Centenary of the Victoria Bridge

May I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand - in English, Maori, Cook Island Maori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language. Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the afternoon  (Sign)

May I specifically greet you: Te Arikinui Kingi Tuheitia, likewise Te Atawhai (korua) and kaumatua of Tainui (tena koutou) ; Your Worship, Alan Livingston, Mayor of Waipa and your fellow councillors; John Inglis, Council chief executive and council staff; Your Worship Bob Simcock, Mayor of Hamilton; Your Worship Hugh Vercoe, Mayor of Matamata-Piako; Hon Mark Burton, MP for Taupo; Lindsay Tisch, MP for Piako; and Barbara Stewart, List MP; Rob Feisst, Cambridge Community Board Chairman; Barry Butcher, Former District Commissioner of Works; Distinguished Guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen.

Thank you for inviting my wife Susan and myself to these celebrations to mark the centenary of the opening of the Victoria Bridge in Cambridge.

While humans have been building bridges to span rivers and gorges for more years than we can imagine, the opening of a bridge is always greeted with fanfare and celebration.  On a practical level, a new bridge inevitably results in improved traffic flows and shorter and more comfortable journeys, either by car, bus, cycle or foot.

But the opening of a bridge seems also to a touch a deeper part of the human psyche.  Bridges, by their nature, are usually large structures and they become a feature of the landscape in a way that a road rarely ever captures the imagination.

Bridges, as well as being practical structures, are often monuments of great beauty.  That this is so is evident by the fact that the names of many iconic bridges—thee Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge and London Tower Bridge—all quickly spring to mind.

But bridges also reflect our pride in our progress as communities and our ability, through engineering and community spirit, at conquering the physical barriers of nature.  The great 16th century Italian architect and engineer, Andrea Palladio noted, the essence of bridge building is that they "should befit the spirit of the community by exhibiting commodiousness, firmness, and delight."

That sense of community spirit can be said to have been on show in great abundance a century ago today when my predecessor in office, Governor Lord Plunket, officially cut the ribbon that opened this bridge.  Photographs from the time show that it was an event celebrated with a great deal of pomp and circumstance, with everyone dressed in their Sunday best.

New Zealand was then in the throes of a the glow of a British Empire that was at the height of its world power and influence.  But it had not always been so.  Fifty years before, Walter Mantell, Otago's Commissioner of Crown Lands who is best known for discovering the takahe, once quipped in a poem about the lack of such facilities:

Roads and bridges, and schools and churches

Were among the original terms of purchase,

Churches and schools and roads and bridges

Were promised as our most esteemed privileges,

But bridges and schools and churches and roads

Are sought for in vain near the settlers' abodes,

While those who expect churches, bridges and schools,

Also roads, may be called very silly fools.

But while the Victoria Bridge has maintained its presence over the Waikato River, New Zealand has changed faster than anyone at that time could have imagined.

In 1907, New Zealand was proclaimed as  a Dominion with fanfare. While New Zealand ceased to be a colony, contrary to some media comment, it did not make New Zealand anymore or less independent from Britain. Indeed, it wasn't until 60 years on 25 November 1947—an anniversary that recently slipped past almost unnoticed—when New Zealand adopted the Statute of Westminster that this country could truly be said to be an independent nation.

As I mentioned, 1907 was a time of Imperial pride.  The devastation of two world wars, the beginning of the nuclear age and the cold war, which were to transform the world, and New Zealand's place within it, were for the future.

In 1907 as in 1939, there was no question that where Britain went, New Zealand went.  Today New Zealand is its own agent in the world.  From my own position, it was a New Zealand, not a British, Prime Minister who recommended to Her Majesty that I should be appointed Governor-General. Likewise, ambassadors present their credentials to the Governor-General rather than to the Queen.  But that was not always the case.

In 1907, New Zealand was a country of just 1 million people—we now have more than 4 million.  Maori were a largely rural people and so severely had their numbers declined that some forecast their complete demise.  The land confiscations were injustices keenly felt by those who had experienced them first-hand.

Maori, like all New Zealanders, are now an urban people, and they form a strong part of the New Zealand identity.  Maori language and culture are no longer seen as museum pieces but as a vibrant part of New Zealand culture.  Whilst it is still  work in progress and ongoing, the injustices of the land wars are finally being resolved.

In 1907 most New Zealanders were of British ancestry.  People from Asia were few in number and many had suffered official discrimination.  Today, New Zealand is more ethnically diverse than ever before.  In 1901more than three quarters of all overseas-born New Zealanders hailed from Britain and Ireland.  By 2006, that had dropped to just over one quarter—the same proportion as New Zealanders born in Asia. In many ways, my appointment as Governor-General is part of this underlying demographic shift. It can be argued that these changes have not only enriched New Zealand's culture and economy but have also brought their own challenges. 

In conclusion, the 100 years since this bridge was opened have also been a time of many achievements.  New Zealanders have conquered the world's highest peaks, split the atom, and excelled internationally in sport, science, literature and in the creative arts.  The centenary of this bridge's opening celebrates much that this community and our nation have achieved and of which we can all be rightfully proud.

On that note I will close in Maori by offering greetings and wishing you good health and fortitude in your endeavours. No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa.