A lifetime of service to Māori development, governance and community wellbeing has been formally recognised with the appointment of Dr Lorraine Shirley Eade as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Dr Eade, who affiliates to Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Toarangatira, Rangitāne, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Koata, Te Ātiawa, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Raukawa and Te Arawa, has made a significant contribution to Māori advancement across Te Waipounamu over several decades.
Her governance experience spans iwi, health, social services and economic development. She has served the iwi of Ngāti Toarangatira and Ngāti Rārua in senior roles including Trustee, General Manager and Treaty Claims Advisor, helping to strengthen post-settlement governance and long-term iwi capability.
Dr Eade has also held a number of directorships, including with Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu under the Whānau Ora commissioning model, Te Hauora o Ngāti Rārua, Te Tao Tangaroa Ltd, the Ngāti Rārua Asset Holding Company and the Tokomaru Research Centre. Her work has consistently focused on improving outcomes for whānau, particularly in health, social services and economic resilience.
In the health sector, she has contributed at both strategic and community levels, including membership of Te Kāhui Hauora, the Iwi Health Board for Te Tauihu. Her voluntary leadership has been equally significant. She currently chairs Ngāti Rārua o Te Wairau Society and the Māori night market Te Pātaka o Wairau, and previously chaired Te Pātaka Ltd, a Māori foodbank established during the COVID-19 pandemic to support whānau facing hardship.
A retired Justice of the Peace, Dr Eade has given her time freely to a wide range of community and kaupapa Māori organisations. These include initiatives focused on reducing whānau harm, improving Māori health outcomes and strengthening local communities, such as Tu Pono te Mana Kaha o te Whānau o Te Tauihu, Cure Kids Te Rōpū Rangahau Hauora, Wairau Pā Marae, and several community and council committees in Marlborough.
Beyond governance and community service, she has also contributed through sport and youth development. She served as South Island Director for Taekwon-Do and as an instructor at the Wairau Taekwon-Do Club. Together with her husband, she was also a Child, Youth and Family home parent, fostering tamariki for more than seven years.
Dr Lorraine Eade’s appointment as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit reflects a deep and sustained commitment to Māori, to whānau, and to community leadership across Te Waipounamu – service that has quietly but powerfully strengthened lives and institutions alike.
