Speech
NZ Federation of Women's Institutes' 87th Annual General Meeting and National Conference
Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu,Taloha Ni.
To: Mrs Eleanor Holt, the National President of the New Zealand Federation of Women's Institutes Incorporated and your executive; The Hon Steve Chadwick, Minister of Women's Affairs; distinguished guests.
Thank you for involving me, as the Patron of the New Zealand Federation of Women's Institutes Incorporated, in your 87th Annual General Meeting and biennial National Conference. I am very pleased to be here.
In choosing the theme for this conference, which is 'Together We Can Make it Happen', you are expressing the constructive and committed attitude that I have come to see as the hallmark of the Federation.
We have just celebrated Maori Language Week - and there is a very apt Maori saying on working together to make things happen. It is:
Kaua e rangi-rua-tia
Te he o te hoe
E kore to ta-tou
Waka e u ki uta
Its meaning exhorts those in a waka to lift the paddles in unison or it will not reach the shore. We are unlikely to find ourselves literally having to obey that injunction, but the word picture of combined effort sums up your theme very neatly. I so often appreciate sayings in Home & Country that also inspire me.
The Women's Institutes throughout New Zealand form the largest women's service organisation in the country and have a tradition of getting on with projects and bringing them to fruition.
The Federation, which is now registered as a charitable entity, has played a huge role in supporting our country's women over the decades. It has given hundreds of thousands of women information, inspiration, companionship and friendship and they have handed on to the community the fruits of their endeavours. That culture of service, companionship and friendship is particularly evident in the work and achievements of the six members that I will later present with the certificates of their Gold Honours Awards, the Federation's highest honour.
Recently I attended the occasion to open your national office. I commented that when adapting to what life throws at us, a move is very likely to induce stress, whether moving a house or an office!
You are probably all aware that my husband and I are soon to move out of Government House Wellington, as it is to undergo a major and lengthy conservation project. Some perceive it as cosmetic but, as my husband recently noted, it is actually more like triple bypass and a double hip-replacement.
Certainly, I am glad that we are taking to the temporary home in Lower Hutt, which will be known as Government House Vogel, the special chairs that sit in the Hall and State Dining Room today. The beautiful tapestry seats and backs on these chairs were worked by members of the Women's Institutes and given with pride to the Governor General; I think it was Sir Bernard Freyberg, in the late forties or early fifties. They represent the cities, towns and provinces of New Zealand and earn admiration from everyone.
Most will be coming with us to Government House Vogel and I would like to assure you that the remainder will be safely stored away during the renovations ready for the return. We feel strongly linked, through the Federation of Women's Institutes, to the country we serve.
Now, the final draft of the Federation's Strategic Plan is complete and ready for adoption, speakers and entertainment are planned, your 87th Annual General Meeting and biennial National Conference is ready to begin.
I wish you a productive and sociable two days of working and planning together. I am delighted to declare the conference open.
No reira, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa.