Wellington Indian Association farewell

I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand, in English, Māori, Cook Island Māori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.  Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the evening (Sign)

I then specifically greet you: Prakash Soma, President of Wellington Indian Association; Mukeshbhai Jeram, Vice-President, Members of the Wellington Indian Association; Distinguished Guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen.  In the context of this gathering may I add the following greetings: Kam Cho, Namaste, Namashkar, Sat Sri Akal, Kam Cho and Salaam Wailaikum

Thank you for honouring Susan and me by organising this farewell reception.  In exactly one month’s time, on August 23, our time in the Governor-General capacity will come to a conclusion.   I would like to take this opportunity to speak of our time “wearing the jersey” so to speak, and particularly as it has related to New Zealand’s Indian community.

I have had the unique privilege of being New Zealand’s first Governor-General of Indian origin and it has been a matter of pride to carry that part of my heritage throughout the term with my swearing in having commenced with aarti and garlands presented by a group including members of this Association.

In the Governor-General role it has been necessary to serve all New Zealanders and indeed, all parts of the wider Realm of New Zealand, which includes Tokelau, Niue and the Cook Islands, which are self-governing in free association with New Zealand. 

There is also the unusual role, of being “Governor of the Ross Dependency” which empowers me to appoint someone, usually a Department of Conservation staff member, as an Officer of the “Government of the Ross Dependency”.   The closest one gets to a citizen of the Ross Dependency is “Happy Feet,” the emperor penguin that arrived on the Kapiti Coast and is now resident nearby in Wellington Zoo!   

The Governor-General task for someone like me has made it easy to draw attention to the contribution and colour of those communities to our nation’s society, economy and culture.

When sworn in as Governor-General, I noted at the outset that I would be emphasising three themes, diversity/engagement/and the benefits of civics knowledge.  The first of these was to encourage New Zealanders to recognise the challenges and opportunities inherent in our nation’s increasing cultural, religious and ethnic diversity.

I, therefore, agreed to be inaugural Patron of the Asia New Zealand Foundation and the Asia Forum of Wellington and of a number of other organisations reflecting that theme, for example, the Auckland Regional Migrant Services Trust, the Centre for Interfaith Dialogue and Education, the New Zealand Council for Christians and Jews, the New Zealand South Asian Studies Centre and the Pan-Pacific South East Asian Women’s Association.

Susan and I have encouraged a number of cultural endeavours, like the annual gatherings to mark Chinese New Year and Diwali in Auckland and Wellington, Auckland’s Pasifika Festival and the Wellington Sri Lankan Food Festival.  I have twice addressed the National Interfaith Forum as well as launching Islam Awareness Week in 2008 and have spoken to a number of religious groups including, most recently, the Lutheran Synod.

There have been a host of connections with the Indian community since the beginning, many connected with the community aspect of the Governor-General role.  These have included meeting with Indian associations and sports clubs throughout New Zealand.  The Wellington Indian Sports Club celebrated its Diamond Jubilee last year, and we both enjoyed attending the dinner in celebration of that event.  Likewise, it was a pleasure to attend the 85th annual general meeting of New Zealand Central Indian Association earlier this year while Susan also opened the New Zealand Central Indian Women's Conference in March 2008.

Some events have recognised the diverse contribution of people of Indian origin to New Zealand.  Two years ago, we travelled to Glenore near Milton in Central Otago to attend the unveiling of a memorial to mark the 150th anniversary of Indian man, Edward Peters’ discovery of gold.   While Australian Gabriel Read is credited with having discovered gold in Otago, it was Peters, a person who came from India and settled in Otago, who told him where it could be found. 

Others have involved the launch of books, of which there have been several focused on New Zealand’s Indian community.  I enjoyed launching Uka Chhiba’s 2007 publication, Indians in Pukekohe and providing the foreword to Jacqueline Leckie’s 2007 book, Indian Settlers, and Edwina Pio’s 2008 book, Sari. 

The connections with the Indian community have also touched on the ceremonial aspects of the Governor-General role.  For example, in May 2008, we hosted a ceremony at Government House Auckland when Hon Kamal Nath presented to Lady June Hillary, the posthumous Padma Vibhushan, one of India’s highest honours, which the Indian Government awarded to her late husband, Sir Edmund Hillary.  He has been one of the few non-Indians to ever receive the award reflecting his lifetime contribution to the people of India.

Similarly, in February last year, we hosted Rahul Gandhi MP as the first inaugural Sir Edmund Hillary Fellow in New Zealand to luncheon at Government House Vogel in Lower Hutt.  

The award recognises the special contribution Sir Ed made to relations between India and New Zealand, and allows people from India and Nepal, who are emerging leaders in academia, business, politics, the law and culture, to travel to New Zealand for short periods.  It would be hard to think of a more fitting candidate as the first holder of the fellowship than Rahul Gandhi.

I had the honour of announcing the establishment of the fellowship at the State Banquet hosted by the President of India, Srimati Pratibha Patil, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi in September 2008 as a part of our State Visit to India.

The visit marked the first State Visit by a New Zealand Governor-General to India.  From a personal perspective, it was both a great honour and a unique experience to return to the land my four grandparents had left more than a century before as the representative of New Zealand’s Head of State. 

At the time, I noted that New Zealand and India had been described as the “book ends of Asia” by Indian commentator Dr Sanjaya Baru.  Our two countries had had relations that could be described as friendly, but distant.  Trade flows were relatively small and limited and the main connections centred on our shared Westminster legal and parliamentary heritage and links through the Commonwealth and in sports such as cricket and hockey.

Since that time, there have been two more visits to India.  The first, in October last year, was to support the New Zealand team attending the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.  Despite the media controversy in the lead up to the Games, the event itself was a spectacular success which reflected well on India.

The second, in January this year, was to the ninth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebration, which is an opportunity for people of Indian origin, one of the largest diaspora in the world, to display and share their common bonds.  To be the chief guest and address the convention, as well as receiving the Pravasi Samman Award from the President of India, was a personal honour and evidence of the great generosity of spirit and solidarity towards the diaspora by the Government of India.  The award proudly hangs on my office wall in Government House.

Bringing these strands together there are two key conclusions.  The first is that New Zealand’s relationship with India is quickly maturing as the two “book ends” move closer together.  Trade between the two countries has increased markedly; tourism and educational links continue to expand and, as noted by the Prime Minister Mr Key’s recent successful visit to India, negotiations are well underway towards a Free Trade Agreement.   For just one example of what I am saying, I note that, whereas, a decade ago, the number of Indian international students studying in New Zealand’s universities, was several hundred, there are now about 9,000.

The second conclusion linked to the first is that the Indian community in New Zealand has also matured.   While people of Indian ancestry have lived here for at least 200 years, as recently as 1976, as few as 6,300 New Zealanders were said to have Indian ancestry.  Shortly after we came to the Governor-General role, the 2006 Census figures were released.  They confirmed what the community probably sensed already, namely immigration has seen those numbers swell to more than 100,000, with Indians thus becoming New Zealand’s second largest Asian ethnic group.

The contribution that New Zealanders of Indian origin have made to New Zealand’s economy, society and economy has been immense and defies a simple description.  There have been contributions in business, academia, central and local government, the professions and wider cultural endeavours. Those contributions have been highlighted by the number of people of Indian origin that I have invested with New Zealand Royal honours.  

The maturity of the Indian community in New Zealand is the fulfilment of the dreams of those people who established organisations like the Wellington Indian Association and the New Zealand Indian Central Association.  They were established to support and foster Indian culture and heritage among those living in New Zealand, and to counter ignorance and hostility that existed at that time.

I have always been of the view that New Zealand can be a place where, if you are prepared to work hard, that anyone, regardless of their race or social standing, can achieve all that they want to be.  My life is a working example of that.

In conclusion, the Governor-General time has offered many highlights.  In that multitude of memories, are those many which we have shared with New Zealand’s Indian community.  As one chapter in our lives comes to a close, we thank you and the Association for your support and encouragement and look forward to connecting with you again as the next chapter begins.  Dhanbaad.

And on that note I will close in New Zealand’s first language Māori, by offering everyone greetings and wishing you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours. No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.