Dame Sukhi Turner – the former Mayor of Dunedin – has been inducted into the Kiwi-Indian Hall of Fame in the fifth edition of Indian Weekender's Kiwi Indian Honours.
Ms Turner, a proud grandmother of two lovely grandkids and living in a serene township in the South Island, has many firsts associated with her name, endorsing her indomitable spirit and the sense of enterprise that she has carried throughout her public life in New Zealand.
Ms Sukhi Turner and Mr Glen Turner with their son Shaan and daughter (Photo: supplied)
Ms Turner was the first woman to be elected as Mayor of Dunedin – New Zealand’s fourth largest city. She was also the first ever person of Indian descent to be elected as a Mayor in New Zealand. Last but not the least she was also the first ever Kiwi-Indian to be awarded Pravasi Bhartiya Sammaan-India’s highest honour for the People of Indian Origin way back in 2004.
Ms Sukhi Turner received the Pravashi Bhartiya Samman from the then Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vaajpaye (Photo: supplied)
However, Ms Turner wears these pioneering distinctions in her public life and the eminence she has achieved, lightly and with disarming, charming humility.
She continues to carry that modest and unassuming charm in her personality that would have possibly swayed the people of Dunedin in the late 1990s to vote for her Mayoralty three times in succession and with an increasing number of votes.
Born in April 1952 to an Indian Sikh family, she completed her education in different parts of India as her father was a proud Indian Air Force official. She graduated in History and Political Science from Bethany College, West Virginia in the USA.
Ms Turner came to New Zealand after marrying New Zealand cricketer Glenn Turner in September 1973 and travelled around the world with him before settling in Dunedin in 1982 to raise her school going kids.
However, the energy and the passion inside her to give back to the community could not restrict her within the boundaries of domestic life for long, and she gradually found herself plunged back into the full glare of public life resulting in being elected as the local Councillor of Dunedin in 1992.
Within three years from there, her confidence in her ability to give back as a public representative of the Dunedin city was elevated to the extent that she presented herself as a mayoral candidate, and the loving public of Dunedin backed her self-confidence and elected as Mayor of the City in 1995.
In that process, she added another first to her feather by defeating an incumbent Mayor for the first time in 27 years in Dunedin.
Later on, she was re-elected in 1998 and 2001, before finally retiring in 2004 as the Mayor.
In the 2002 Queen's Birthday Honours Ms Turner was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to local government.
Following the reinstatement of titular honours by the New Zealand government in 2009, she accepted re-designation as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Ms Turner has also been actively involved in community activities with Dunedin’s Multi-Ethnic Council, NZ Federation of Ethnic Councils, Enviroschool Foundation, Alpine Community Development Trust to mention a few.
After her retirement from politics; Ms Turner is living a relaxed and laid back life in the picturesque town of Wanaka doing what she loves most in her leisure – gardening in her backyard and living green.
Her life-journey, successful achievements in political life and post-retirement life led by example continues to inspire not only Kiwi-Indians but also the entire migrant community and the in particular women in New Zealand.
In recognising Ms Turner’s considerable achievements and contributions to society, Indian Weekender modestly believes that it is also a recognition of Indian Weekender’s own humble metamorphosis this year into a more encompassing entity of the Indian diaspora in New Zealand, reaching far beyond its home city of Auckland. It symbolises the expanding connections that it is making with Kiwi-Indians across this beautiful country; it symbolises Indian Weekender’s pan-New Zealand vision.
Indian Weekender’s ever penetrating reach within the Indian community all around New Zealand set the setting for robust nominations for Dame Sukhi Turner as a potential candidate for the coveted Kiwi-Indian Hall of Fame Honours.
The remaining task was done by the elite jury members who had little difficulty in taking a unanimous decision in conferring the prestigious recognition on Dame Turner.
Indian Weekender salutes her indomitable spirit and achievements in public life by inducting permanently in the Kiwi-Indian Hall of Fame Honours.