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Whanganui family harm victim advocate Judith Browne has been awarded the King’s Service Medal in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours for her services to the community.

Browne has been involved in volunteer roles for more than 40 years in various organisations, starting with the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB).

“I was very grateful to the staff there at the time because I was one of the younger volunteers, and I still believe to this day that had they turned me away I probably wouldn’t have proceeded on my unpaid work journey,” she said.

Browne soon got involved with Women’s Refuge, because at the time CAB was a drop-off point for the organisation.

She has since been involved in Victim Support, became a family violence victim advocate, taught self-defence classes, and has become a justice of the peace (JP).

“One thing has always led to something else; it’s funny how things turn out,” she said.

Browne is now training to become a judicial JP, a position which includes the responsibilities of issuing remands and bail and hearing undefended cases.

She began volunteering as a way to keep her options open for going back into paid work as a solo mum in the late 70s with no qualifications after leaving school at 15.

“To this day, I have no qualifications,” Browne said.

“But when you set your goals, you can achieve whatever you need to.”

Currently, she has a “renewed interest” in the Community Law Centre and works in the Whanganui Family Harm team.

Browne was “pleasantly surprised and extremely grateful” to find out she would be a recipient of the King’s Service Medal, but initially didn’t believe it.

“I got an email and I just saw the heading, so I deleted it because it made no sense.

“Then I thought, ‘that was a bit weird’, so I went back into my deleted box and read it. I read it a few times, thinking it must be a mistake, but I was overwhelmed,” she said.

“It was a really pleasant surprise once I got over the shock of it not being a joke.

“I’m just spending time now reflecting on the past 40 years, and maybe it’s time to slow down a bit and spend some time with the grandkids and family.”

Browne said the highlight of her unpaid work journey has been the people she has met and who have supported her.

“The highlights for me are all the great people I’ve met along the way.

“Really amazing people who support me every day, but also people I’ve worked with, in particular the women and children that I’ve met in my commitment to stopping family and sexual violence,” she said.

“Whanganui’s got such a lovely community and there are so many people out there worthy of this honour, so I’m going to treasure this one, that’s for sure.”

Olivia Reid is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.