Our heartfelt congratulations to benefactor Sir Mark Dunajtschik who was recognised with a Knighthood in the King’s New Year’s Honours list. Mark also recently added the Ryman Healthcare Senior New Zealander of the Year Te Mātāpuputu o te Tau to his growing list of accolades.
Mark and Dorothy were also awarded the Jemima Gazley Spirit of Wellington Award at the Dominion Post Wellingtonian of the Year Awards. This award was named in honour of Jemima Gazley who died at the age of 15 in October 2021, just eight months after being diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a malignant aggressive tumour in the brain stem. It is fitting then that Mark and Dorothy were recognised for their generosity to our community, and in particular for our new regional children’s hospital, as well as their further commitment to the Mark Dunajtschik Mental Health Centre in Lower Hutt. On accepting this award Sir Mark spoke movingly about Jemima and his desire to help children facing health issues.