Ceremony for the Presentation of Coastwatchers Certificates

Rau rangatira mā, e kui mā, e koro mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi nui ki a koutou. Nau mai, haere mai ra ki Te Whare Kawana o Te Whanganui-a-Tara

I specifically acknowledge:

• Her Excellency Kairangi Samuela, Cook Islands High Commissioner to New Zealand
• Mr Keutekarakia Mataroa, Cook Islands Consul General
• Commodore Andrew Brown, Acting Chief of Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy
• John Crawford, Defence Historian
• Willie Cuthers, and
• Mathew Kenning, from NZ Post
• Alex Glennie, son of Coastwatcher Charles Glennie

And of course a very warm welcome to the descendants of our wartime coastwatchers.

It is a great privilege to host this ceremony in recognition of the service of brave men, and communities that kept watch, 24/7, for enemy aircraft and ships from stations in the Pacific Islands during the Second World War.

Today, we recognise the grave personal risks for civilian coastwatchers, given that they faced execution if they were captured by the enemy.

Any fears they may have had about their personal safety were fully justified, as they lived with the prospect of imminent Japanese invasion.

As it happened, in 1941, Sergeant Ronald Third was taken prisoner and executed by Japanese forces, and in 1942, a further 17 coastwatchers were executed on Tarawa, along with five Allied prisoners.

Coastwatchers often spent months at a time in remote locations with few supplies, and had to cope with extreme weather, including hurricanes.

They were eyes and ears for the Allied effort, keeping watch for ships and planes, and monitoring radio activity.

In one instance, their presence on a remote island in the Cook Islands proved to be a life-saver for three US airmen. After their aircraft went down in 1942, the airmen had spent over a month drifting around the Pacific on a life raft, before washing up on the island.

In 2014, one of my predecessors, Sir Jerry Mateparae unveiled a New Zealand Post memorial to the coastwatchers who lost their lives in Tarawa.

Today I want to particularly acknowledge Willie Cuthers - whose dogged determination to honour the service of his grandfather and his compatriots set in motion official recognition of the dedication, courage and resilience of civilian coastwatchers in the Pacific.

Willie, I was very touched by the documentary made about your personal journey, and I think it is only fitting that your grandfather's plaque was the very first to be installed on a coastwatcher's grave in the Cook Islands.

You did him proud, and he would have been so proud of what you have achieved for the families represented here today.

I also appreciate the research undertaken by John Crawford, one of our most distinguished military historians. I understand Defence has also worked diligently to track down the families of coastwatchers represented here today, and that this will be an ongoing project.

To the families who are with us here today, this must be such a proud moment - but also bittersweet - given that your forebears did not live to share today with you.

I hope that the on-line histories, the plaques on their graves, and the certificates of service you are about to receive will mark a new chapter in your family histories, and you can take pride that their legacy will now be remembered for posterity.

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