Our Road Scholar group headed off to the Beehive (parliament) for a morning tour. Since we’d just been there, Mark and I strolled along the harbor walk towards the Supreme Court building to rendezvous with the group for a tour of that building.
The harbor walk has bronze plaque after plaque donated by various immigrant groups who have arrived in New Zealand. This way of building the nation is celebrated, starting with the Māori history of arriving by boat. The Māori name for New Zealand, Aotearoa, was announced by the wife of the chief who, after days at sea, called out that she saw the land with the long white cloud. It would definitely work as a meaningful name for the nation today. I do remember a time in my life when the immigrant heritage of Americans was celebrated, but right now we have some who are trying to tell a different fable about our nation. So, it was excellent to see the tributes paid to immigrants in New Zealand.
In the photos above I tried to show one of the saddest Great War memorials I’ve seen. The Beehive is in the background of the left photo, and a lancewood is growing in the forground on the left. The inscription is very sorrowful. New Zealand gave more lives per capita than any other nation at Gallipoli.
The Supreme Court building we visited is the new one– opened in 2010 by HRH Prince William. One reason the country needed a new building is because New Zealand has only had its own high court since 2004! Prior to this, cases had to be hear in England! One of the biggest features is that someone on the sidewalk can look in through windows and see the bench. The architectural feature was designed to literally and symbolically show transparency.
Events of April 3, 2025
