Dame Anne Salmond is a distinguished academic and historian with deep links to the Maori world and a passion for protecting and conserving the New Zealand environment. Dame Anne has been the recipient of numerous literary awards, scholarships and academic prizes. In 1995 she was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire for services to New Zealand history, in 2004 she received a Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement for non-fiction, and in 2013 she was named New Zealander of the Year. She is also project sponsor for Te Awaroa, a project that aims to restore waterways across New Zealand, and chairperson of the Longbush Ecological Trust, which is dedicated to restoring a 120 hectare ecosanctuary in Gisborne.