Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellowship reception
May I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand - 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 and the sun has set (Sign).
May I specifically greet you: Rt Hon Helen Clark, Prime Minister; Peter Chemis, National Chairman of Buddle Findlay; Christine Cole Catley, Chair of the Frank Sargeson Trust and your fellow trustees; Brigit Lowry and Paula Morris, the 2008 Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellows; Distinguished Guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is with pleasure that my wife Susan and I welcome you to Government House in Wellington this evening.
The Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellowship is one of New Zealand's premier national literary fellowships. This year the Fellowship marks its 21st birthday—in the old fashioned parlance, it has come of age.
But while the Fellowship has come of age, it was through the pioneering work of authors such as Frank Sargeson that New Zealand literature came of age and developed its own distinctive roots. As Denis Glover, in my view, resoundingly and properly put it when he wrote:
"I do not dream of Sussex downs
or quaint old England's quaint old towns—
I think what may yet be seen
In Johnsonville and Geraldine."
While writers such as Katherine Mansfield had earlier established the standing of the author from New Zealand, it was Sargeson who established the standing of the author in New Zealand.
In addition to his own considerable body of work, Sargeson played a leading role in mentoring the next generation of writers. The late Janet Frame, one of the first people to stay with Sargeson at his home in Takapuna, put this well when she described his work as "the great irrigation scheme of New Zealand literature," and I quote from a Frame to Sargeson letter in 1978:
[Remember] the narrow channel you made, all alone, into that part of the land where everyone said nothing would grow? And remember the struggle you had to get people to accept that it was necessary? You can look at all those creeks and channels that followed and see the orchard. What an orchard!"
That has not always been the case, however, and artistic endeavour took sometime to lay down roots, let alone be accepted in New Zealand. Walter Mantell, a 19th century amateur naturalist best known for discovering the takahe, found out how little the arts were appreciated in the 1850s when he asked a Dunedin merchant for the price of second-hand copy of the works of the Roman poet Horace. The reply, as quoted in the Thomas Hocken's Early History of New Zealand was:
"'[Opera Horatii]'; oh, you can have it at your own price, there's no demand for music here."
Thankfully those days have past. The success of authors such as Lloyd Jones, whose fascinating novel, Mr Pip, was last year short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, is but one example of the many accomplished and successful New Zealand writers that spring to mind.
But as Sargeson himself noted, writing is often "physically, mentally and financially exhausting." It is for this reason that awards such as the Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellowship are so important in that they give writers the opportunity to concentrate on their craft, away from daily distractions and financial concerns.
I therefore congratulate the two co-winners of this year's Fellowship, Paula Morris and Brigit Lowry and wish you all the best in your writing. You are following in the footsteps of some of our nation's greatest writers, including the late Janet Frame, who was the first Fellowship recipient.
I also thank Buddle Findlay for its continuing support of the Fellowship over the last 11 years and the trustees of the Sargeson Trust for their ongoing commitment to the best that New Zealand literature can offer.
And on that note, I will I close in Maori 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.
After the formalities are completed, I would like to invite you to wander around the public areas of Government House this afternoon. This building opened 98 years ago and has housed 19 Governors or Governors-General and houses many artefacts and art works that reflect New Zealand's history and culture. Thank you.