Speech
He Rā Rākau Tītapu – King Charles III Coronation Planting
Rau rangatira mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi nui ki a koutou. Nau mai haere mai ki Te Whare Kawana o Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Kia ora tātou katoa.
My very warmest welcome to you all for this very special tree planting as part of He Rā Rākau Tītapu, marking the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III.
I wish to specifically acknowledge: Mr Joris De Bres, Chair of Project Crimson; and Mr Joe Harawira, Kaumātua. Tēnā koutou katoa.
I'd like to begin by asking you to join me in a moment's silence for the victims of the Newtown fire. Thank you.
As many of you may know, I’ve recently returned from the United Kingdom where Richard and I attended His Majesty’s coronation celebrations.
During our conversations, His Majesty reiterated once again his commitment to supporting environmental protection and sustainability – and his interest in how mātauranga Māori can play a role in addressing climate change.
His Majesty also expressed his gratitude to the New Zealand people, for their messages of support for his and Queen Camilla’s coronation – as well as our country’s contributions towards Trees That Count. This is a project that I know resonates with His Majesty in its goal of creating an environment more resilient against climate change.
As Governor-General, I fully support the project’s kaupapa – working alongside the Department of Conservation, Project Crimson, and Te Tapu o Tāne – and will be sure to encourage people to plant, gift, and donate to your cause when I travel around Aotearoa New Zealand.
Though I’ve not been in this role two years, I’m pleased to say that I’ve already become rather an expert at planting trees. When my descendants come here in a hundred years’ time, I hope they will find this totara growing straight and tall – and that all the forests of native trees planted this year will also be flourishing.
Living on these beautiful grounds, I often find myself imagining what it would have been like to stand here before the arrival of humans. I imagine the thick native vegetation, the raucous birdlife and babbling stream.
There has been a deliberate policy at Government House in recent years to return native plantings to much of these 12 hectares. This totara is both an ongoing part of that transformation, as well as a symbol of the good work bringing together iwi Māori, community groups, and private landowners as they contribute to this legacy project.
Together, we can make a difference, as expressed so well in the whakataukī: ‘Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari kē he toa takitini. My success should not be bestowed onto me alone, it was not individual success but the success of a collective.’
My very warmest thanks once again to all who have worked to make this very special and powerful project possible. Kia ora huihui tātou katoa.