E Te Arikinui, Kuini Nga wai hono i te po, tēnā koe. E te Kāhui Ariki, e ngā rangatira o Waikato-Tainui, e ngā iwi o Aotearoa, me ngā manuhiri nō Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, nō ngā tōpito o te ao – tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.
I’d also like to specifically acknowledge: Your Royal Highness, Crown Princess Sinaitakala of Tonga; Your Royal Highness, Prince Quentin Kawānanakoa of Hawai‘i; Your Royal Highness, Prince Joinville Pōmare of Tahiti; Te Kaumaitinui Travel Tou Ariki of the Cook Islands; Tui Lau Ratu Tevita Mara of Fiji; Te Ariki Te Rangimaheu Te Heuheu; Tumuaki Manuao Tamou; Tumuaki Hone Thompson; Ministers; and members of the Diplomatic Corps.
And to all distinguished guests gathered here today from across Aotearoa and the Pacific – tēnā tātou katoa.
This is my first Koroneihana as Governor-General, and I stand here this morning deeply honoured and conscious of the mana of this place – one of gathering and remembrance; of leadership and renewal. Governors-General before me have stood and spoken here, and it is a privilege to continue that thread.
During my term, I shared a number of moments of deep significance with Kiingi Tūheitia – at Waitangi, and in London for the funeral of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III. I also came to Tūrangawaewae to pay my respects following his passing two years ago, and I know how keenly his absence is still felt by all those gathered here today.
At that time, I joined the many tributes, reflecting on the legacy of a leader who devoted so much of his reign to bringing people together – strengthening te reo and te ao Māori, fostering pride in who we are, and carrying forward the enduring emphasis of the Kīngitanga on peace and unity.
King Charles III also paid tribute to that vision, recalling the commitment of Kiingi Tūheitia to ‘a strong future for Māori and Aotearoa New Zealand founded upon culture, traditions and healing’.
Earlier this year, Te Arikinui, you were received by His Majesty at Buckingham Palace, continuing a longstanding connection between the Kīngitanga and the Royal Family which has been carried across generations – along with the commitment of Kīngitanga to kotahitanga.
Kiingi Pōtatau Te Wherowhero gave enduring expression to that principle in his now-famous words: ‘Kotahi te koowhao o te ngira e kuhuna ai te miro maa, te miro pango, te miro whero.’ There is but one eye of the needle, through which the white, black, and red threads must pass.
More than 160 years later, that image remains a powerful evocation of kotahitanga. The threads retain their own colour and character – each with its own strength and story – yet they all pass through the same eye, drawn together without being made the same.
Kotahitanga has also been one of the guiding principles of my term as Governor-General. Over the past five years, I have been fortunate to see that principle given life, again and again, in communities across Aotearoa.
I have seen it in countless quiet acts of care and responsibility: in people who give their time and talents without seeking recognition; who honour the places, language, and traditions entrusted to them; who create room for rangatahi to find confidence and belonging; and who understand that so much of the lasting good in our communities comes from what we choose to do and to sacrifice for one another.
Across all of those experiences, I have come to understand kotahitanga not simply as a principle we speak of, but as something lived, practised, and passed on.
Te Arikinui, I was therefore moved by your words at Koroneihana last year – your emphasis not only on the moments when Māori come together, but on the ways our identity is lived and strengthened every day: through our reo, our history, our care for the taiao, our whānau, and the choices we make for those who will follow us.
You spoke too of finding new paths and new solutions. There is great strength in holding those things together: inheritance and possibility; remaining grounded in what has been handed down, while being willing to ask what this age and this generation demand of us.
As a wāhine Māori, I know the power of seeing Māori women lead – women who stand confidently in who they are, and whose example widens others’ sense of what is possible. I have always held profound admiration for your grandmother, Dame Te Atairangikaahu, and for the example she set over the course of her extraordinary life of service.
In the same way, I know many rangatahi – particularly young wāhine Māori – will look to you and see a model of leadership that is both grounded in whakapapa, and alive to the hopes, challenges, and possibilities of our time.
I wish you every success for the years ahead. May you be sustained by the aroha of your whānau and your people, by the wisdom of those who came before you, and by your own vision and aspirations for those you serve.
And may we all continue to give life to that enduring principle of kotahitanga – drawing our many threads together, honouring what each brings, and weaving from them an inheritance worthy of generations to follow.
Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.