YMCA Dinner

 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 evening [sign].

May I specifically greet you: John Flowers and Ric Odom, the National President and Chief Executive respectively of the YMCA; Greg Hebble and Bob Nicholson, the President and Chief Executive respectively of YMCA Australia; Distinguished guests; Ladies and Gentlemen.

As Patron of the National Council of the YMCA in New Zealand, my wife Susan and I are delighted to be with you tonight. Thank you for the invitation.

You have challenged yourselves, at this convention, to look ahead and identify what the need will be for the next generation of young New Zealanders.

As you are addressing this, you should have it confirmed that you are part of an organisation that for more than 150 years has been constantly evolving - continually finding new ways of helping young New Zealanders find their feet and stand tall.

With the benefit of having been a Y member myself from the 1950s in the Skip Elliott era in Wellesley Street Auckland through the 1970s in the Don Reisterer stewardship at Pitt Street down to the present day where both Susan and I use the Y Fitness facility at Pitt Street. - and lastly with considerable help earlier this week from reading parts of "Body Mind and Spirit" the book that celebrated 150 years of the YMCA, I can relate ever so briefly a little of the history.  Of how George Williams in 1841 went from Tiverton in Devon to London and with his friend William Beaumont from working premises in St Pauls Churchyard and whilst walking across Blackfriers Bridge, decided to do something about interdenominational fellowship for men in a London, which in the words of the poet Shelley, was "a city wanting in justice and compassion".  I know too, that rather soon after, the YMCA spread abroad to the US and Canada and to New Zealand

New Zealand in the 1850s was a completely different environment from the industrial cities of Britain. But it was also the new home of a large number of young men who were far away from their families and the communities in which they had grown up.

The YMCA was well established in New Zealand by the time the thousands of men went to fight in the First World War - and the organisation went overseas to support them.

James Hay, the young YMCA secretary from Christchurch, arrived in Egypt just after the beginning of the Gallipoli campaign bringing with him not only hymn books and draughtboards but also reams of paper - and 10,000 envelopes.

The big canteen he set up in Cairo was a place for rest and recreation, a place where the men could get a good cheap meal and decent cup of tea. But it was also a place designed to remind New Zealand soldiers who they were and what standards were expected of them - and to remind them to write home!

After the war, the YMCA expanded where it was needed. In the hard times of the 1920s and 30s, the organisation turned its attention to helping men get skills that could earn them a living. It set up classes in subjects like shoe repairing, motor mechanics and salesmanship.

In the Second World War, field secretaries went overseas again - helping with the wounded, distributing supplies and organising recreational activities.

After that war, the YMCA's attention turned more to fitness and recreation. And from the 1970s it became involved in voluntary leadership training and other community-building endeavours.

Today the YMCA is the biggest national recreation organisation in the country, the biggest provider of Out of School Care and Recreation, and one of the biggest private training establishments.

In spite of all the expansion and adaptation that the YMCA has done over the years, it has always retained its core values - honesty, caring, respect and responsibility.

These are values that will never grow out of fashion and become outdated.

We tend to think that we are living in a time of particularly rapid change. But if you look at the history of this country and the history of the YMCA, times have always been changing, and the YMCA has changed to suit the times - and meet the need.

Now at this convention you are devoting yourselves to considering the needs of the next generation and how you can best meet them.

Given the strength and flexibility this organisation has shown in the past, I have confidence that you will find answers that are as relevant and forward thinking as those your predecessors came up with. 

Asking the hard questions and debating the answers is what this weekend is all about.

I would like to leave you with a question and an answer in English and in our country's first language Maori that you will have heard before, but which certainly bears repeating, because the answer lies at the heart of your mission this weekend:

The question in English goes:- "What is the most important thing in the world?"  Which in Maori goes "He aha te mea nui o te ao?"

And the answer - the other way round is in Maori:-

"He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!" - Which, as most in this room will know, translates as "It is people! It is people! It is people!"

And on that note I will close in Maori - New Zealand's first language - by offering greetings and wishing everyone good health and fortitude in your endeavours.

No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa.