Sir Noel Robinson named one of Saint Kentigern’s Inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award recipients

It is an honour for us to have Sir Noel Robinson as one of four inaugural recipients of the Saint Kentigern Distinguished Alumni Awards. The award recognises our alumni who have achieved excellence in their professional lives and lived the values of Saint Kentigern in their pursuits, whilst simultaneously showcasing great leadership, and are role models for our students.

After leaving school, Sir Noel joined Fisher and Paykel as an engineering cadet and became Factory Manager. In 1970, Sir Noel founded his own company Robinson Industries, manufacturing range hoods, super tubs and iron centres which were sold all around the world.

He has been involved in many significant manufacturing and commercial properties in the South Auckland region as well at Highbrook Industrial Estate in Auckland and Paraparaumu Airport in Wellington. He led the development of the building of a multi-cultural event centre for Manukau now known as the Vodafone Events Centre.

Further to his contributions to New Zealand businesses, Sir Noel has dedicated his time to philanthropic causes and has given extensively to low decile education. Working for the children of South Auckland has been his real passion. He is Chairman of the Sir Woolf Fisher Trust and the Sir Woolf Fisher Charitable Trust.

Sir Noel has been actively involved with many different causes in the Counties Manukau community including the John Walker Find Your Field of Dreams Foundation, founding Chairman of Highbrook Developments Limited, Chairman of the Auckland Airport Community Noise Trust and former Trustee of the New Zealand Business and Parliament Trust, Deputy Chairman of Middlemore Health Board and Chairman of the MCC advisory committee developing the Economic Strategy for Manukau.

About the Saint Kentigern Distinguished Alumni Awards

The inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award was celebrated last weekend at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. At the ceremony, we recognised the achievements of four esteemed winners:

• John Beckett (Saint Kentigern College, 1958-1962)
• Philip Recordon (Saint Kentigern Boys’ School, 1959-1960 and Saint Kentigern College, 1961-1965)
• Sir Noel Robinson (Saint Kentigern College, 1958-1961)
• Dr Ernest Willoughby (Saint Kentigern College, 1959-1963)

The Distinguished Alumni Awards will be celebrated every two years to recognise Saint Kentigern alumni for a series of achievements of note in the fields of business, social, cultural, sporting or environmental well-being of the community, and for an illustrious career of exceptional national or international accomplishment.

Recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award received a specially commissioned handcrafted commemorative award designed and created by local artist and Saint Kentigern Boys’ School teacher Tom Barter. The handcrafted award is distinctly Saint Kentigern with the design inspired by our Scottish heritage.