Sir Jerry enjoys marae visit

Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae is escorted on to Putiki Marae by kaumatua Lewis Moeau (front right) to begin Sir Jerry's first official visit to Wanganui. PHOTO/STUART MUNRO 240913WCSM JERRY MATEPARAE1

A welcome to Putiki marae yesterday was described as the rounding out of a circle by the Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae.

Sir Jerry, accompanied by Janine, Lady Mateparae, was making his first official visit to the city in his role as the Queen's representative and will be here for three days.

For both it was a homecoming of a different sort. He was born and raised in Wanganui, attending Castlecliff School, Rutherford Intermediate and Wanganui High School.

Lady Mateparae went to Brunswick School and Wanganui Girls' College.

After his official welcome, Sir Jerry reflected on the significance of the visit beginning on the marae, saying it was a "great honour" to be formally welcomed back to Wanganui at Putiki. While he had made many visits back to his home town this was his first as Governor-General.

He said every marae welcome was special because it connected him to the history, culture and whakapapa of a particular iwi.

"Our call here [Putiki] is both a proper courtesy, and the recognises the manawhenua that emanates from here - the centrality of this marae and the strength and resilience of its people."

Mayor Annette Main and a number of Wanganui District councillors joined iwi on the marae. Sir Jerry said he shared the heritage of the Whanganui River, saying it defined everyone's lives as well as the landscape.

He said when he was growing up in Wanganui, the city was the country's fifth largest, and while that ranking had changed, the people of the region were still contributing much to the country's prosperity "through agriculture and tourism, and also through business, education and the arts".

The Governor-General said while the river was a source of connection it had also been the subject of dispute.

"The Treaty of Waitangi claim by Whanganui iwi for the river is rightly described by historians as the longest running legal case in New Zealand history. It speaks of the determination of Whanganui iwi for recognition of their status and on-going connection with the river," he said.

He closed his address with a proverb about the river: "He muka no te taura whiri a Hine Ngakau - A thread from the woven rope of Hine Ngakau".

"The iwi along the river are like the threads of the rope, connected to the river as descendants of Hine Ngakau. I believe it speaks of a wider symbolism that pinpoints the significance of the river as Te Awa Tupua - an integrated living whole, to be cherished guarded and celebrated by everyone.

"And as something that is to be celebrated by everyone, it in turns binds this community together," Sir Jerry said.