Queen Elizabeth II – Vale Regina
This tribute to Queen Elizabeth II draws on the pictorial record held by the Alexander Turnbull Library, and Archives New Zealand. These collections are richest in illustrating the visit during that ‘royal summer’ of 1953–54.
He ahi kua weto, kua mātao
He ahi kua weto, kua mātao.
Ahakoa tāwhiritia ki te hau, e kore e māpurapura anō.
Tō māhana, ka rongo noa i te rere o mahara.
Ō whakaaweawe, ka rongo tonu i tēnei ao tūroa.
Haere ki tua, ki ō tupuna, ki reira oki ai.
Hoki ki te whenua. E moe.
The flame of life no longer burns
The flame of life no longer burns.
No matter how much we fan it, it will never ignite again.
The warmth you once radiated in life will only be felt in the memories of you.
Your influence will continue to be felt in this world.
Go to the great beyond, to your ancestors and rest.
Return to the land and be at peace.
Kuīni Irihāpeti II
I whānau mai a Pirinihehe Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor i Rānana i te 21 o Āperira 1926, hei tamāhine mātāmua mā Piriniha Albert rāua ko Reiri Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. I te tukunga a te tuakana a Piriniha Albert, a Edward VIII, i tana tūranga kīngi, ka tū ko Albert hei Kīngi Hōri VI, ā, ka noho ko Pirinihehe Irihāpeti hei piki tūranga ki te Karauna o Piritene. Ka moe a Elizabeth i a Rūtene Philip Mountbatten i te tau 1947, ā, nō te matenga o tōna matua i te 6 o Pēpuere 1952, ka tū koia hei Kuīni Irihāpeti (Elizabeth) II. I tū tōna koroneihana i Westminster Abbey i te marama o Hune i te tau o muri mai.
I te ata o 23 Tīhema 1953, ka ū mai te Kuīni rāua ko Piriniha Piripi ki Tāmaki Makaurau mā runga i te Gothic, ki te toro i te whenua katoa mō te rima wiki, he mea whakarite tēnei haerenga e Te Tari Taiwhenua (Department of Internal Affairs). He tini anō ngā hui, me ngā āhuatanga nunui i roto i aua wiki, ā, i kōpikopiko rāua ki ngā wāhi 46, i whai wāhi atu hoki ki ngā huihuinga tūmatanui 110. E toru hauwhā o te taupori katoa i puta mai ki ngā āhuatanga nei kia kite i te tokorua o te whare kīngi, i tēnei taenga tuatahi mai ki Aotearoa New Zealand o tētahi kūini, kīngi rānei i te wā i runga ia i tana torōna. E iwa atu anō ngā toronga mai a te Kuīni ki konei, ā, ko te mea whakamutunga i te tau 2002. Arā anō ngā tāngata o te whānau kuīni kua hoki pūputu mai i roto i ngā tau.
I roto i tana tū i tana tūranga mō te 70 tau neke atu, i kitea e Kuīni Irihāpeti II ētahi panonitanga torowhānui. I tino puta kē te hononga i waenga i Aotearoa me Piritene i te hononga o Piritene Nui ki Ngā Hapori o Ūropi i te tau 1973. Otiia, nā te pikinga ake o te mana o Te Tiriti o Waitangi i roto i ngā tau me te karanga kia whakapūmautia te tino rangatiratanga o te iwi Māori, ka āta wānangatia te wāhi ki te whare kīngi.
I roto i tēnei takanga tau tino roa, i tūmau tonu te ngākau titikaha o Kuīni Irihāpeti ki Aotearoa New Zealand. Ka mate nei ia, ka haere tonu ngā taukumekume mō te āhua o tēnei whenua hei ngā tau kei mua i te aroaro, me tōna whanaungatanga ki te Karauna. Kāti, i tēnei wā, e ai ki tētahi uiuinga inakuanei, 47% o ngā tāngata o Aotearoa e hiahia ana kia haere tonu taua whanaungatanga. Ko Te Tiriti o Waitangi te pūtake matua hei whakamaunga atu mō te māramatanga ki tōna āhua hei ngā tau e tū mai nei.
Kua whakaurua ki ēnei kupu whakamihi ki a Kuīni Irihāpeti II ētahi pikitia mai i ngā kohinga whakaahua kei Te Whare Pukapuka o Alexander Turnbull, kei Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga me Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. Ko te tino kohinga o aua kohinga nei ko ngā whakaahua o te ‘raumati rōera’ o 1953–54, koia i kitea nuitia ai ngā whakaahua o taua haerenga mai, kei tēnei whakaaturanga.
Queen Elizabeth II
Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in London on 21 April 1926, the elder daughter of Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. On the abdication of Prince Albert’s brother, Edward VIII, Albert became George VI and Princess Elizabeth the heir presumptive to the British Crown. Elizabeth married Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten in 1947 and on the death of her father on 6 February 1952, she became Queen Elizabeth II. Her coronation took place in Westminster Abbey in June the following year.
On the morning of 23 December 1953, the Queen and Prince Philip arrived in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland on the Gothic for a five-week tour of the country, organised by the Department of Internal Affairs. They had a hectic schedule, visiting 46 centres and taking part in 110 public engagements. Three-quarters of the population turned out to see the royal couple on this first visit to Aotearoa New Zealand by a reigning monarch. The Queen made nine further visits, the last of these in 2002. Other members of the royal family have also been regular visitors.
In her reign of more than 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II was witness to far-reaching change. The relationship between New Zealand and the United Kingdom altered fundamentally when the United Kingdom joined the European Communities in 1973. Moreover, greater recognition of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the call for tino rangatiratanga (Māori sovereignty) brought into question the relevance of the monarchy.
Through this long stretch of our history, Queen Elizabeth II’s non-partisan commitment to the interests of Aotearoa New Zealand was a constant. With her passing, the debates about the future of this country and its relationship to the Crown will continue. For now, and according to a recent poll, 47% of New Zealanders wish that relationship to continue. Te Tiriti o Waitangi remains key to understanding where the future of this relationship lies.