1956 New Year Honours (New Zealand)

Knight Commander (KCMG)

• The Honourable Thomas Clifton Webb QC – high commissioner in the United Kingdom, formerly Attorney-General and Minister of External Affairs.

• 
  Sir Clifton Webb

Companion (CMG)

• Charles Phipp Agar JP – of Christchurch. For services to local government and the dairy industry.
• George Douglas Robb MD FRCS – a consulting surgeon, of Auckland.

Dame Commander (DBE)

Civil division

• The Honourable Grace Hilda Ross – Minister for the Welfare of Women and Children.

• 
  Dame Hilda Ross

Commander (CBE)

Civil division

• William Percival Evans – professor of chemistry, Canterbury University College.
• David Masson Greig – Director-General of Lands.
• Colonel John Llewellyn Saunders DSO VD BDS – director of Dental Hygiene.
• Henry Devenish Skinner DCM – director of the Otago Museum and lecturer in anthropology at Otago University.

Military division

• Brigadier Monty Claude Fairbrother DSO OBE ED – Royal New Zealand Infantry Corps (Territorial Force).

Officer (OBE)

Civil division

• Adam Laurence Adamson – mayor of Invercargill.
• Lewis Alfred Eady. For services to the community in Auckland, especially as a city councillor.
• Richard John Burnside Hall MB ChB – medical superintendent, Cook Hospital, Gisborne.
• William Henry Hall – of Timaru. For public services.
• Robert Harding JP – of Hastings. For services to local government.
• Pateriki Joseph Hura – of Taumarunui. For services to the Māori people, especially as a member of the Board of Māori Affairs.
• John Guy Marshall – of Wellington. For services to the manufacturing industry.
• Thomas Arthur McCormack – a prominent artist, of Wellington.
• Peter Munro – assistant commissioner of Police, and a member of the Police Commission.
• Gwendoline Mabel Underwood – formerly a member of the staff of the District Nursing Department.
• The Reverend Canon Henry Williams – of Christchurch. For services to the community.

Military division

• The Venerable Archdeacon Gordon Melville McKenzie VRD – honorary chaplain, Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve.
• Lieutenant-Colonel Duncan MacIntyre DSO – Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps (Territorial Force).
• Wing Commander Bruce Roden Furkert – Royal New Zealand Air Force.

• 
  Adam Adamson
• 
  Duncan MacIntyre

Member (MBE)

Civil division

• John David Allingham – a prominent architect, of Dunedin.
• Archibald Banks. For services in connection with the development of prison farms.
• Maud Ruby Basham. For services in the fields of entertainment and broadcasting.
• Janet Clark Buchanan. For philanthropic services in Taranaki.
• Beatrice Alice Ann Downes – of Te Awamutu. For municipal and social welfare services.
• Oswald Lovell Ferens ED JP – of Dunedin. For services to ex-servicemen.
• Elinor Styles Harvey – formerly matron, Wairoa Hospital.
• Patrick Francis Higgins – chairman, Napier Harbour Board.
• Lucy Atareti Jacob. For services to the Māori people in the Levin and Otaki districts.
• James Mercer. For services to sport, particularly lawn tennis.
• William Parsonage. For services to the coal-mining industry.
• Alfred Henry Pettitt – of Dunedin. For services to the community as a musician.
• Charles Bradlaugh Ross – conductor of the Hokitika Municipal Band for 40 years.
• Dorothy Snell – of Whangarei. For social welfare services.
• Ray Watts – of Christchurch. For social welfare services.
• Edmund David White – chairman, Matamata County Council.
• Catherine Maxwell Williams JP – of Auckland. For social welfare services.

Military division

• Lieutenant-Commander Thomas Alexander Simpson – Royal New Zealand Navy.
• Captain Hamish Coates Neale – Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps (Territorial Force).
• Major Leslie Arthur Pearce – New Zealand Regiment (Regular Force).
• Major (temporary) Stanley Melvin Pritchard – Royal New Zealand Infantry Corps (Territorial Force).
• Flight Lieutenant Noel Herbert Scott – Air Training Corps, Royal New Zealand Air Force.
• Warrant Officer Stephen Raymond Hooker – Royal New Zealand Air Force.
• Warrant Officer Herman Andrew Payne – Royal New Zealand Air Force.

• 
  Daisy Basham