Menzies College

E kui mā, e koro mā, rau rangatahi mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou.  Kia ora tātou katoa.  Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, warm greetings to you all.

I specifically acknowledge: Hugh Diack, Chair of the Board of Trustees and your fellow trustees; Gerry Ward, Principal and your staff; Wade McRae and Prinita Smyth, head boy and head girl: tēnā koutou katoa.

Thank you for welcoming me, Janine and our staff from Government House in Wellington to Menzies College this morning.  Although I was in Invercargill last year, we are on our first official Vice-Regal visit to Southland. 

During my term as Governor-General, I want to visit and meet as many New Zealanders, and especially young New Zealanders, as we can.  And when you meet people, whether that’s face-to-face or even on-line, one of the first things it pays to do is introduce yourself.  Also, if you’re going to strike up a useful dialogue it helps to know what you’re going to talk about.  So, it’s my intention to tell you a little bit more about Lady Janine and me.  Then, I’ll say something about our impressions of the opportunities that we see for you at Menzies College.

If you read my “CV” it might seem extraordinary, and some of it is.  However, behind each one of the things I’ve done has been hard work and some mistakes.  As I’ve grown older there have been less mistakes, but still a lot of hard work.

When I think back to when I was at secondary school, a long time ago and about the time Menzies College was opened, the testimonial that my Principal wrote “haunts” me.  His assessment of me was blunt, honest and accurate, although I didn’t think so at the time.  In essence he wrote that I had found conforming to rules a challenge and that I hadn’t made the most of my ability or opportunities, and that much would depend on the goals I set for myself and the friends I kept. 

Not long after I left school I realised his assessment was spot on.  I was fortunate that I found a profession that really appealed to me, in the Army.  I have often wondered what my Principal would have thought as I rose through the ranks in the Army, let alone now I’m the Governor-General!

I knew as soon as I read my testimonial that it was accurate – we know ourselves better than most.  What it’s also taught me is that life is about having options and making good choices.  We all make mistakes, and mistakes are an important part of learning, but not the same mistake twice – that can be dumb!  Some people, like Wade McRae and his rugby, learn early on that life is about the goals you set.  Others out there will also learn that it’s about the friends you keep.  Goal setting is mostly obvious, the sooner you do it the easier it is, and the more options you have to make informed choices.  With the friends you keep, it’s also about options and choices - the choices you can make. 

Good friends will always be good friends whatever their background.  However, good friends, truly good friends, accept you for what you are and what you want and can be.  Good friends give you space, they don’t crowd-out your options and choices.

I have some friends who I grew up with, but mostly due to circumstance we are not close.  From my Army life, I have people I consider friends, most of whom I became senior to, but close friends nonetheless.  Others have gone on to make their mark in other fields with great success.

In Lady Janine’s case, she was a much better behaved student.  She has told me that she had to work really hard to get her results.  When she left school she went into the fashion industry as a pattern-maker, designer and model!  What one of her Headmasters, who happened to be her father, told me about Janine is that when she sets her mind to something she sticks to it doggedly (stubbornly) – pretty much like she used to do in staying on her pony when she used to ride!

I have seen her determination pay off over the years.  I think she surprised herself with her “A” grade results when she was studying at the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic.  From there Lady Janine has gone on to be very knowledgeable and competent in the field of complementary health and is a qualified practitioner of Bowen Technique.

I think Lady Janine’s example is that if you want to succeed it takes perseverance and effort.  Talent and good looks only get you so far.  Working hard, keeping at something and practicing purposefully count. 

It’s coming to that time of year when your exams are looming.  Are you the sort of person who likes to look like you’re studying or do you really study – purposefully.  In this regard, Lady Janine is good at determining what’s happening with our two teenage sons – a 19-year old at university and a 15-year old doing NCEA level 2 this year – purposeful practice (well mostly!).What then do we see are the opportunities for you at Menzies College?  Is Menzies College “big enough to match the best, small enough to care”?

With a roll of about 260-odd, Menzies College is not a big school.  However, few schools of a similar size are competing at a high level in so many different sporting codes.  Your A-Grade netballers, the Highlanders rugby competition - where you’re playing against so-called heavyweights such as Otago and Southland boys’ high schools - and the girls’ soccer team that won its division are evidence of a good competitive spirit.  And on top of that, many have completed the Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award, which is a challenging programme to complete. 

In the academic realm, I looked up some of your 2011 prize-giving results and they were quite good – merits and excellences.  I trust you’re bringing those results through into 2012.  Last year’s results are historical, so I was also pleased to see the tutorial periods and assessment reminder notices that the school provides.

I was also impressed with the cultural and care programmes that the school has.  I endorse Mr Ward’s comments in one of his Newsletters, well done Annmarie Penny for getting your friends out of their comfort zones and having them “Step it up” to be second in ballroom dancing!  Well done too for the peer support and care you give for special needs groups!  These things make for well-rounded citizens of a school and of our country.

These results speak of two concepts.  The first is excellence, which is encapsulated well within a famous Māori proverb, which goes: Whāia te iti kahurangi, ki te tūohu koe, me he maunga teitei or pursue excellence; should you stumble, let it be before a lofty mountain.

This proverb contains several messages.  The first is to always shoot for the stars because if you don’t quite achieve your goal, you will be in a much better place than where you started!  It’s by striving to be the best that you can be, that we succeed.

The second is that we don’t always achieve everything we set out to do in life on the first, the second or even third attempt.  If you look at the life of almost every world class athlete, you will see early in their career occasions when they didn’t win a medal or maybe didn’t even make the final.  Last week, I presented Valerie Adams with the gold medal she won at the London Olympics for the women’s shot put.  However, when she first appeared in the Olympics in Athens eight years ago she came in eighth place.  Her amazing life story shows that while talent is important, it’s through perseverance and hard work that you succeed at school, at home, in sport, and in whatever career you choose.

Finally, it is by taking on big challenges, sometimes succeeding and sometimes not, that we grow as individuals.  It is by taking on big challenges rather than just doing the easy things in life that we gain both self-respect and the respect of others.

Excellence is something that can be achieved in all areas of our lives.  We should always strive to excel in everything that we do.   In my case I joined the New Zealand Army as a soldier in 1972 when I was 17-and-a-half years old.  While I had many unique and amazing experiences during my time in the Army, one thing that was repeatedly drilled into us was that we had to be the best in everything we did.  The reality of life in the military is that second place is not a good place to be in battle!
Although I never dreamed I would become Governor-General when I left school, I was committed to working towards the next step in my career, and ensuring that I had as many opportunities as was possible.  Joining the New Zealand Special Air Service, with its motto of “who dares wins” was something I did because they are the best at what they do, and I wanted to serve with the best.

I said earlier that success was based on two concepts, with the first being excellence. Striving for excellence cannot, however, happen in a vacuum.  True excellence must be based on fundamental principles and core human values. 

Given the guidance of my parents, and my subsequent life in the New Zealand Army, the values that resonate for me are those that the New Zealand Defence Force hold—courage, comradeship, commitment and integrity.

That last of those values, integrity, I want to highlight because it is also on your school badge.  Being honest to yourself is the starting point for any relationship with someone else.  Whether the relationship is between parents and their children, between teachers and their students or between businesses and customers, integrity, honesty and trust are essential.

Integrity also means you need to take responsibility for all that you do.  If you succeed, then celebrate.  If you make mistakes, you need to own them, fix them, learn from them and move on.

Conclusion
I want to thank you all again for giving me such a warm welcome.  What I see before me is a group of young people that have neat opportunities and enormous potential to achieve great things.  Menzies College, in fact most schools, provide an environment to succeed.  All you have to do is be lifelong learners, make positive contributions to your community, whanau and perhaps the global society.  Learn from your own and others’ experiences, and dream - big.

To close I want to quote from a man most of you will have never heard of but on which everyone here who has a mobile phone, a computer or  … an ipad is totally reliant.   American Bob Noyce was known as the father of Silicon Valley and was the co-inventor of the microchip which powers all these electronic devices.  He once told his designers and engineers: “Don't be encumbered by history.  Go off and do something wonderful.”   I cannot think of better advice on which to close!  Kia ora huihui tātou katoa.