Kia ora koutou katoa
I specifically acknowledge:
- Reverend Aaron Ironside
- Captain Chris Barradale
- Commander Larry Robbins
- Reverend Ross Bay, and
Reverend Lance Lukin
Whenever I stand up in front Master Mariners to talk about sailors, ships and the sea, I have a sense of imposter syndrome! I have a most sincere appreciation of the good work you do here for seafarers from around the world.
As a young man I had the good fortune to spend time in the British Merchant Navy as a cadet, so I have some insight into what it is like to be at sea for long stretches of time.
I have fond memories of my time in the Merchant Navy. It gave me I opportunities to see the world and work with people from different backgrounds and cultures, and the work was fascinating - navigation, seamanship and so on.
At the same time, it is a life that requires a level of fortitude – and being away from family, friends and familiar surroundings can take their toll, particularly for those with partners and children. I had an easier life than many seafarers today.
In my time at sea, we tended to stay in port for several days, and if there was a Mission to Seafarers (or Mission to Seamen as it was called then) many of us would be sure to pay a visit.
I remember on my first visit to New Zealand in 1981 visiting your previous premises on Quay Street, which we knew as the Flying Angel, and also the Mission to Seamen in Wellington.
There was something special about having a space set aside especially for seafarers, and I must say that New Zealand proved to be the friendliest country we visited during our voyages. A particular highlight was an invitation from a shipping agent to join a Kiwi family barbecue.
The British merchant navy was shrinking dramatically at this time due to re-flagging of vessels and technological changes. Port stays became shorter and busier, giving seafarers less opportunity to go ashore. These are factors which still challenge seamen today.
After leaving Blue Star Line I went to medical school, and a decade later as a medical officer in the Falkland Islands, my interest in the welfare of seafarers was renewed when I came face to face with the harsh conditions faced by crews on the distant water fishing fleets and their support vessels in the South Atlantic. We treated many of them in our hospital and often visited ships to retrieve casualties. We saw serious injuries, sometimes avoidable, such as traumatic amputations, broken limbs and frostbite. We saw physical illness such as, TB and HIV, cancer and even malnutrition. We saw mental illness, loneliness, desperation and isolation.
It stuck me then, as it does today, that seafarers, on whom we all depend to put food on our plates, cars on our roads, gas in those cars, most of the goods that fill our shops, have become invisible. Rarely seen, over the horizon, they are easy to ignore, invisible.
Since my wife’s appointment as Governor-General, I had the privilege to be patron of the New Zealand Company of Master Mariners. I have spent time with seafarers and the good people at the Wellington Seafarers Mission, whose Christmas event I attended just last week – and I am delighted to have this opportunity to connect with the people serving the needs of seafarers in Auckland.
New Zealand, as an island nation, has a strong relationship with the sea and seafarers. Shipping is our economic life-line, and a sea voyage to and from New Zealand can be lengthy – and potentially fraught – given the tensions in the current geopolitical climate – and the frequency of more extreme weather events.
Missions to Seafarers offer crews precious “time out” from tight turn-arounds and punishing schedules. The support you provide is a Godsend for people who have spent a long time away from home, and are often desperate to communicate with their loved ones.
This Centre acknowledges the humanity we share with others, wherever we come from on the globe. My sincere thanks again to everyone who extends manaakitanga to our international seafarers, and I wish you all the very best in these new premises.
I hope things will get a little quieter for you over the holiday season, so that you can take a well-earned break yourselves, and enjoy down-time with your loved ones.
Now, it is with great pleasure, that I formally declare the Auckland International Seafarers Centre open.