St Andrew's College

Rau rangatira mā, e nga tamariki o tēnei kura, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou, kia ora tātou katoa.
Distinguished guests and students of the school, who are gathered here, warm greetings to you all.

I specifically acknowledge: Garry Moore, Chair of the Board of Governors of St Andrew’s College—tēnā koe; Mrs Christine Leighton, Rector and Jonathan Biewirth, Principal of the Preparatory School—tēnā korua.
Thank you for inviting me and my wife Janine to St Andrew’s College for the opening of the Preparatory School Learning Centre.

Soon, I will unveil a plaque to officially open the Learning Centre.  However, before I do that, I would like to speak of the significance of this new facility.

This is not the first new facility I have opened at a school since I was appointed as the Governor-General six months ago.  In the last month I have opened the Chapel Close at King’s College in south Auckland and a Multi-purpose sports complex at Diocesan School for Girls in central Auckland. 

The opening of a new facility is always a neat event.  When that occurs at a school it is rather special.  It represents our faith in the power of education to transform lives.  It also represents a commitment to our young people - our greatest taonga – and our hope for a better future.

However, this new learning centre at St Andrew’s College is doubly special because it also represents the resolve of parents and this school’s commitment to the future of Christchurch and Canterbury.

Yesterday, the nation stopped to remember the tragic events of February 22 last year, when so many lives were lost, when families were torn apart and thousands of homes and buildings were damaged beyond repair.  It was an honour on behalf of all New Zealanders to speak at the memorial service held in Hagley Park yesterday.

Marking anniversaries of such sad events as last year’s earthquake is important.  They are an opportunity to reflect on all that has occurred, to recall who and what we have lost and, for those most closely affected, to grieve.

However, it’s also an opportunity to look forward, building on the past to create a brighter future.  This new learning centre represents part of that new future. 

Your Rector, Christine Leighton, wrote to me almost a year ago, before I was sworn-in as the Governor-General, asking me to open this learning centre.  We had been on a leadership course together in 2001 and I think she decided to call in a favour.  I was happy to oblige!  The continuing earthquakes resulted in further damage to the School, which has needed to be repaired and our journey here was deferred.

This school, like many others in Christchurch and Canterbury, has suffered significant and on-going damage.  Almost every material area of St Andrew’s has been affected.  Damage on the scale seen here – Strowan House, the Memorial Chapel, Thompson and Rutherford, let alone MacGibbon and the Arts Block – has tested the school community’s resolve.

There would be some who, with good reason, when faced with such repeated challenges, would throw their arms in their air in desperation and call it quits.

It is to the credit of the Board of Governors and staff of St Andrews that they have remained committed to Christchurch and rebuilding the school.  It is a credit to them that they have remained committed to this school’s 95-years of tradition, and your values—truth, excellence and faith.

Most importantly, however, is the faith that the parents of the children studying here have shown in the school.   As an independent institution, there would be no school without parents deciding to send their children here to learn. 

That the school has a full roll, despite the many challenges it has faced, is a testament to you all.  By continuing to send your children here, you the school’s parents have underscored the fundamental principle that living in a community, whether that community is a school, a city or a country, is for the long haul, for the good times and the hard times.

In conclusion, I want to congratulate everyone on the completion of the St Andrew’s College Preparatory School Learning Centre. 

It is a fantastic facility which, along with the many other improvements planned for the school, will see St Andrew’s well placed to celebrate its centenary in five years’ time, and look forward to the exciting years of its second century.

It therefore gives me great pleasure to declare the St Andrew’s College Preparatory School Learning Centre officially open.  Kia ora huihui tātou katoa.