Speech
Rangiatea Church Otaki
Ladies and Gentlemen, I greet you in the languages of the realm of New Zealand - English, Maori, Cook Island, Niue and Tokelaua.
Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni
More particularly I greet you people of this iwi and this church community, I greet all the distinguished guests tena koutou tena koutou.
Thank yo for the invitation to be here at the Rangiatea Church this morning and at this historic occasion.
It is an honour to be here and additionally as it us the first time that my wife Susan and I have been formally welcomed to this rohe by iwi. I am able to bring to mind a visit to the former church in the company of my Ombudsman colleague, sir Brian Elwood, in early 1995 and of having experienced what a marvellous place it was.
The Rangiatea Church is synonymous with history. Its genesis in the mid 19th century provided a snapshot of early New Zealand life and of some of the relationships that characterised at least some of the formative years of the country.
In a number of ways this Church evidences most interaction between Maori and British.
It is also an example of eh determination of Maori to bring a vision to life and in their determination to partner with others to make it happen. There was a lot of mahi involved and I have read of the Church on one hand and Maori on the other of Octavius Hadfield and Te Rauparaha for example. In this case it was in the end through cooperation of Te Rauparaha and Te Pohotira working together I partnership with Archdeacon Samuel Williams together with a workforce of an estimated 1,000 that built the standout colonial times Church.
It was, and remains, a wonderful illustration of what can be achieved when people are guided by the principles of partnership.
As the Maori proverb or whakatauki has it:-
Kaua e rangiruatia te ha o te hoe e kore to tatou waka e u ki uta.
Do not lift the paddle out of unison or our canoe will never reach the shore.
In this spirit of cooperation the Rangiatea Church was completed. It was a less on for New Zealanders then and it is a lesson for New Zealanders now.
The courage of its forebears was palpable again many years later when just over a decade ago, the Church was destroyed by fire. Strong relationships were again forged between iwi, the Crown, the Church and Pakeha - and Rangiatea Church rose from its ashes.
It is appropriate therefore that the theme of today is Aotearoa Day. Today, we are celebrating what it means to be a New Zealander. I can think of few better places to do this than at Rangiatea Church.
We are a diverse people and we can celebrate this today.
We are also hard to define. There are many ways in which to be a New Zealander and to express what makes us New Zealanders. We are today made up of so many component parts so may cultures and so many experiences.
Perhaps it is this that defines the essence of New Zealandness, when our differences are harnessed for the common good - this is the beauty of our nation.
Today is significant for another reason - that we are presenting Rangiatea with its new frontal altar cloth.
This cloth replaces that which was presented by the former Governor-General Sir Bernard Freyberg on behalf of King George VI at the Centennial celebrations in 1950. That cloth in turn replaced the cloth that had originally been presented by Her Majesty Queen Victoria.
It is humbling then to be present at this gifting. Making another chapter in the history of Rangiatea Church and in the history of New Zealand.
No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia kaha, kia ora, tena koutou katoa.