Tātai whetū ki te rangi,
mau tonu, mau tonu
ngaro noa, ngaro noa.
Tatou kua hui mai nei
Tēnā koutou, Tēnā koutou, Tēnā tātou katoa
This is the fourth occasion that I have had the privilege of a powhiri at Te Whare Runanga in the lead up to Waitangi Day.
I thank you most sincerely for the manaakitanga you have extended to David and me. Our visits to Waitangi have provided us with some very special memories.
Highlights for me include the 160th anniversary of the flagstaff erected by Northern Maori on Maiki Hill at Kororāreka, in 2018. I was privileged to be the first Governor General to visit and acknowledge this significant gesture of goodwill made in 1858 by those northern rangatira.
Alfred the Great: The Most Perfect Man in History?
Barbara Yorke considers the reputation of King Alfred the Great, and the enduring cult around his life and legend.
King Alfred of Wessex (r.871-99) is probably the best known of all Anglo-Saxon rulers, even if the first thing to come into many people’s minds in connection with him is something to do with burnt confectionery. This year saw the 1100th anniversary of his death on 26 October 899, at the age of about 50. The occasion is being marked with conferences and exhibitions in Winchester, Southampton and London, but the scale of celebrations will be modest compared with those which commemorated his millenary, and culminated in the unveiling by Lord Rosebery of his statue in Winchester.