Speech
Epsom Girls Grammar School
To Gerald Young, Chair of the Board and your fellow trustees, to Madeline Gunn, Principal and to the Staff, to Christine Fletcher, City Councillor, to Kingsley Avery, Head Girl, to Peter Thompson, Chair of the Capital Campaign for Stage 2 of the sports centre, to Julie Goodyer, President of the Old Girls Association, Lady Norma Beattie and Justice Judith Potter, former students, to students, to parents, and to all, all supporters of Epsom Girls’ Grammar School; Kia ora and good afternoon (sign).
I am delighted for the School that stage one of the well-planned Sports Centre is ready and I know that the pride I feel as a former student is something we all share. Anand and I visit Sacred Heart College with which he has a strong bond and I’m pleased that he has joined me at EGGS today.
Back in the sixties this school helped me into adulthood. Our daughters, Tara and Anya, also came here in the 1990s and, like me, they have benefited from the high standard of teaching and values here.
The old facilities were simply insufficient. EGGS certainly has a proud history of sporting achievements and today’s paper shows how the School has excelled in Hockey and squash. This facility aims to be worthy of inspiring students to pursue an active lifestyle as well as sporting excellence.
The challenges when planning, raising funds and building a fine new amenity like this is mean that it is important to celebrate the effort by so many that makes the dream come true.
Natalie Russell, an EGGS student, won the 2010 New Zealand Qualifications Authority Top Scholar Award in physical education and Anand had the pleasure of presenting Natalie with her award at Government House in May. Last month the School’s rhythmic gym teams competed at a very high level in the National Secondary Schools Gym Sports Championships.
Yvette Williams (now Yvette Corlett), is a famous New Zealand sportswoman who became a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her service to athletics in the New Year Honours. She strived to succeed in doing what she loved and continued on to help others. Yvette was a gold medallist in long jump in 1952 when sport for women was not thought to be a priority and facilities were more basic.
Sir Patrick Hogan, the champion horse breeder, named Yvette Williams as his sports hero and wrote:
“[Yvette] was someone who had great natural athletic gifts, but she did not rely on those God-given talents. She joined an unyielding attitude with determination to her sports ability to create an unstoppable package… Yvette had this incredibly intoxicating mix of talent, discipline and humility…In her day Yvette was a super-athlete, someone who would have excelled these days.”
This sports centre encourages the gifted young women of EGGS by giving them opportunities to gain that “intoxicating mix of talent, discipline and humility” in forty different sports. It will also be available for community use, something much needed here in Epsom.
We here today celebrate the achievement of those who have worked to realise stage 1 of the centre. May you, Peter Thompson, and your team have the wind in your sails for stage 2 of the Centre.
No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.