Antarctic Season Opening Civic Cocktail Reception

Rau rangatira mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou.  Te manuhiri tuārangi nau mai, haere mai. Na reira kia ora koutou katoa.  Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, warm greetings to you all.  Those of you who have travelled a long way to be here, a special welcome.

I specifically acknowledge: Lady June Hillary; Your Excellency David Huebner and Ambassadors, High Commissioners and members of the Diplomatic Corps; and our hosts tonight, Your Worship Mayor Bob Parker, Mayor of Christchurch,  and Rob Fenwick, Chairman of Antarctica New Zealand; and Art Brown, representing the United States National Science Foundation—tēnā koutou katoa.

Earlier today a United States Air Force C17 Globemaster flew over Christchurch. By its arrival it signalled the commencement of flights to the Antarctic for the summer season.  And this evening we gather to mark the opening of the Antarctic Summer Season. 

There is a certain level of anticipation with the arrival of the season, and I want to speak briefly of significance of marking that we are now in the middle of what might be described as the “centenary period” of the heroic era of Antarctic exploration.  It is a time marked by remembering both the lofty heights of success, and the deep depths of despair and devastation.  It is a time to reflect on the courage, self-sacrifice, adventure and heroism; and also of national rivalries in the “race for the pole.”

Last year, on December 14, we marked a centenary since Roald Amundsen and his Norwegian team became the first men to reach the geographic South Pole.  On 29 March this year, we marked a 100 years since the tragic deaths of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, and his companions from the British Terra Nova expedition.  They had arrived at the South Pole in January only to find that Amundsen had been there 33 days earlier.

Through Scott’s diaries, we will never forget the heroism of Captain Lawrence Oates.  Suffering badly from frostbite and fearing he was slowing the others down, he left their tent, telling Scott: "I am just going outside and I may be some time."  He was never seen again, and he remains somewhere in Antarctica.

In February next year, Oamaru will mark 100 years since two members from the Terra Nova, bound for Lyttelton, rowed ashore and sent a message informing the expedition’s New Zealand agent of Scott’s fate.  And in the next few years, we will mark the centenary of Ernest Shackelton’s failed trans-continental expedition and of their amazing and courageous survival and rescue.  

And in this company we recall Nathaniel Palmer, credited with discovering the Antarctic Peninsula and Richard E. Byrd, who made his first expedition to Antarctica in 1928.  We also recall Sir Edmund Hillary’s exploits on the continent.  I recall Ed’s last visit to the ice, and the gleam in his eyes as he stepped on to the ice runway one last time.

I briefly mention this potted and admittedly incomplete history to highlight a number of points.  The first is that exploration and research there is in the living memory of some of us – it is a new(ish) frontier!

The second is to emphasise that Antarctica remains a dangerous place.  Despite our modern technology, it is a place that it is folly to take for granted.  Antarctica is a place of wondrous beauty and it is also a place where there is no margin for error.  Safety must always be the overriding priority.  The point was well made by Admiral Richard E. Byrd.  He described this combination of beauty and inherent danger well when he wrote: “At the bottom of this planet is an enchanted continent in the sky, pale like a sleeping princess. Sinister and beautiful, she lies in frozen slumber.”

One of the ways that we work to reduce that risk is through collaboration.  Many nations have bases and scientific programmes in Antarctica.  However, no-one works in isolation.   The days of national rivalries have, thankfully, been put to one side through the collaborative processes of the Antarctic Treaty System that followed the International Geophysical Year in 1957-58.

I was reminded of both the dangers, and of that collaborative spirit, when I presented Squadron Leader Aaron Benton, of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, a Distinguished Service Decoration at an investiture ceremony at Government House in Auckland last month. In September 2010, he flew an RNZAF P3 Orion to Antarctica to carry out a winter evacuation of an American citizen. The rescue mission was ultimately successful after two attempts to get south and the patient was evacuated back here to Christchurch. 

I am reminded of the men and women who have left from here to adventure, explore, survey and study Antarctica.   The constant interaction between Lou Sanson’s team at Antarctica New Zealand, and Art Brown’s team at the National Science Foundation’s Polar programme is our enduring example. I am also conscious that Christchurch is now also the home of the Italian programme and soon the Republic of Korea will base its programme here too.  This is a good thing.

Even after a century of exploration and research, scientists readily admit that only a fraction has been learnt of Antarctica’s geological history, its unique flora and fauna and its role in our climate.  However, the microbes that might help us protect our world have been found there; science that enables us to better understand our world and its climate is being done there; and the technologies that may enable us to travel to other worlds have been trialled there.

This brings me to my final point.  Many of those pioneering and heroic expeditions set sail from New Zealand, and particularly Christchurch and Lyttelton.  A century on, Christchurch continues to be a key place as an Antarctic Gateway City.  I congratulate the Christchurch City Council for organising and promoting this status through initiatives like the New Zealand Ice Festival that is currently underway.  The way in which the city embraces the men and women who are part of the Antarctic endeavour is outstanding.

The continuing presence and commitment to Christchurch shown by its Antarctic partners is a testament to the people of this city that some things have not changed.  As this city rebuilds, the sight of the national insignia on the aircraft of the nations operating out of Christchurch sends a strong message of support.  They underline the faith of the city’s Antarctic partners in Christchurch, and of a better future.

As Governor-General and Patron of the Antarctic Heritage Trust, I want to thank everyone involved in the Antarctic programmes based here in Christchurch.  Your contribution is valued and respected.  And finally, and most important of all, I want to wish everyone a safe summer season in Antarctica.   Kia ora, kia kaha, kia manawanui, huihui tātou katoa—go well, be strong, be courageous.