – BCom Well (1972), MCom (1973) CNZM

  • New Year’s Honours 2018: Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the State
  • Distinguished Alumni Award 2016
  • Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, a position he has held since 2012
  • Served as Treasurer and Managing Director (Operations) for the World Bank

George Ronald Wheeler QSM

  • New Year’s Honours 2013: For services to veterans

Wilson Whineray – BCom

  • Distinguished Alumni Award 1997

Dame Robin White – DipFinArts (1968)

  • Distinguished Alumni Award 2012
  • Key painter and printmaker in the development of New Zealand’s “regionalist” style
  • Works are included in many major public collections
  • Represented New Zealand at numerous international exhibitions

Dr Paul White CNZM

  • Queen’s Birthday Honours 2014

Professor Kenneth Geoffrey White ONZM

  • New Year Honours 2009: Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to science, in particular psychology

Jo-anne Edna Mary Wilkinson MNZM

  • Queen's Birthday Honours 2011: Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to youth

Professor Karen Willcox – BE (1994), SM MIT (1996), PhD MIT (2000)

  • Distinguished Alumni Award 2016
  • Appointed Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2012
  • Co-Director of MIT’s Center for Computational Engineering in 2008

Bryan Williams CNZM, SOM – MBE, LLB (1974), KNZM

  • New Year’s Honours 2018: Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to rugby
  • Distinguished Alumni Award 2015 
  • Distinguished international rugby career from 1970-1978
  • Among the first Pacific Island players to wear the All Black colours
  • President of the New Zealand Rugby Union from 2011–2013

David AR Williams QC – LLB (1965), LLM Harvard (1966)

  • Distinguished Alumni Award 2016
  • Honorary Professor of Law at the University of Auckland

Sir David Williams QC KNZM

  • New Year’s Honours 2017: Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to international law and international arbitration

Tawhiri Williams MNZM

  • Queen's Birthday Honours 2015

Catriona Williams MNZM

  • Queen’s Birthday Honours 2014

Kate Williams QSM

  • New Year’s Honours 2013: For services as a geotechnical engineer

Sir Peter Williams KNZM

  • New Year’s Honours 2015

Arnold Wilson MNZM

  • Queen's Birthday Honours 2010: Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori and the arts

Stewart Wilson MNZM

  • New Year’s Honours 2015

The Honourable Margaret Anne Wilson DCNZM

  • New Year Honours 2009: Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services as a Member of Parliament and as Speaker of the House of Representatives

Professor Christine Winterbourn CNZM, FRSNZ – BSc (1963),MSc (1964), PhD Massey

  • Distinguished Alumni Award 2015
  • First female recipient of the Rutherford Medal in 2011

Joan Withers – MBA (1991)

  • Distinguished Alumni Award 2015

James Terence Wakelin MNZM

  • New Year’s Honours 2011: Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to surf lifesaving

John Wong QSM

  • New Year’s Honours 2010: Queen's Service Medal for services to the ethnic community

Mr Lindsay Wood MNZM

  • New Year’s Honours 2024: Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to environmental sustainability and climate change awareness

Professor Ngaire Woods – BA, LLB with Honours, MPhil, DPhil

  • Distinguished Alumni Award 2009

Jill Mabel Worrall MNZM

  • Queen's Birthday Honours 2009: Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to social work

Susan Barbara Worthington MNZM

  • New Year’s Honours 2013: For services as a botanical artist

Y

Richard Yan – BA, BCom

  • Distinguished Alumni Award 1996

Dr Philip Seabrook Yates ONZM

  • New Year’s Honours 2013: For services to agribusiness

Dr Phillip Yock MNZM

  • Queen's Birthday Honours 2010: Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to astronomy

Arthur Young – LLB

  • Distinguished Alumni Award 2002

Dr Warren Young QSO

  • New Year’s Honours 2015

Graham Young JP MNZM

  • Queen’s Birthday Honours 2016: Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to education

Z

Professor Georgina Elsie Zellan-Smith MNZM

  • New Year Honours 2009: member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to music