Rhodes Scholarship Annual Selection Dinner

May I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand, in English, Māori, Cook Island Māori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.  Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni, and as it is evening [sign].

May I then specifically greet you: Dr Bill Wakelin, President of the New Zealand Rhodes Scholarship Association and your fellow board members, including Secretary Paul Tipping; Professor Sir David Skegg, Secretary of the Rhodes Trust in New Zealand and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Otago and fellow members of the selection panel, Dr Susan Cutfield and Chris Curran; Rhodes Scholars and particularly the newest inductees, Thomas Hills, Alice Irving and Richard Stebbing; Distinguished Guests otherwise; and I instance Denis Mclean- Past President of the Rhodes Association and erstwhile Secretary Of Defence.
Jonathan Ross- from Bell Gully, Sir Colin Maiden and Lady Maiden, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Thank you for inviting me to join you here for the annual dinner to welcome Thomas Hills Alice Irving and Richard Stebbing into that most prestigious and select groupings, that of a Rhodes Scholar.  I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on a little on the legacy of Cecil Rhodes’ bequest.

Reading Rhodes’s will is, to say the least, an interesting proposition.  The will and several codicils stretch to 18 detailed pages, combining both complex legal language and some passing asides, observations, suggestions and directions.  In addition to establishing the scholarship that bears his name, there is also an annuity of £100 to “each of my servants Norris and the one called Tony.”    In a latter codicil Rhodes revokes the appointment of one of his executors, noting that while he has the greatest respect for him, because of his “extraordinary eccentricity” the objects of his will would be “embarrassed by his views.”    In another codicil, expressing concern that the inheritor of his estate in England might aspire to become a “loafer”  he directed that the relative who was to inherit it should either work in a profession for 10 years or serve in the military. 

Rhodes was very much a man of his time.  His views on the superiority of English-speaking peoples and ascribing to the British Empire an almost divine destiny have not stood the test of time and would be regarded as bizarre today.  Likewise, it was not until a legal change in 1976 that the scholarships could be offered to women.

Even so, when seen more widely, the clauses relating to the establishment of the Rhodes Scholarship show a man with a keen understanding of the importance of tertiary education.  His vision was to develop outstanding leaders who would be motivated to "esteem the performance of public duties as their highest aim."  Interestingly, despite his other well known views on race, the will states that no-one should be qualified or disqualified on the grounds of “race or religious opinions.” 

Likewise, he did not want the scholarship recipients to be “merely bookworms”  and addition to their literary and scholastic achievements, he directed his trustees to select people with a fondness and success in sport and those with qualities such as “truth, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for and protection of the weak, kindliness, unselfishness and fellowship.”     Rhodes wanted the recipients of his scholarships to be the future leaders of the English-speaking world and believed that the best way of doing that was selecting well rounded individuals with a strong moral character and a concern for the needs of others.

The choice of Oxford University was also deliberate.  While he spent only one term at Oriel College,  the experience profoundly affected him.  He placed great value in young people from throughout the world travelling to Britain to study at the world’s oldest English-speaking university.  Rhodes clearly believed people received the best education by not only studying together, but also by living together, where they could make friends and share and discuss ideas.  He saw that being taken out of their comfort zone and transported to Britain would give the recipients “breadth to their views for their instruction in life.”    To emphasise this point, he specifically states that he did not establish a scholarship at the University of Edinburgh, for which he also had some affection, because it lacked the residential system offered at Oxford.    

Since that time, more than 7000 Rhodes Scholars have gone on to serve at the forefront of government, the judiciary, the professions, commerce, the arts, education, research and a host of other domains. They are well known advocates for expanded social justice, and have advanced the frontiers of science and medicine.  Even a cursory glance at the list reveals several members of the United States Supreme Court,  the first Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Arnoold Smith,  a United States Secretary of State, Dean Rusk  an Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke  and at least three Nobel Prize winners.   Two of the German recipients, for example, were executed in 1944 for opposing Hitler.

Among the New Zealand recipients, are several current or former university Vice-Chancellors,  of whom we have the company of two this evening,  numerous politicians and senior members of the judiciary, as well as a host of leaders in law, business, medicine, science, literature and journalism.  They include at least two Olympic medallists,  one of whom, my predecessor, Sir Arthur Porritt, served as New Zealand’s first New Zealand-born Governor-General.  Four of the New Zealand recipients lost their lives in either the First or Second World War.

Taken as a whole, the successes of the New Zealand Rhodes Scholars—let alone their colleagues from throughout the world—is an unparalleled record of achievement.  Our latest three Scholars will be part of a class of 82 scholars from Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica and the Commonwealth Caribbean, Kenya, New Zealand, Pakistan, Southern Africa (including South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, and Swaziland), United States, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.   Together you will join more 20,000 students from more than 140 countries studying at Oxford, where your lives will be enriched, not only by the University’s stimulating and rigorous education, but also its vibrant cultural and community life.

It is an opportunity without parallel.  I am confident that in our decision to award the scholarships to you will be repaid many times over.  I count it as one of the special parts of my tenure as Governor-General to chair the selection panel and to see so much hope and promise.  I look forward to learning more of your successes in the years ahead.

That, however, is for the future.  Tonight is about celebration.   And in that celebration, we have no better task master than Rt Hon Cecil John Rhodes himself.  In his will he also directed that his trustees should annually hold a dinner so that “scholars past and present may have opportunities of meeting and discussing their experiences and prospects.”

And on what I hope is a satisfactory note of conviviality, I will close in our country’s first language, offering everyone greetings and wishing you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours.   No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.