‘If we were to turn the clock back to 1840, knowing full well the injustices that would occur in the future, Your Excellencies, distinguished visitors, ladies and gentlemen. I would have no hesitation in placing my mark to that compact, for I know of no other native race in this world that has been so well treated by another race. I doubt very much whether there would be a free Maori people today had the spirit of the treaty not been perpetuated. ‘Having said that, I acknowledge that there have been many mistakes in the past. These cannot be obliterated, for they are part and parcel of the history of this country. But, when we consider the total picture, the good things that have happened far exceed the bad. ‘Tonight we are witnesses to a ceremony belonging to this country, representing both our cultures and the culture that is the fusion of the two — ours. Is Waitangi to be the preserve of only the British and the Maori, something special for you and me? My answer to this is “No”! Waitangi is far greater than this. It belongs to all citizens of this country, whatever their race may be. Whether they have come from Europe, Asia or Polynesia, let us extend the hand of friendship so that they can be one with us, and not apart. Some people may regard this as being rather idealistic, but surely we can “give it a go”; surely we will succeed. Is not this the message of Waitangi — its spirit? ‘The observance of Waitangi Day, the day we are honouring now, can no longer be regarded as a regional matter. Are we mature? Have we grown up? Can we think nationally? If the answer is “Yes”, do we have to wait another 129 years before we recognise Waitangi Day as belonging to all of us and not just to the Northland people, the Maoris, a few sentimental or well-meaning Pakehas in various places throughout this country, and a few expatriates who will be celebrating this occasion as New Zealand's Day? We cannot afford to wait even one more year. ‘The phrase used by Captain Hobson — “We are one people”, is a fact. Did we not answer the “call to arms” together? Are we not doing it now at this very moment? Are we not all concerned with the fate of our country? Do we not have compassion for one another? Have we not a lot of things in common? This is sufficient to show that we are one people. Where we differ is in the beliefs engendered by our different environments. Some people subscribe to the view that until such time as we, the Maori, do things exactly like you, and become brown-skinned Europeans — only then can we be “one people”. ‘Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, God forbid that anyone should make you or me into something that we are not or have no wish to be. Each of us has his own life to live. This is our right. We all come from differing backgrounds. That “diversity is the very essence of unity” is paradoxical but true. ‘I have faith in our country. I have faith in my people. Have we faith in each other? I have nothing but optimism for the years that lie ahead. My people in the last 129 years — and especially in the last 40 years — have made spectacular progress, due to the wisdom of our leaders and to the en-lightened policies of successive governments. At this moment we are living in a world of uncertainty torn by racial strife and conflicting ideologies. We are in the “space age”, an age of reaching out into unknown territories, an age of discovery. Let us resolve to reach out, to share with each other, to learn from one another, to listen to each other, here in New Zealand … now. ‘On behalf of the Maori people, I would like to acknowledge the debt we as a nation owe to the late Lord Bledisloe and his wife, for their gift, which ensured for all time the retention in the hands of the people of this “cradle of our nation”. ‘We are a comparatively new nation in the world, and yet other nations look to us as an example. May we cherish what we have and foster it. May we learn to know each other and to know what we may be. What have we to fear from “change” when “change” has so far been the very law of our growth? Who can dare set a limit to our horizons, when we do not? In freedom and diversity, with hopes as various as the homes that gave us birth, we still hold up to mankind a heartening promise — those who are far apart may work together; those who are not the same may yet be one; those who have different goals may live at peace.’