Kuranui College

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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)

I then specifically greet you; Chris Giles, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Kuranui College and your fellow trustees; Principal Geoff Shepherd and members of your staff and students; Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is a pleasure for my wife Susan and I to be here at Kuranui College in Greytown today, as part of our wider visit to the Wairarapa region.

There are a number of connections that the Office of Governor-General has with this College. First, it is worth noting that Governor Sir George Grey was the inspiration behind the naming of Greytown in 1854.

Furthermore, I understand this College was officially opened in 1961 by my predecessor, Lord Cobham, who was Governor-General at the time but that there has not been a Governor-General visit since!

Kuranui College has a proud history in South Wairarapa. Testament to this College’s success are past students such as ex-All Black Grant Batty and film-maker Vincent Ward, who I had the honour of investing with the Insignia of Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2007.

I was very interested to learn that many students here have a Netbook and that much of your learning is done electronically. I am also taking advantage of recent technological developments and am reading my speaking notes off an iPad which, seeing iPads were invented last year, makes me the first Governor-General of New Zealand to be assisted electronically in public.

I understand that Kuranui College may be the first state school to issue Netbooks to students and add congratulations on such an achievement.

The rapid development of technology has become a defining feature of how each of us live our lives day-to-day. Whether that technology comes into play in the transport we take, the home appliances we use, the mobile phones, or computers we use, we are constantly faced with that constant evolution.

Many students here will likely own a mobile phone and may not recall a time when instant communication to friends and family in this form was not accessible. The mobile phone was first introduced in New Zealand in the 1980s, although it was not until the 1990s that the device became more widely available.

I am sure you will all find it amusing to learn that the first mobile phone in the world made available to buy in 1983 had the following selling points: It let you talk for thirty minutes; it could go eight hours between charges; it took ten hours to recharge; it could store thirty contacts; it weighed almost a kilo and cost $3,995 US dollars!  At the current exchange rate, that would be the equivalent to $5,244 New Zealand dollars!
 
The price of mobile phones has significantly decreased over the past 28 years and their capabilities have increased on an enormous scale. 

Interestingly, according to Statistics New Zealand mobile phone use has increased from 80 percent in 2006 to 85 percent in 2009. The largest percentage point increase in mobile phone use was seen in individuals aged between 65 and 74, with a 9 percentage point increase to 67 percent.  Mobile phones have internet access, allowing email and browsing – a number which I am sure has increased since the convergence of computer and mobile phone technologies into one device.

And so it is with the Internet, which has opened up even more methods for people to communicate and has further hastened the development of new knowledge. Where students once had to spend hours researching in a library, the opportunity to conduct a great deal of research using the internet is available at the click of a mouse. 

In that regard, technology is transforming education.  Distance is no longer the limiting factor it once was. Students no longer have to go to lectures, but can study online.  Universities and schools are holding lectures simultaneously in New Zealand and elsewhere in the world connected by multimedia equipment. 

However, it is important to remember that, while technology has made information more easily accessible, you are each responsible for your own learning.  Computers, mobile phones and the internet are wonderful tools, but they are only that and little different from the books, paper and pens we also use and your parents used before you.  Your teachers are not only giving you the skills to read, write and do long division, but also how to understand the world around you.   It is something that only you can do.  Mobile phones can do many things but, hugely importantly, they cannot think!

The famous Nobel Prize winning scientist, Albert Einstein, whose theories on relativity, gravity and light revolutionised physics and our understanding of the world and its place in the universe, had strong view on education. He said:
“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.”

What that means is that the literature, history, science and mathematics you have learnt may not be of direct relevance to your careers ahead, but are a catalyst to provide you with access to key skills you will always need.  All that knowledge has been built on three millennia of wisdom from the past.  You may never need it, but it will always be there.

Your school motto “Be the best you can be!” is an excellent guiding principle to live your life by.

I encourage each student here to strive for excellence in every area. In that regard, there is a suitable inspirational quote, whose author is unknown, but which goes as follows:

“Excellence can be obtained if you:
Care more than others think is wise;
Risk more than others think is safe;
Dream more than others think is practical;
Expect more than others think is possible.”

And on a note of encouragement and of anticipation in the bright futures which you each have before you, I will close in New Zealand’s first language Māori, by offering everyone greetings and wishing you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours. 

No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.