Aquatic Centre opening

May I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand, in English, Māori, Cook Island Māori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.   

Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the morning (Sign)

May I specifically greet you: Richard Adams, Deputy Chair of the Board of Governors and your fellow board members; Joy Wiseman, Acting Principal and fellow school staff; Rt Rev John Paterson, Bishop of Auckland; Hon Rodney Hide, Minister of Local Government and MP for Epsom; Students; Parents and Old Girls; Distinguished Guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen.

Thank you for inviting me to attend the opening of the Diocesan School for Girls' new aquatic centre.  I also offer the apologies for the absence of my wife Susan who is in London with our daughter Tara and our first grandchild, Joshua, who was born in mid-January. As Governor-General, I have been asked to formally open this new complex, but before I do, I would like to speak briefly about the significance of this event.

Diocesan School for Girls has a proud history that dates back to 1903 when Bishop Paterson's predecessor, Bishop Moore Richard Neligan arrived as the Diocese's second Anglican Bishop.  Having experience in education, he convinced the Synod that building a school for girls would be rallying point for the community.

In 1903 New Zealand was a quite different country from the one we live in today.  It was only 10 years after New Zealand became the first nation in the world to grant women the right to vote and only 63 years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

One hundred and six years ago, New Zealand was a colony and part of the British Empire, on which it was once said the sun would never set.  The then King, Edward VI, was represented in New Zealand, not by a Governor-General, but by a Governor.  That person, a member of the British aristocracy, was appointed by him on the recommendation of the British Prime Minister, rather than the New Zealand Premier.

And Auckland was also a much smaller city.  The Auckland City Council had a population of about 38,000 while the wider metropolitan area had a population of about 67,000. Indeed, Epsom was not incorporated into the city until 1917.

It is now estimated some 400,000 people live within the city's boundary and 1.25 million in the greater Auckland area. Those changes are well exemplified in The New Zealand Historical Atlas of which I have a copy for the School Library.

Bishop Neligan knew that establishing a school in such a remote part of the world would not be an easy task. But he knew the perfect person for the job.  

He approached his friend Mary Pulling to be the School's founding headmistress. Miss Pulling was the daughter of the master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and held a first class degree in English literature, Classics and mental science from the University of London as well as having taught in many girls' schools in Britain.

Bishop Neligan chose well.  On 27 May 1904 she and her friend and colleague Beatrice Ward opened the School, which had a roll of 25 girls.  It has gone from strength to strength ever since.  By the time she retired in 1926, Diocesan had a growing roll, good finances and high academic standards.

Miss Pulling set out to make Diocesan School equal to the best state schools, while rejecting their secular basis.  According to biographical essay by Fay Hercock in The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Miss Pulling was quoted as saying that the School should: 

Not to be a copy of an average English school, or an average American school, or an average Australian school, but to be the Auckland Diocesan School, embodying and passing on to the future the traditions and ideals of Auckland at its best.

And Diocesan has continued to show Auckland at its best and this new indoor pool facility is a prime example of that.   It replaces a pool that opened in early 1992 and was decommissioned in November 2007.

I am advised that the $12 million project, funded from both capital expenditure and significant fundraising, has been delivered on time and on budget.

As a part of an ongoing vision for the campus developed in the early 1990s, this complex includes the latest state-of-the-art equipment, including the ability to adjust the depth of the main pool to suit swimming class requirements and different aquatic sports. 

The significance of this complex is that achievement at school is about more than just books, computers and examinations.  Healthy minds need healthy bodies. Facilities such as this new indoor pool complex are important because they provide an outlet for physical education, regardless of the weather.

And it also means that Diocesan and its students can continue, in the words of Miss Pulling, to show "Auckland at its best."

And on that note, I will close in New Zealand's first language Maori, by offering everyone greetings and wishing you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours. No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa.

To view images from the opening, click here.