Bledisloe Reception

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 evening (Sign)

May I specifically greet you: Prime Minister, Rt Hon Helen Clark; Chief Justice, Rt Hon Dame Sian Elias; Ministers of the Crown, members of Parliament, Distinguished Guests from central and local government, from our country's Maori, Military, Church and many other communities; Ladies and Gentlemen.

Thank you for accepting the invitation from Susan and myself to attend this Bledisloe Reception on the eve of Waitangi Day 2008.

As is well known our predecessors Lord Charles Bathurst Bledisloe and Lady Bertha Susan Bledisloe bought the former British Residency here at Waitangi and in 1932 gifted it and the surrounding grounds to New Zealand.  Two years later the first Waitangi Day was held and thousands gathered to mark the day. I believe they appreciated the importance and significance of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 in a way many New Zealanders, particularly Pakeha New Zealanders, did not.

One hundred and sixty-eight years ago, two peoples were able to sit down, debate and agree on terms for how this land should in future be governed.  Unlike the colonisation of most other lands, the settlers that followed the signing of the Treaty, did so legally and not because an invading army had gone before them.

This was a remarkable and unique achievement.  Many other countries' national days mark the anniversary of violent revolutions, the end of wars or of successful coups. New Zealand's national day marks the peaceful signing of a Treaty.  Former American Ambassador to New Zealand, Carol Moseley Braun, the first black woman elected to the United States Senate put this well when she said: "It's important for me as a woman of colour to be able to say to New Zealand —you've gotten it more right than a lot of other folks, and you should celebrate that."

Right from that very first Waitangi Day, however, there were differing opinions expressed about the significance of the Treaty and its role and place in our nation.  As one author said of that first celebration:

"Maori and Pakeha perceptions of past and present events were clearly at variance in 1934. Waitangi became a stage on which the interplay of relationships—past and present—would be repeated. There would inevitably be clashes."

The Treaty, however, has gone from being a document that was in all senses neglected, to one that is at the centre of debate, not just in legal and constitutional circles, but also in society as a whole.  This debate has gone hand-in-hand with the Maori renaissance in art, culture and language that began in the late 1960s, gaining momentum in the 1970s before bursting into public consciousness in the 1980s and 90s. 

That we are still talking and debating the Treaty is a good thing.  Since that first Waitangi Day there have been debates and heated words have been exchanged.  But even at the most heated times, the positive sense of hope has never been lost.  New Zealand and Nga Puhi poet, the late Hone Tuwhare, wrote a collection called, Making a Fist of It, that spoke of all aspects of the 1975 land march, from the physical grind of marching to being energised by a belief in the rightness of the journey.  It includes only one photograph, but it is now instantly recognisable.  As Tuwhare's biographer, Janet Hunt, says:

"Whina Cooper, walking stick in one hand, the hand of a mokopuna in the other, steps out on a gravel road.  The set of her shoulders and angle of her scarfed head speak for her purpose and determination. The poem on the facing page, Rainmaker's Song for Whina, is a tribute and a message of love for her as well as a continuing record of the progress of the march."

It was through the efforts of individuals like Hone Tuwhare and the late Dame Whina and historian, the late Dr Michael King, and countless others that increasingly we are talking to each other rather than past each other, beginning a process of real communication and understanding. 

As Governor-General, this debate fills me with much optimism for the prospects of our young nation.  It stems from some of the innate characteristics that make New Zealand and New Zealanders so special.  As Michael King said:

"Most New Zealanders, whatever their cultural backgrounds are good-hearted, practical, commonsensical and tolerant.  Those qualities are part of the national cultural capital that has in the past saved the country from the worst excesses of chauvinism and racism seen in other parts of the world. They are as sound a basis as any for optimism about the country's future."

And on that positive note, I will close in New Zealand's first language, Maori, 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.