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Free EntryPosted March 2010 Waitangi and the Queen Mary – A Shared History
CEO Jeanette Richardson shares a hongi with David Stephenson, Hotel Director of the Queen Mary 2.
At a stirring powhiri in the carved whare runanga of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, passengers and crew of the Queen Mary 2 were today both welcomed and farewelled from New Zealand. Representatives of local iwi greeted the visitors on a stunningly fine Northland day. Several hundred passengers and officers gathered for a lively challenge under trees in front of the Treaty House, before entering the Whare for songs, speeches and a traditional haka.
The 2500 guests and 1230 crew tonight sail out from the bay in front of Waitangi on the voyage to Sydney, the next leg of the current world cruise.
Returning to Waitangi for the first time in 30 years, the ship’s Hotel Director, David Stephenson, accepted the gift of a glass koru from Chief Executive of the Waitangi National Trust Jeanette Richardson, promising it will now be displayed aboard the Queen Mary. He recalled his previous visits on the original Oriana and Arcadia and the Sea Princess, and complimented the Waitangi National Trust on its stewardship. “It’s wonderful to see that you have managed to maintain the serenity of this area; it’s still a very peaceful, a very beautiful place. We couldn’t fail to be impressed by the atmosphere of this place, and the reverence you all have for it – it is truly magical.” "Cunard Line and Waitangi share a birthday", said David Stephenson. “We both came of age in 1840. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed, and it was then that the Britannia and her three sister ships, the Arcadia, Caledonia and Columbia started their regular trans-Atlantic service. The Britannia was 1154 tons and travelled at a speed of eight-and-a-half knots. It took 14 days to cross the Atlantic. The Queen Mary 2 by comparison is capable of travelling at over 30 knots, weighs 150,000 tons, and could cross the Atlantic in about for-and-a-half days.”
Chief Executive Jeanette Richardson hosted ship’s officers to lunch and spoke of the significance of the sea in bringing Maori, waves of immigrants, and now tens of thousands of cruise passengers annually to the Bay of Islands and the Treaty Grounds. Along with key members of her staff she then conducted the guests on a visit to the waka Ngatokimatawhaorua and answered questions on the Year of the Waka and the refurbished ceremonial canoe. The ship’s officers left, commenting on the “sincere and natural” welcome enjoyed by themselves and their passengers, and suggesting that Waitangi would remain an important port of call for the Queen Mary 2, as it has become for other ships in the last few years. “We’ve had a wonderful visit to the New Zealand coast this year,” commented David Stephenson. “It has been an honour to participate in this wonderful cultural ceremony. We’re all looking very much forward to coming back in February of next year.”
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