Margaret Western: A champion for diversity and community wellbeing

May 6, 2025

Over the years, E Tū Whānau has developed strong, trusted relationship with whānau who are closely connected to their communities and who bring wisdom honed from life experience and empathy to their mahi. They make a world of difference.

Margaret Western, who until recently was manager of the Marlborough Multicultural Centre (MMC), is one of them.

Margaret, a long-term kahukura leading change in whānau and communities, helped establish the Centre with E Tū Whānau support in 2007.

MMC provides manaakitanga to all newcomers, especially those who are socially disadvantaged. Currently, 67 different ethnic communities come under its korowai.

Under Margaret’s watch, MMC has become a leader in the sector, tirelessly advocating for diversity within the wider Marlborough community.

Margaret Western is seen in a mid-shot. She is an older woman, with kind blue eyes. Dressed in black, she holds an folder of papers under arm as someone, who is unseen apart from their hands, secures a garland of red and green flowers on her head. Behind Margaret, an older man wearing a blue and white stripped shirt and the same red and green garland of flowers, is visible.
Margaret Western, tireless advocate for connected, diverse and inclusive communities.
In this photograph taken on the back of a moving boat, Margaret Western wears a bright red cap and light coloured clothing. She has her arm around a young woman, Meeri, from Kiribati who is wearing a light coloured t shirt. Both women look happy and are looking directly at the camera. Two people are visible behind Margaret and Meeri on the boat and, behind them, the hills of the Marlborough Sounds can be seen.
Meeri from Kiribati (right) and Margaret enjoying a day on the water in the Marlborough Sounds.

‘One of us’

E Tū Whānau kaimahi Thi Phan is herself a migrant from Vietnam and knows Margaret Western well.

“She is ‘one of us’. Margaret understands the complex needs of former refugees and migrants and connects with them with such empathy that it’s as if she has gone through those sometimes-painful experiences herself,” says Thi.

In this photograph, Margaret Western and four women of various ethnicities stand together in a line, Two of the women wear brightly coloured South Asian clothing. The women stand close together, with several with arms around each other or making other forms of friendly contact. They all look happy. The photograph is taken inside a large conference-type room.
E Tū Whānau kaimahi, Jenny Janif (second from left) Margaret Western (fourth from left) and Ann Dysart (right) with other women of diverse international cultures in Blenheim.

Margaret was founding chair of MMC before becoming its manager, a role she’s tried three times to retire from. Each time, her unwavering commitment to the wellbeing of migrant and former refugees took priority.

She has finally stood down from the role but is staying on as MMC’s Community Development Partner.

She’ll be using her experience to build community connections at a strategic level.

“A lot of people don’t realise just how important migrants and former refugees are to our economy. They’re working in all areas and are especially vital to the local viticulture and health sectors,” says Margaret.

She will also be looking for opportunities to develop social enterprises that use migrant skills and strengthen MMC’s sustainability.

“Seems like my work educating the wider community in the richness of diversity and the contribution migrants make to Marlborough economy is not yet done,” she says with a grin. “I’d better keep taking my eternal youth tablets.”

Those tablets must be working because Margaret also holds a number of voluntary positions.

Margaret Western – an indefatigable community advocate

She’s a Local Champion of the Marlborough Violence Intervention Project and a former community representative on the Restorative Justice Programme. She chairs the local Community Grants Board and has a decade of experience as convener of the annual Marlborough Multicultural Festival.

Held in March, this year’s festival featured over 200 performers from a rich mix of cultures, and 40 food stalls offering cuisine from around the world. It drew more than 5,000 people to Blenheim’s Pollard Park, making it one of the region’s most well-attended cultural gatherings.

“This success was underpinned by the important contribution of tangata whenua, who had a significant role in making the festival a truly inclusive and culturally meaningful experience for all,” Margaret says.

In this picture, taken at Marlborough Multicultural Festival 2025, two women and a man are seen in brightly coloured ethnic dress. They are facing the camera with both hands raised. The woman closest to the camera wears a heard scarf while all three are smiling.
In this picture, taken at Marlborough Multicultural Festival 2025, which Margaret Western convened, young people perform wearing cultural dress of the Pacific Islands. They stand in three lines,
In this picture, taken at Marlborough Multicultural Festival 2025, a large group of pre-teen children perform on a crowded stage. The children are of mixed ethnicities and are wearing colourful t-shirts showing the African continent. The children appear happy, with many waving their hands in the air and smiling. To the left of the stage, a large banner displays smiling, happy faces of people of a variety of ethnicities beneath the title "Marlborough Multicultural Festival"
In this picture, taken at Marlborough Multicultural Festival 2025, a group of people are pictured from behind and playing bagpipes for a large audience who are seated on the grass in front of the stage. The people playing the bagpipes are wearing blue and green tartan kilts, long green socks and black waistcoats over long-sleeve white shirts. They are also wearing Scottish Balmoral hats.
In this picture, taken at Marlborough Multicultural Festival 2025, a large group of women dance in lines on a stage. They are of various cultures and ethnicities and are dressed casually or in clothing of traditional African print. The women are pictured from the side, and all are stepping forward at the same time.
Taken at Marlborough Multicultural Festival 2025, a group of men dressed in red and gold traditional Chinese long-sleeved tunic suits are pictured performing on the stage. The men parade a red and gold Chinese dragon, which is held above their heads on long sticks. They men - and the dragon - are pictured in motion, parading on the stage.

Thousands of people enjoyed participating in and watching this year’s Marlborough Multicultural Festival.

Margaret was brought up in Picton in the monocultural 1960s in a community minded, Catholic family which emphasised values of justice and equality. Those values have remained with her all her life, she says.

“Those values sit behind the holistic, community-driven approach that E Tū Whānau champions, which prioritises family wellbeing alongside broader social development goals.”

Earlier in her professional life, Margaret worked as Executive Assistant to the Mayor and Chief Executive of the Marlborough District Council. One of her responsibilities was organising New Zealand citizenship ceremonies. It was a role that allowed her to build relationships and deepen her understanding of different communities and their role in enriching Marlborough culturally and economically.

Taken indoors, a large group of people stand in a semi-circle to be photographed. Those in front sit or kneel and behind them, others are standing. The people are of very diverse ethnicities, some in cultural dress, and Margaret is pictured standing in the centre of the group. Behind the group, a large digital screen says "Welcome to Marlborough District Council".
Margaret with members of the Marlborough multicultural community at a Mayor’s morning tea.

Ann Dysart’s vision lives on

Meeting the late Ann Dysart, E Tū Whānau founding kaiwhakahaere, was to have a lasting influence on Margaret Weston’s life.

“Had it not been for Ann Dysart and her wise counsel, I may have never been so keenly interested in the richness of diversity.”

Ann introduced Margaret to the E Tū Whānau kauapapa. She also linked her up with other E Tū Whānau community workers to help produce the foundational Settling in Marlborough report, from which MMC evolved.

During her first stint managing MMC, Margaret realised that, while newcomers had a range of needs, Marlborough’s host community needed to be educated as well. So she certified as a trainer of Intercultural Communications and Awareness programmes and continues holding sessions to this day.

“While there are many warm, welcoming people in our home community, I think there is still a need to acknowledge the sacrifices newcomers make just to come here and how they enrich our sense of social cohesion and help progress the economic wellbeing of us all.”

In 2020, Margaret joined the NZ Red Cross where she established their successful Pathways to Employment Scheme for people from refugee backgrounds. Urgent family commitments forced her to leave that role, but she was back managing the MMC before long.

“The Covid epidemic had started, and the needs of our newcomers suddenly became much more complicated and urgent. I just couldn’t leave them without doing everything I could to help.”

Margaret Western balances empathy with healthy pragmatism and straight talking.

“I always remind our newcomers that there are rights and responsibilities to being a New Zealander,” she says.

“They have a responsibility to integrate and respect the values that New Zealand stands for, but it is also their responsibility to retain their identity and culture because that enriches us all.”

As a mother of four now-adult children, two of whom were adopted, Margaret has a unique insight into the complexities of diversity.

“Our youngest daughter is obviously different ethnically from my husband and me. When she was growing up, we saw firsthand how some people’s racism and prejudice could impact a child if they weren’t protected from it.

That experience encouraged me to stand up for anyone who may be different from mainstream Marlborough and who needed support.”

Those values that Margaret learnt as a child still guide her life.

“I believe in social cohesion and the equality of mankind. I believe in the peace movement and the rights of women. I have a spiritual faith and I like to think that my husband and I bought our children up with the values of respect, honesty and integrity and to treat everyone as an equal.

These values resonate with people from different communities because that’s what they want too.

They want a better life for themselves, and their families and they want to contribute to the community that ultimately, they have chosen to make as their home.”

Margaret Western has been recognised for her commitment to a vibrant, modern multicultural community by becoming the Marlborough recipient of the Kiwi Bank New Zealander of the Year Award in 2019. A year later, she was awarded the Queens Service Medal for outstanding service to Marlborough migrant and refugee background communities.

Margaret Western is pictured standing next to the Governor General, The Right Honourable Patsy Reedy who is wearing a golden star-shaped medal and elaborate decorative gold chain associated with her official position. Both women are dressed formally, with Margaret wearing some sort of bright red, white and black broach on the lapel of her black jacket.
Former Governor General, The Right Honourable Patsy Reedy (right) with Margaret Western when she was awarded the Queens Service Medal in 2020.

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