Category: New Zealand Governor General

Source: New Zealand Governor General

Rau rangatira mā, e kui mā, e koro mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa.

I’d like to specifically acknowledge the Honourable Ginny Anderson, Minister of Police, and New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster. And to all police representatives, your friends and families – my very warmest greetings.

It is an honour to be here for this year’s Police Remembrance Day – my first as Governor-General. Every year, on Anzac Day, New Zealanders, Australians, and communities across the Pacific come together in remembrance of those who lost their lives in times of peacekeeping and war.

It is fitting that, today, we do the same for our police – to reflect on their courage and sacrifice, and all that our policemen and women do to keep our communities safe.

Members of the New Zealand Police were present for some of the darkest moments in our country’s history: at Aramoana and Waikino; the Al-Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre.

Constable Percy Tulloch was 35 years old when he was killed during the Kōwhitirangi tragedy of 1941. Found among his belongings was a small slip of paper, on which was printed the following unattributed Policeman’s Prayer: ‘Give me unfailing courage at all times and under all conditions. Let me look into the face of death with unblinking eyes and feel no fear.’

I acknowledge the immense burden carried by policemen and women across New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific: to daily face the risk of danger, but to do so with such courage and conviction – and to bear witness to the worst in humanity, but to never lose sight of our essential goodness.

John Stuart Mill said that ‘bad people need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good people should look on and do nothing.’ On behalf of all New Zealanders, I wish to express my sincerest gratitude and admiration to you for being the ones who do not simply stand by – for being there for us when we need you most.

I also wish to take this opportunity to acknowledge your families, for your own courage and sacrifice. Our police officers could not do their job in the service of us all without your loving support.

I know that the work of police in our communities extends well beyond law enforcement. During a recent visit to West Auckland, I spent time at a wonderful local charity – Give a Kid a Blanket – where I encountered two police officers, collecting bedding and clothing for a local family they knew to be in need. It seemed to me a perfect example of the sort of quiet and often unacknowledged acts of charity and humanity central to so much of what you do.

In encounters such as that, I feel a great sense of pride in our police force, which I understand to be regarded as one of the very best and most trusted in the world. It is right that our police are held to the highest standards of integrity and conduct – and I commend you for the way you hold yourselves in our communities, led so ably and graciously by our Police Commissioner Andrew Coster.

My sincerest gratitude once again: for the bravery and goodness you show every day – and for all that you do to protect and care for our communities.

Finally, my deepest condolences to all the friends and family here today, and across New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific, honouring loved ones no longer with us.

This morning, on this special and solemn occasion, let us join together in saying: ‘Ka maumahara tonu tātou ki a rātou. We will remember them.’

Source: New Zealand Governor General

Rau rangatira mā, e kui mā, e koro mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging: His Worship Tim Cadogan, Mayor of Central Otago; Mrs Julie Anderson, Director of Education Otago Southland; Ms Melissa Bell, Principal of Maniototo Area School; Mr Joe Ferdinands, former Principal; Joe Harawira, Kaumātua; and Rānui Ngārimu, Kuia.

And, of course, to all of the friends, family, supporters, donors, and – most importantly – students here this morning. Tēnā koutou katoa.

It’s my great pleasure to be here, in this beautiful part of Aotearoa New Zealand, for this very special occasion – for both Maniototo Area School, and the wider Maniototo community.

I’m going to begin by addressing some of the younger members of our audience here today – and promise you that I won’t speak for too long. I know what an exciting day this must be for you – and I wanted to thank you for inviting me to see your new school.

Some of you might be wondering who I am and what my job is. How many of you have heard of King Charles III?

King Charles is the King of England – but he is also the King of New Zealand. He lives on the other side of the world in England – and my job as Governor-General is to do his work for him here in New Zealand.

I meet all kinds of important people in my job, but if I can tell you a small secret – my favourite bit is meeting young people like you. I have two grandchildren and I know how important it is to have a happy time at school. I am really looking forward to seeing your classrooms and some of your work soon.

I know how much work has been put into this project, over such a long time – and what a big impact it will have on the school and wider community for many years to come. These buildings and grounds have clearly been designed and built with great thought and care – and I wish to acknowledge all those involved in that process.

It’s wonderful to think of all the learning and growth that will take place here in the years to come – all of the creativity, discovery, and – most importantly – fun.

I wish to encourage every student here today to enjoy and make the most of your journey of learning here in Maniototo. School was an extremely important and happy time in my life – a time when I came to better know myself, my interests, and the sort of person I hoped to become – which is one of the reasons I wanted to be here with you all today.

I hope you take everything that you learn in your years here, and use them for the good of your whānau, community, and Aotearoa New Zealand.

And I am sure, down whichever of life’s paths you follow, you will take with you a deep sense of pride in where you’ve come from – this beautiful part of our beautiful country – and share that pride with others.

I’ll leave you with the words of the whakataukī: ‘Whaia e koe te iti kahurangi; ki te tuoho koe, me mounga teitei. Seek the little treasure of your heart; if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain.’

Or, perhaps, as Ralph Waldo Emerson so famously put it: ‘Hitch your wagon to a star.’

This school rebuild represents the work of many dedicated people, and carries the hopes and dreams of many more. I wish everyone here, all the very best for your future.

Kia ora huihui tātou katoa.

Source: New Zealand Governor General

Rau rangatira mā, e kui mā, e koro mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging: Professor Mark Compton, Lord Prior and Chair of the Grand Council, and Dr Elizabeth Ellis; Dr Steven Evans, Sub Prior, and Ms Maree Williams; The Right Reverend Tim Stevens, Prelate; Thomas Budd, the new International Chancellor, and Mrs Gillian Budd; John Whitehead, Chancellor of The Priory of St John in New Zealand, and Ms Eileen Barrett-Whitehead; Major Brendan Wood, Deputy-Chancellor, and Dr Gerald Johnstone; and The Most Reverend Sir David Moxon, Priory Dean.

I’d also like to welcome all our guests from around the world who have travelled to Aotearoa New Zealand to be here for this very important event in the St John International calendar. Tēnā koutou katoa.

It’s my great pleasure to join you, in beautiful Queenstown, for this evening’s Grand Council Dinner.

I’m now nearly two years into my term as Governor-General, and during that time, it has been an immense honour to serve as Prior of Hato Hone St John: one of the most highly respected and principled organisations in New Zealand – an organisation that operates with the health and wellbeing needs of all New Zealanders at its heart.

My husband, Dr Richard Davies – who has worked for many years as a GP for vulnerable communities in Auckland – has also taken immense pride in his role as the Patron of Community Health Services for St John.

While I appreciate this may not be the case for some of our overseas guests, in New Zealand, we don’t have many organisations that can claim nearly a thousand years of history – let alone one that operates with such a clear sense and view of the future.

St John truly embodies the whakataukī, or Māori proverb: ‘Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua. I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on my past.’

The values that were there at the outset of the Order of the Hospital of St John in 11th-century Jerusalem – of respect, humility, and care – are values that endure, and nowhere more so than in your network of truly remarkable volunteers and staff around the world.

It feels fitting that the theme for this year’s Grand Council has been ‘approaches to local healthcare issues within a global organisation.’ I understand you’ve also taken the opportunity over these past days to consider issues such as climate change and shifting geopolitical dynamics – and I hope they’ve been fruitful discussions.

I know that part of what makes St John such a successful and highly-regarded organisation is your adaptability and sensitivity to the needs of local environments, while maintaining such a strong core ethos – an ethos summed up so beautifully in your motto: ‘Pro Fide, Pro Utilitate Hominum. For the Faith, and in the Service of Humanity.’

A perfect example is St John’s Mother and Baby Programme, which has been highly effective in increasing support for pregnant women and new mothers with infants, as well as building stronger relationship between communities and local health providers across Sub-Saharan Africa.

This programme demonstrates St John’s clear understanding that the most successful health outcomes can be achieved when you understand, respect, and empower local communities.

I wish to take this opportunity to commend St John International for your selfless and powerful work around the world – and your ongoing pursuit of excellence in care for all.

To our overseas guests – I hope you have an enjoyable rest of your stay in Aotearoa New Zealand, and are able to make the most of all that this beautiful region has to offer. And to all gathered here this evening – a very safe journey home.

Kia ora huihui tātou katoa.

Source: New Zealand Governor General

Tēnā koutou katoa.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging Vincent Lipanovich, Director of the New Zealand Maritime Museum. Thank you for inviting me to be here and to speak this morning. I also wish to specifically acknowledge Kaumātua Tautoko Witika and Reverend Dr Noel Cox.

It’s my honour to join you in observing this year’s Merchant Navy Day. I could think of no more fitting venue for this commemorative service than the New Zealand Maritime Museum – this very special place where New Zealand’s rich history and relationship with the sea is preserved, celebrated, and shared.

It feels appropriate that this year’s Merchant Navy Day is also Father’s Day. When I visited this museum last year, I was given a personalised tour by one of the museum’s wonderful volunteers, Barry Parson – who I believe is with us today.

Barry showed me some of the items from his own personal collection relating to his father George’s time in the British Merchant Navy – serving as a wireless operator and radio officer for over 40 years. I remain grateful to Barry for that wonderful insight into his family’s special ties to the Merchant Navy.

As some of you may know, I have my own personal connection to this day, having served myself in the British Merchant Navy as a deck cadet before beginning my medical studies.

One of the men I worked alongside was a chippy, or carpenter, called Charlie, who was approaching retirement. He had been torpedoed and survived twice on the run between Argentina and Liverpool and in his reluctance to talk about it I got an inkling of the trauma of war.

Those several thousand New Zealand Merchant Navy seamen who served during the Second World War, did so right around the world – in the Pacific and the Arctic; across the Atlantic and through the Middle East.

Merchant Navy seafarers were ultimately civilian volunteers operating on the front line across a wide range of duties – deck officers, seamen, cooks, engineers, and radio operators and more.  In the course of their service at sea, those volunteers endured almost unimaginably terrifying situations – under constant fear of attack from submarines, aircraft, and warships.

The immense bravery of those New Zealand volunteers, as well as their unwavering sense of duty and commitment, was summed up by seaman Dewi Browne: ‘The point is, a chap’s a seaman and you just keep going, war or no war – that’s your job.’

In the end, around 140 New Zealand merchant seafarers lost their lives during the Second World War, and, for most, the sea was their final resting place.

Today, we also remember those who served in the British Empire’s Merchant Marines in the First World War, including at least 68 New Zealanders who lost their lives. And we remember the New Zealand merchant ships and seafarers that carried troops to the South African War and, later, the Korean War.

I know that Merchant Navy Day is a relatively recent addition to New Zealand’s calendar of commemorations – and I wish to acknowledge all the efforts that went into making sure the sacrifices of New Zealand’s ‘Fourth Service’ are rightfully remembered.

In his history of the Merchant Navy, appropriately titled Hell or High Water, Neill Atkinson described those brave volunteer seamen as being characterised by their ‘self-sufficiency, modesty, teamwork, egalitarianism, irreverence, and an easy-going pragmatism’.

I hope Merchant Navy Day serves as a reminder to us all of these worthy qualities – as well as an opportunity to acknowledge the contribution, sacrifice, and courage of the New Zealand Merchant Navy.

Kia ora huihui tātou katoa.

Source: New Zealand Governor General

Rau rangatira mā, e kui mā, e koro mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging members of this evening’s official party: Sam Cliffe, CEO of the NZ Blood Service; Fiona Pimm, Board Chair; Dr Sarah Morley, Chief Medical Officer. And, of course, to all of the donors, recipients, friends, and family here this evening. Tēnā koutou katoa.

It’s my great pleasure to welcome you all to Government House Auckland for this very special celebration of 25 years of the New Zealand Blood Service.

I’ve been in the role of Governor-General for nearly two years now – and, in that time, I’ve had the great joy and privilege of meeting many New Zealanders and New Zealand organisations in communities across the country, motivated by their desire to help others.

The New Zealand Blood Service is such an organisation. For 25 years, through your team of dedicated staff and volunteers, you have been doing vital work to help New Zealanders when they need it most.

I know that your role has evolved a great deal over these past 25 years, and that your work extends well beyond the collection of blood – now also hosting the New Zealand Bone Marrow Donor Registry, the country’s National Heart Valve Bank, and Organ Donation New Zealand.

I also know that the New Zealand Blood Service could not function without the generosity of so many ordinary New Zealanders, who choose to donate blood products without knowing who they might save, and under what circumstances – as the New Zealand Blood Service puts it so well: for ‘unseen emergencies’ – whether for accident victims, cancer patients, pregnant women, babies, or children.

I was very touched to read in your annual report the story of Rachel and Wendy – friends since they were teenagers, and diagnosed with leukaemia a day apart. The blood products they received from donors across New Zealand allowed them to be treated and recover from their treatment – and has meant they’ve been able to lead happy, healthy lives with families and children of their own. Twenty-five years later, Rachel and Wendy remain great friends, and grateful to those New Zealanders who donated and saved their lives.

One of my key strategic priorities as Governor-General, and indeed, one of the priorities I have kept throughout my career, is oranga – seeking wellbeing for all – and to support and shine a light on those organisations who share that goal. This aspiration is expressed in the whakataukī: ‘Me mahi tahi tātou, mo te oranga o te katoa. We must work together for the wellbeing of all.’

You may be interested to know that, just yesterday morning, I attended the opening of the New Zealand Institute of Medical Laboratory Science South Pacific Congress – and, in many ways, it is fitting that these two events should happen in such close succession, given the strong relationship that exists between your two organisations.

It highlighted to me once again that so much of the work done across the country to support New Zealanders’ wellbeing – in organisations such as yours, and by people such as our highly skilled medical and clinical scientists – happens without much fanfare or recognition.

I wish to take this opportunity to once again offer my sincere thanks to the New Zealand Blood Service – on 25 years in the service of your fellow New Zealanders. I wish you many more successful years ahead.

I’d now like to invite Sam Cliffe, CEO of the NZ Blood Service, and our MC for the evening, to the stage.

Kia ora huihui tātou katoa.

Source: New Zealand Governor General

Rau rangatira mā, e kui mā, e koro mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging: Joe Harawira, Kaumātua; Puhiwāhine Tibble, Kuia; Terry Taylor, President of the New Zealand Institute of Laboratory Science, and Mary-Ann Janssen, Vice-President; Sharon Tozer, Executive Officer; Sarah Just, CEO of the Australian Institute of Medical and Clinical Scientists; Tony Barnett, Secretary Treasurer.

Tēnā koutou katoa.

I’m delighted to be here to open the New Zealand Institute of Medical Laboratory Science South Pacific Congress for 2023, and to welcome medical and clinical scientists from across New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific to Auckland for this very special event.

The Covid-19 pandemic emphasised just how important medical laboratory scientists and technicians are to our healthcare system. The work of such highly skilled and dedicated professionals, in our laboratories and testing stations, played a vital role in how we were able to respond to the outbreak of the virus.

I know that throughout each new and unknown phase of the pandemic – and, in particular, throughout the Omicron outbreak – the strain on laboratories processing PCR tests was immense and unrelenting.

However, without those test results, we would have lost a vital tool in protecting ourselves and each other from the spread of the virus – and even more lives would certainly have been lost.

I also know, during those periods, the huge strain that was placed on laboratories and their staff – doing work that was so important, but so often unacknowledged – while also under such immense and ongoing public scrutiny.

I’d like to read out a passage from one of the New Zealand Institute of Medical Laboratory Science’s press releases, from 1st September 2021:

‘In the early hours of this morning, in a diagnostic medical laboratory somewhere in New Zealand, the three-millionth PCR test will be performed with no fuss or celebration. That medical laboratory scientist will finish their shift … and head out the door past the other more visible health professionals on their way home. They will watch and listen as news outlets question why it should take so long for an individual test result to come back – and experts demand more testing speed and effort …’

I want to take this opportunity to thank you – on behalf of all New Zealanders – for your immense work over the past three years to help keep us all safe, on top of the hugely important work you already do to help diagnose and treat those fighting illnesses across New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific.

I also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge Terry Taylor – our CEO here in New Zealand – for being such a staunch advocate for medical laboratory scientists across the country. I know that this continues to be a difficult period for the profession – and I know how hard you work to advocate on behalf of those in this room and throughout New Zealand.

In my role as Governor-General, I often have the great privilege of meeting New Zealanders, in communities across the country, who do extraordinary things in the services of others.

One of the most common things I’ve noticed about such people is that they are motivated, not by the promise of any kind of reward or recognition, but by the belief in what they’re doing, and the knowledge of the good that comes in helping others. And that seems to me the case with those in this room. My sincere thanks once again for your outstanding dedication and sense of duty.

The theme for this congress is Sailing into the Future. I wish all here in attendance, a rich and rewarding time over these next few days – and all the very best for your future. It brings me great pleasure to declare this Congress open.

Kia ora huihui tātou katoa.

Source: New Zealand Governor General

Kia ora koutou. Hola. Bienvenido. Welcome.

I specifically acknowledge: Members of the Diplomatic Corps; Dr Matthew O’Meager; Mr Craig Nicholson; Georgia Glory and Juan Lara.

As you can see, I have a particular incentive to learn Spanish myself. My daughter-in-law Trish is from Chile, and my mokos speak Spanish, as well as te reo Māori and English.

I so envy their ability to move so effortlessly between those three languages. In doing so, they are also gaining insights into how different cultures see the world.

As the great Italian film director Frederico Fellini once said: “A different language is a different vision of life”.

Such understanding is invaluable in our highly diverse communities – and in our inter-connected world.

As a former academic at three of the universities involved in the Latin American CAPE, I am delighted to have this opportunity to support its work – and to host everyone here tonight for this launch of the second Aotearoa Spanish Language Week.

It is both a courtesy and a privilege to communicate with others in their language – and I wish I was able to extend that courtesy more fully to the Spanish speakers who are with us tonight.

For New Zealanders, the Pacific Ocean is not a barrier. We see it as connecting the peoples of the Pacific to each other.

The ancient ancestors of iwi Māori came from Asia. Aotearoa New New Zealand is the final destination of a great diaspora that spread from Taiwan, out across the Pacific, over several thousand years.

And at some point in that extraordinary journey, Polynesian people made contact with indigenous peoples in South America. Kumara are tangible evidence of that contact.

Polynesians not only learned to cultivate a South American sweet potato: the name for it also became part of our indigenous languages.

Tonight, we celebrate our links with our Latin American neighbours across the Pacific Ocean – ancient and modern.

We look forward to further developing those connections – whether they be diplomatic, economic, educational or cultural – and we will work together to create a more sustainable future for our peoples.

We acknowledge the former refugees, and migrants from across Latin America and other Spanish-speaking nations who have made their home in Aotearoa – and the many contributions they have made to our communities.

And we look to the future, when the language skills my mokos are acquiring will be increasingly in demand by employers.

The key to developing relationships is understanding, and language is the portal to that understanding.

Tonight, we celebrate Español, the beautiful melodious language of many millions of people who live in Latin America.

To those of you here tonight who are teaching or learning Spanish, congratulations. You are helping New Zealanders to become proficient speakers of the fourth most spoken language in the world, you are expanding their horizons, and enabling us to better connect with our neighbours and understand each other.

I now invite Craig Nicholson to tell us all more about the work of the Latin American CAPE and Aotearoa Spanish Language Week.

Source: New Zealand Governor General

Rau rangatira mā, e kui mā, e koro mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging members of this evening’s official party: Terry Shubkin, CEO of Young Enterprise; Phil Muir, Chair of the Young Enterprise Trust, its trustees and ambassadors; Peter Thompson, Chair of the Business Hall of Fame selection panel, and members of the panel; and of course, New Zealand Business Hall of Fame laureates, past and present. Tēnā koutou katoa.

As Patron of the Young Enterprise Trust, it’s my great pleasure to be here in support of an organisation that so proactively supports our next generation of entrepreneurs and businesspeople.

I am also delighted to join with you in acknowledging seven outstanding New Zealanders and their achievements in the business world.

There can be no doubt that business plays a fundamental role in the wellbeing of our society: whether through providing employment, fulfilling a need, or helping to build prosperity across communities.

Long-term business success requires not only creativity and of course hard work – but also a willingness to take risks where others might not, as well as an ability to learn from inevitable setbacks. These are things I’ve come to learn in my own life and career – including during the Executive MBA I completed prior to my PhD.

As the whakataukī says: ‘I orea te tuatara ka patu ki waho – a problem is solved by continuing to find solutions.’

As Governor-General, one of the great joys of my job is in acknowledging the remarkable work and service of New Zealanders across our communities. As a country, I would suggest that we are not always so good at celebrating our own and each other’s successes.

Which is why events such as this, and organisations such as the Young Enterprise Trust, are so important – in the way that you promote public recognition of outstanding individuals, and how they’ve helped to make New Zealand a more prosperous society.

The stories of this year’s seven inductees all tell of the sort of creativity and perseverance I’ve referred to.

Take Kelly Tarlton: whose name is now synonymous with the marine wonderland he conceived and brought to life, whose concept and design has been imitated across the world, and whose aquariums continue to promote awareness and conservation of our marine environments.

Or Theresa Gattung: the first female CEO of an NZX listed company in her role at Telecom, and whose ongoing charitable work seeks to support the relief of poverty, reduce inequality, and protect our biodiversity.

All of tonight’s recipients are profoundly inspiring – not only for what they have achieved in their respective business careers, but because they remained true to their values, been brave enough to risk failure, and set the highest standards for themselves and those around them.

One of my key areas of priority as Governor-General is kotahitanga – the celebration of diversity and commonality – and I am delighted to see such diversity in this year’s list of inductees: a clear reminder that New Zealand is made stronger by not only what we have in common, but what makes us each unique.

This evening is special in another way, as I’ve mentioned, in its support for the aspirations and ambitions of the next generation of New Zealand entrepreneurs. 

Young Enterprise plays a valuable role in teaching students about the business world, and giving them hands-on experience at running their own companies.

I’m very much looking forward to my ongoing association with the Young Enterprise Trust during my term as Governor-General, and to seeing the kinds of ideas and talents that emerge from the programme.

At a time when the world is facing so many great challenges – climate change, conflict, the growing and unknown influence of technology – we need the inspiration and energy of our young people to be our guiding light.

It’s exciting to imagine that some of the young people in this room will become business titans of the future, and join tonight’s laureates in the Business Hall of Fame.

My sincere congratulations once again to all those acknowledged tonight – and to the families and representatives of those whose legacies we are honouring with posthumous awards.

The success of tonight’s laureates stands as a testament to their passion and belief – as well as the support and love of those around them. I’m sure your example will serve to inspire future generations of New Zealanders.

Kia ora huihui tātou katoa.

Source: New Zealand Governor General

E nga mana, e nga reo, e nga iwi o te motu e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi nui ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging the official party for this evening: Richard Cathie, Chair of the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship Committee; Chelsea Winstanley and Kent Gardner, Co-Chairs of The Arts Foundation Board of Trustees; Jessica Palalagi, General Manager of The Arts Foundation; Sue Wootton, 2019 Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellow; William Reubenstein, Menton representative and member of the Fellowship Committee.

And of course, the Katherine Mansfield Fellows and your partners who have joined us tonight. My very warmest welcome and thanks to you all for being here to celebrate the legacy of one of our greatest writers, and to congratulate this year’s Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellow.

Richard and I are both avid readers, and can relate to Mansfield’s observation that every true admirer of any kind of literature ‘cherishes the happy thought that they alone – reading between the lines – has become the secret friend of their author.’

That, surely, is one of the great pleasures in reading Mansfield – catching a fleeting glimpse of this brilliant soul, who lived and wrote with such intensity and depth.

Katherine Mansfield’s life was cut cruelly short – but in those 34 years, she produced a remarkable body of work: work which continues to radiate with such warmth and wit and wisdom, and which continues to speak so clearly and compassionately to the nature of the human condition.

You all know much better than me what makes great writing. But in my own experience as a reader or audience member, I have always enjoyed those books or plays or poems that do not try to teach or tell me something – but rather, that invite reflection: on family and memory, on faith and wisdom, on loneliness and love.

I admire those works most of all, that – regardless of their location in time or place – hold up a mirror to our own lives and experiences, and guide us towards a deeper understanding of ourselves and each other.

We remember Katherine Mansfield as both an extraordinary writer and an extraordinary woman. She was driven by a bold determination to experience life in all its fullness and mystery, and to translate those experiences onto the page: the tiny joys and sadnesses and wonders so easily drowned out in the humdrum of our daily worries and routines.

Perhaps one of my favourite examples comes in The Garden Party, as Laura is running down the driveway with her basket of leftover sandwiches and cream puffs – the gift for her grieving neighbours: ‘The road gleamed white … and it seemed to her that kisses, voices, tinkling spoons, laughter, the smell of crushed grass, were somehow inside her. She had no room for anything else.’

Like other artists of her generation – and particularly women – Mansfield regarded England as a place of pilgrimage and refuge, where she was free to take risks, to come to know herself and her passions, and to develop her remarkable literary talents.

And, like so many New Zealanders who have made that same long journey, she found the opportunities intoxicating and liberating, while also feeling that familiar ache of separation from beloved people and landscapes – the clear, bright Antipodean light; the bush and beaches; the colours and sounds and feelings of home.

The Katherine Mansfield Fellowship has proven an enduring and perfectly appropriate way to both honour her memory, and to assist successive generations of New Zealand writers. It is truly a great honour to welcome so many of you to Government House this evening, representing the brilliance and diversity of New Zealand’s literary landscape.

I can imagine that having the time and space in Menton to commit to your craft must be a precious gift. And for those who may have taken family with you to France, I hope it may have also been a place of exploration and joy and adventure – where you created memories of a distinct and special chapter in your family’s life together.

When I try to imagine sitting down to write in that room beneath the Villa Isola Bella, I can see it being both inspiring and daunting – imbued as it must be with the wairua of previous writers who have laboured there, including of course Mansfield herself.

But it is a testament to your own labour and dedication and artistry, as well as the immense value of this fellowship, that so many of the works produced by New Zealanders in that room have become classics of this country’s literature.

Tonight, Richard and I very much welcome this opportunity to advance beyond the status of ‘secret friends’ of authors, and to thank you – personally, sincerely, and on behalf of all New Zealanders – for your insights, your reflections on our time and place in the world, and, most of all, for the solace, meaning, and joy we find in your words.

No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa.

Source: New Zealand Governor General

Rau rangatira mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi nui ki a koutou. Nau mai haere mai ki Te Whare Kawana o Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Kia ora tātou katoa.

It is a great pleasure to welcome Defence Force Chiefs, distinguished representatives of the nations that competed for the King’s Cup – and members of the New Zealand team who are here today.

The race for the King’s Cup honoured the occasion of the Royal Henley Peace Regatta in 1919, and the memory of the teams that took part in it.

A member of the New Zealand team, Darcy Hadfield won the sculls event. A year later, he became New Zealand’s first Olympic Medallist, winning a bronze medal at the Olympics in Antwerp.

Last year, Richard and I went to the Waitemata Rowing Club when Darcy’s whanau gifted his medals and sporting memorabilia to the club.

In 1919, Darcy and the hundreds of thousands of war-weary troops in the UK and Europe wanted to return home to their families. Some waited years before a ship was available. The delays must have seemed interminable.

Sporting fixtures were one way to refocus, celebrate the return to peace-time life, and rehabilitate men who bore the psychological and physical scars of war.

The 1919 Royal Henley Peace Regatta was one such event, and included teams from Australia, Canada, the United States, France, New Zealand and the UK.

A hundred years later, teams from Germany and the Netherlands joined them for the centennial race.

It was a fitting way to honour the huge sacrifices of their forebears, and to celebrate the strong bonds of friendship enjoyed by those nations today.

Congratulations to members of New Zealand’s 2019 team who have joined us today.

As your Commander-in-Chief, I thank you for representing Aotearoa New Zealand at Henley.

No doubt it was a great experience to participate with people from all three services in such a unique event – and something you will long remember.

Kia ora huihui tātou katoa.