West Coast Rugby League Dinner

May 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).

May I specifically greet you: Peter Kerridge, Chairman of the West Coast Rugby League Association and your fellow board members; John  Sturgeon, Vice-President and incoming President of the New Zealand Rugby Union—it’s good to see camaraderie across the codes—Your Worship, Tony Kokshoorn, Mayor of Grey District; Distinguished Guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen.

Thank you for inviting me to this dinner to mark the display of the Rugby League World Cup on the West Coast. On an occasion such as this, my wife Susan would usually be with me.  However, she is in Wellington with our daughter Anya, whose partner recently gave birth to our first grand-daughter, Lola, just 11 days ago.  She made a grandmother call and offers an apology.

We meet in circumstances underpinned by the great game of Rugby League regarding which a group of people gathered in the George Hotel in Huddersfield, Yorkshire in 1895 and decided to form the Northern Union which would play football on Saturdays and would play the players who would otherwise have been working in mines and factories.  The game caught on, as we know, and 10 years later, after the tour by the All Golds, it spread to New Zealand and Australia.  100 years later, whilst Central Park, Wigan and Wembley are famous League grounds, so are Suncorp and the SGG in Australia and so are Ericcson and before it Carlaw Park in Auckland, the Addington Showgrounds in Christchurch and Wingham Park here in Greymouth. 

It is known in a number of quarters that I am a Governor-General with a known interest in sport and the pathways that sport can offer young men and women in our society to get on to become contributing adults and enjoy themselves at the same time.

I think of many role models that have been generated by sport and bring to mind two respected and key players I have had the privilege to invest with New Zealand honours – Tawera Nikau and Ruben Wiki, as well as Peter Kerridge, a respected administrator of Rugby League.
I also have a particular connection with West Coast Rugby League.

While I have followed many sports, it was only in rugby league that I was intimately involved in sports administration at a national level.   Given my dual interest in sport and the law, the New Zealand Rugby League was keen in the 1970s to have my help on the Board and particularly its Rules and Interpretations Board.  It is for this reason that I agreed to be Patron of the Auckland Rugby League Referees’ Association when I was appointed Governor-General in 2006.

However, returning to the 1970s and getting me on the Board, to achieve that end, I was given the grand title of “Deputy Delegate” for the West Coast Rugby League, deputy to the late Brian Watson.  So while I was living in Auckland, I was a representative of your association. 

However, I always considered representing your association as an honour and privilege.   It is for that reason, that I can tonight announce that I have agreed to a request to be the patron of West Coast Rugby League.

That decision reflects the connection I have with the league here on the West Coast and its strong heritage. More than 50 New Zealand representatives have come from this region and I understand it was the only team, apart from the national side, that defeated Great Britain during its 1946 tour.

While the West Coast’s hey day was in the period from the 1940s to the 1970s, I commend the West Coast league on its continued promotion of the game locally and I am advised that some 500 children on the coast regularly play the game.
 
The Rugby League World Cup in whose shadow we meet symbolises the ultimate goal that those young players can aspire to.  It represents the culmination of the fantastic effort of New Zealand youngest and finest rugby league players.  Not only was it the first time New Zealand had ever held the cup, but it was an amazing achievement to wrench it from Australia.  The Kangaroos had held the cup since 1975 and all the pundits were expecting yet another Aussie win.

But that achievement also reflects the work of associations and clubs like yours that support the code at the grassroots.  World Cup winning teams don’t just spring up out of the ground. 

Winning national teams are the result of parents and caregivers taking their youngsters along to play on Saturday mornings.  They are the result of volunteers at the grassroots, coaching teams, refereeing matches and taking teams away on tournaments.  

Earlier this year, on New Year's Day, I issued my first New Year message in which I stressed the importance of community engagement and voluntary service.

In that message, I emphasised that the spirit of volunteerism is the glue that holds our society and economy together.  Our health, education and social service sectors would grind to a halt without the countless hours of voluntary work many people provide. 

And so it is with rugby league.  As you well know, the administration of the code will be going through changes as a result of Sir John Anderson’s recent SPARC report.  I urge you to work with the NZRL as it implements these changes and to forever keep before you, not only the prize of this magnificent cup, but also the young people who are the code’s real future.

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.