St John Investiture

Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the Order of St John and boys and girls; representatives of government and community; I greet you in the languages of the realm of New Zealand in English Maori, Cook Island Maori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language. Greetings Kia Ora Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is afternoon, Good Afternoon.

Confreres - that is colleagues in St John; postulants - that is members who will be invested today, your supporters, friends and guests of St John, it is a pleasure to be with you this afternoon in St Mary’s Catholic Church in Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty.  This church and this community, represented by you Father Joe Stack Parish Priest, are a vital part of our country’s history.  It is said that at the signing of Treaty of Waitangi the Chiefs of Tauranga invited Bishop Pompallier to visit them which he did.  On 7 March 1840 a mass was held near here at Coolum Park Otumoetai.  In March 2010, the Parish celebrated 170 years, the 2nd oldest in NZ after Bay of Islands.  This beautiful church has its own history going back into the 19th century with land being purchased here for St Mary’s in 1870.

We meet this afternoon as an Order of Chivalry -  that is a group of people bound by a set of rules to provide Christian care for the sick and poor.  This afternoon presently I will ask the postulants to declare in front of their families and all of us, their dedication to St John as is required by the Order’s Statutes.

As members of St John we can take pride in a history spanning more than 125 years serving the people of New Zealand.  Over this time communities in many parts of our country have come to trust St John providing the highest quality of service and care.

Earlier this year I was proud to lead the celebrations of the 125 years in Christchurch and to highlight the operations and initiatives being taken when we were joined by a number of the international St John community notably the Grand Prior His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester.

This proud history has been written up in the book called First to Care published in 2009 by author Graeme Hunt who sadly passed away unexpectedly eight weeks ago on 22 September.  I extend respects and sympathy to the Hunt family and commend his talent for having captured superbly a record of St John’s many achievements and those of its members.

This history places St John in a privileged position of what can be called trust and its members have the challenge of always living up that trust which New Zealanders have placed in us.  That means that all of us have an obligation to do the best possible for the public and for those who fund us.  We must always strive to be in a position in which we can be ready to face the next challenge.  More recently these challenges are arising from growing social issues brought about by an increase in chronic illness, an ageing population and an increase in use of drugs and alcohol.  This is placing more and more demand on St John services and the organisation has embarked on a process of innovation to meet these challenges.

St John is aligning its self with the Government’s strategy for primary health care and the introduction of new ways to deliver healthcare to the community.  St John is working with other healthcare providers to deliver on the healthcare initiative which has been termed ‘Better Sooner, More Convenient’.

The Foundation of St John’s work has its roots in the mediaeval Order of St John whose members fetched the sick and brought them to the Orders hospitals.

Today all St John members inherit and share that tradition and constitute a unique and dedicated team of skilled volunteer and paid members working side by side and collectively making an admirable difference to New Zealand communities.

This was evident in the aftermath of the earthquake that beset Canterbury and notably Christchurch Kaiapoi and Darfield on 4 September.  While, in many cases, dealing with their own personal situations of traumatised family and damaged property St John members time and again continued to provide support to others as welfare centres became inundated .  At one point members were catering for 300 people working on 12 hour shifts and Susan and I visited in the subsequent week the welfare centre site at the Addington Raceway where St John was prominent in providing assistance.  Almost immediately St John had responded as one organisation  and bringing in members from elsewhere to relieve local staff when that proved to be desirable. 

As I speak all New Zealanders as well as ourselves wait anxiously to learn of the plight of the miners who were the subject of an underground explosion at the Pike River Coal mine two days ago.  We do not know the outcome but I can say with certainty that St John will be there if called upon and needed.

I congratulate all those who I will invest today and thank you for the work you do for our communities.  Thank you all for your presence here this afternoon in your public support of St John.  You are part of a wonderful and worthy tradition in an organisation that has continually adapted to remain relevant to New Zealand needs and which is continuing that approach today in its 125th year.

I want also as I close to acknowledge those who stand alongside you as family members in your endeavours.  May God bless you all as you continue to care for our communities and for each other.  Tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa.