Year: 1955 - 1958
Occupation: NZ Basketball & Softball

Marie has represented NZ in two sports. She represented NZ in basketball 1963-1967 – touring Australia twice, while representing Wellington for 13 years. Marie was a Wellington representative in softball from 1958 – 1974 and a member of the New Zealand team competing in the first World Series in Melbourne in1965, in Osaka, Japan in 1970 and captained the team in Stratford, Connecticut, USA in 1974. She was inducted into the International Softball Federation Hall of Fame in 1991 and carried the Olympic torch preceding the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

Year: 1957 - 1960
Occupation: International Theatre Designer

Allan Lees has spent 50 years in theatre and costume design. He is currently Director General of Theatre Associates in Sydney. His skills have seen him sought after and involved in over 350 major productions – the majority in Australia, but a significant number locally and internationally. He has designed with 45 major companies in opera, ballet, musicals and theatre. Examples of his work with the Royal New Zealand Ballet could be seen in Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, the Canterbury Opera production of Don Giovanni, and The Merry Widow for the Wellington Opera Company. For three years 1991-1994 Allan was General Manager of the State Opera House in Wellington. Allan’s extensive background saw him design costumes for episodes of Star Wars. Allan was Guest Lecturer in Theatre at the NZ Drama School in Wellington during which his designs for the musical THE JUNGLE BOOK received the Chapman Tripp Costume Designer of the Year Award in 2001. His most recent New Zealand productions have been MADAMA BUTTERFLY with director Elric Hooper for Dunedin 2003, and CARMEN for Christopher Doig at Southern Opera in 2007. Currently Allan is in Perth where he is Designer for a new production of CINDERELLA for the West Australian Ballet.

Year: 1954 - 1958
Occupation: Singer & Actor

As a jazz singer Ann has had many gigs in restaurants and clubs over a number of years, including residencies at the Duxton, Wellington Intercontinental, The Malthouse, The Oaks Brasserie, and she’s been a support act for Michael Crawford. Ann has also taken part in many concerts at Old St. Paul’s, the Hot Club Sandwich and with Kirsten Mackenzie’s trio, The International Festival of the Arts, several appearances at Government House, and charity events. She has been in numerous radio programmes on National Radio; and released three albums. Ann has been in many musicals including Chicago and Braindead. She acted the title role in Mabel and had numerous supporting roles in plays such as the Odd Couple and A Streetcar named Desire. Ann has been regularly seen on our TV screens in series like; Big Night In, Dark Knight and 56 children programmes. She has had supporting roles in several movies being nominated for best supporting actor in Send a Gorilla.

Year: 1954 - 1957
Occupation: Economist

After completing his university study David joined the treasury and worked his way up to Divisional Director Economic Policy and then Social Services Policy. He spent three years with the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC. In 1980 he was awarded a Visiting Fellowship at Victoria University in Wellington. He then spent 4 years in Paris as NZs Deputy Permanent representative to the OECD after which he returned to the Treasury and in the mid 1980s worked on Taxation and Benefit Reform and Social Service Policy. In the 1990s he moved to the Department of Social Welfare and rose to general manager of the social policy agency.

Year: 1954 - 1956
Occupation: Ballet Dancer

Sir Jon Trimmer has been a mainstay of the Royal New Zealand Ballet for 50 of the company’s 53 years. J on started dancing at the age of 12. He spent a year with the then New Zealand Ballet, before studying at the Royal Ballet School in 1959. He danced with both The Australian Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet. He has performed with Dame Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, Erik Bruhn and many of the world’s top dancers. Career highlights include being nominated for the best actor award in the Fireraiser television series (1986) and dancing the title role in Petrouchka, and the role of Albrecht in Giselle. The last 20 years have seen Sir Jon performing mainly character roles with the RNZB, alongside dramatic roles in television and stage plays. In 2004 he toured New Zealand with the play Meeting Karpovsky. Sir Jon was awarded Television Performer of the Year in 1971, received an MBE in 1974, recieved a Fulbright Scholarship in 1981, and in 1986 was the third recipient of the Turnovsky Award. He received a knighthood in 1999 for services to ballet. To celebrate Sir Jon’s 50th anniversary with the Royal New Zealand Ballet he took to the stage last year as “The Don” in Don Quixote.