St Patrick's Cathedral Fundraiser

Ladies and Gentlemen, I greet you in the languages of the realm of New Zealand - English, Maori, Cook Island Maori, Niuean, Tokelauan and Sign Language.

Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and (Sign)

Specifically I greet you: Your Lordship Bishop Patrick Dunn; Bishop Denis Browne likewise; Hon. Bill English and Dr Mary English; Hon. Simon Upton; Honourable and Reverend Sir Paul Reeves and Lady Beverley Reeves; Honourable Sir Ian Barker and Lady Mary Barker; Rt Honourable Sir Maurice Casey, Cathedral Administrator, Reverend Father. Bernard Kiely your fellow priest Father David Tonks; members of the Auckland Consular Corps; Guests.

My wife Susan and I extend to Your Lordship warmest thanks for the invitation to attend this fundraising dinner for the conservation of St Patrick's Cathedral tonight.

The healthy attendance shown tonight from churches, businesses, parishes, community groups and the general public is testament to the importance of the project, not just within the Catholic Community but for the wider Auckland community and New Zealand.

My connection with this event is threefold - as erstwhile Governor-General, as a former Auckland resident and as a Catholic and member of the Cathedral parish community.

Governor-Generals have the regular privilege of speaking at such events as this evening where a long sought after goal is achieved or in the course of being completed. It is an important part of community encouragement, and one thoroughly to be enjoyed as it brings contact touch with many New Zealanders of many walks of life.

Auckland connection for my wife and I reaches back to childhood, and subsequently, my professional and family life - most of which was spent in Auckland.

There is also a Catholic connection, and in particular with my connection to the Cathedral (as Aucklanders call it) , which began with my parents who were part of the St Patrick's congregation for 40 years and was the place where Susan and I were married.  I have maintained a connection in Auckland with the Cathedral and in its present manifestation at St Bens.

It is courtesy of this last connection that I know a number of St Patrick's staff, past and present, as friends including Administrator Bernard Kiely and David Tonks. All of this came together last week with the arrival at our present address 1 Rugby Street Newtown of a package in the mail which when unwrapped revealed itself to be one of the bricks out of the sanctuary wall that have been sold to raise funds and which a friend had bought as a memento gift.

All of this enables me to acknowledge the significance of this fundraising event tonight with equal measures of professional and personal interest.

Can I now  take a moment to recount some Auckland history.  Here we are on Waterloo Quadrant across from the site of the early Governor's residence on top of the ridge leading up from Shortland Street which went down to the foreshore.  Going up the other way was another ridge which became the site for the earliest St Patrick's Cathedral on

Wyndham Street

. I believe it is appropriate, given that tonight we are here to help preserve the physical representation of this history.

The story of St Patrick's began with the arrival of Bishop Pompallier from Sydney in 1838. The first Catholic Mass was celebrated by the Bishop on 13 January that year at Thomas Poynton's house at Totara Point on the HokiangaRiver, marking the formal arrival of the Catholic faith in New Zealand.

With the founding of Auckland in 1840, there arose a need to establish a Catholic church in the area. Pompallier applied to Governor Hobson for land and was granted a half-acre on

Wyndam Street

for a chapel and two acres at the SymondsStreetCemetery.

I would like to read a relevant quote from the New Zealand Herald, dated 24 July 1841:

"A public meeting of the Roman Catholics of Auckland will be held at the school room, on Thursday evening next for the purposes of taking into consideration the best mode of obtaining subscriptions for the erection of an edifice for the worship of Almighty God by persons of that persuasion. N.B Trustees will be appointed at the above meeting. By order of Mr. Powell"

Lofty words. Translated into more modern language, they serve to inform readers that there will be a meeting held next Thursday to consider fundraising to build a Church, and to appoint Trustees for the initiative.

A committee of thirteen was elected and 65 people including, interestingly, three pioneers of the Hebrew congregation - David Nathan, Israel Joseph and Benson Isaacs.

They pledged 200 pounds towards construction and work began in August that year.

The original 'edifice' which was far from imposing in size or appearance, was described by the first resident priest of Auckland, Fr. Jean Baptiste Petit-Jean as, and I quote, "a long low room, thirty-six feet long by twelve broad, lined and painted light blue."

Despite its apparent modesty, it was symbolic of the hard work and determination of Auckland's pioneer Catholics. Pompallier ministered to the mainly Irish immigrants and Maori from this site and from these beginnings Tangata Whenua have always maintained a close association with St Patrick's.

As Auckland grew, the need to accommodate the growing Catholic community prompted the reconstruction of the original church. The foundation stone for the new church was laid by Bishop Viard on 1 March 1846.

Little more than two years later the new church was consecrated and was described by the Bishop as "One of the most handsome and substantial of our public edifices."

An escalating Auckland population gave rise to the church's expansion again in 1884. Finally, in 1907 the current Cathedral design was erected. It is fitting, then, that restoration is being undertaken in 2007, exactly one hundred years since the Cathedral first took its existing form.

During this one hundred year period St Patrick's has had worshippers from many different groups including many refugees. This has included those from Poland and the Ukraine after the Second World War, Hungarians following the uprising of 1956, Pacific Islanders from the migrations in the 60s and 70s and today, those from Iraq, Korea, Somalia, the Philippines, and Palestine.

To take part in Mass at St Benedicts for St Patrick's today (as I have done on a number of Sundays this year) is to experience a richly diverse multicultural, community, including people from many continents. This  reflects the diversity of this city and our country in the 21^st Century.

As someone myself from a New Zealand ethnic minority who is also Catholic I am proud that this is the case. This acceptance of our country's diversity is apparent in my appointment, as a Catholic, to the office of Governor-General, which represents an Anglican Monarch.

The relationship between the Church of England, the Monarchy and politics has always been a topic of much discussion in England. Even in contemporary times, Prince Charles' position as a "defender of faiths" as opposed to a "defender of the faith" has generated much discussion.

However, as New Zealand has developed its own identity in the 20^th and 21^st Centuries, we have become increasingly more comfortable with our country identifying with many faiths.

Constitutionally there is nothing that states the Governor-General must be of any particular faith. As such, the Governor-General's role in spiritual matters can provide opportunities to facilitate the coming together of the many different religions that are currently practiced in New Zealand.

I see my term as Governor-General as an opportunity to nurture harmony and understanding between the various religions of New Zealand.

I feel reasonably well-equipped to help in this, given that in our own personal lives, Susan and I are fortunate to have fostered many connections and friendships with people of many faiths during our lives. This is something that I expect we have in common with many other New Zealanders.

In February I spoke at the country's Fourth National Inter-faith Forum. This gathering of religious groups highlighted two things, namely: the benefits of religious tolerance and co-operation; and the increasing diversity of New Zealand's religions.

A perusal of recent Census figures on religion supports this. More than two million New Zealanders consider themselves to be of Christian faith. However, within this, only the numbers of Catholics and Methodists increased from the 2001 Census. The biggest increase was in the number of non-Christian religions. For example those who associated themselves with Hinduism and Islam increased by 60 and 50 percent respectively.

Compare this with the 1901 census where 41 percent of respondents were affiliated with Church of England, 23 percent Presbyterian, 14 percent Catholic and 11 percent Methodist. These four Christian denominations equated to 89 percent of the population.

I believe these figures show that the importance of religion has not diminished, but has changed as our country's ethnic make-up has also changed.

Drive along our streets and you will see Christian churches, and in some suburbs (South and West Auckland furnishing two examples), synagogues, temples and mosques sitting near to each other. This religious diversity enriches our culture and underpins an important part of who we are as New Zealanders. 

Our children and grandchildren share their classrooms with peers who pray five times a day, or who do not play rugby on Sundays or who do not pray at all.

That we are free to choose our own religions is to be celebrated. We are lucky to have an inclusive and tolerant society in which we can do this. A better understanding and appreciation of faiths other than our own teaches us we have shared values even though our places of worship may look different.

The Catholic Church plays an important part in this, being the second largest religious affiliation. It has the resources to promote co-operation and positive relations between New Zealand's many religions. As St Patrick's is recognised as the mother church (Whare Karakia Matua) for the Diocese of Auckland it too has a key role to play.

I would like to come towards an end by quoting former Prime Minister and later Governor General, Sir Keith Holyoake.  He said in 1975:-

'We are a multi racial society. We are British, we are Maori. We are Polynesian. We are also Chinese, Danish, Yugoslav, Indian, Dutch and others. Some might see this cultural diversity as a liability, or as a source of friction. We do not. It is a strength.'

I hope that we can continue to grow stronger as a society by continuing to embrace the diverse cultures that are a part of New Zealand in the 21^st Century. In doing so we must also embrace the many religions that these new cultures bring.

St Patrick's Cathedral has a wonderful melting-pot of culture within its congregation. Let this diversity be the catalyst for leadership by the Catholic Church in promoting religious co-operation in New Zealand.

St Patrick's is part of our nation's heritage. It was the first Catholic Church in Auckland and the first CathedralChurch in New Zealand.  Through restoration we can keep the significance of this historic site at the forefront of future generation's minds.

I began speaking in all the New Zealand realm languages.  May I close by speaking in Maori, issuing greetings and wishing everyone good health and fortitude in your endeavours.

No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa