This page features computer generated text of the source audio. It may contain errors or omissions, so always listen back to the original media to confirm content. You can search the text using Ctrl-F, and you can also play the audio by clicking on a desired timestamp.
OK, Bye. Went out my way to drop me to Oh so much my and pick him up. Hey, [00:00:30] for more I know pretty much, would you? [00:01:00] Oh, my God. For one. Bye. Oh! Oh, for when have you answer Number? [00:01:30] Oh, my God. Now, now [00:02:00] Happened to Andrew? No, no. You? [00:02:30] Yeah, and that Nothing. [00:03:00] Yeah, might hear my So he turned around the [00:03:30] my own Yeah, for you [00:04:00] the the the papa, the father, the papa. Hi, [00:04:30] they they they they are not a you Then I with the man I hated. [00:05:00] I am a alchemy. Oh, very warm greeting to you all and a special thanks to our and to the group from the AIDS Foundation [00:05:30] who have privileged us this afternoon by welcoming these two quilt blocks into this ceremony. Yeah, as you would appreciate, it's just impossible to bring all 16 quilts into this space. So these two have been brought to symbolise [00:06:00] all of them. For those who have had the misfortune of not knowing me, I'm Michael Bancroft, the current guardian of the AIDS. Firstly, I acknowledge this sacred place after about Saint Matthew in the city, which for this brief time becomes our our [00:06:30] I greet our sisters. Those who have gathered in this place for over 100 years are dead and especially those that the quilts commemorate. I think about I high, high, high. [00:07:00] I greet each one of you who has taken the time to come here this afternoon. Mothers and friends, partners, family members, members of the public. I greet those who, at different times during the last 24 years [00:07:30] have been part of the gathering, the forming, the sewing and the lead of the quilt project coordinators, conveners, guardians and committee members and decorators and panel makers. I greet Dame, our patron, who has been with us since [00:08:00] those very beginnings and for the inspiration that she has given from her personal involvement. Very significantly significantly, though, I agree those from the New Zealand Museum, Te Papa Dave and Claudia Orange, [00:08:30] a collections and research group director. I welcome you and thank you for coming to us today. Sara Guthrie, the collection manager for history. I agree, and Stephanie Gibson, the curator of history with whom myself and others have had a very special time in the last year, [00:09:00] bringing this moment to fruition without the decision that two people have made. Without your encouragement, we wouldn't be here at this moment. As I look around the gathering, there are many who have had a long association [00:09:30] with the quilts, and I just want to for a moment, possibly unfairly great. Be jealous whose son is commemorated in one of these pals. They fought way back in [00:10:00] the late eighties for greater dignity for the care of the dying and those who had died in the way they were not treated by funeral directors. So it's a special privilege for us that Biev is able to be with us today. Thank you, Biev seated near there, and Jean Stewart, [00:10:30] both of whom have been convenor of the quilt project in those very, very early years. I'm in the early nineties. It's great to have you with us this day. I would like to share with you just a small number of apologies of significant people who just couldn't be here today. Sean Robinson, [00:11:00] executive director of the AIDS Foundation, Now Mr Campbell, the chairperson of the AIDS Foundation Trust Board, the quilt treasurer, the Reverend Tony Franklin, who is now ministering in Napier. Kevin Jensen, who put together our great website. He's in Dennis Moran, who for many years [00:11:30] was responsible as coordinator for taking these groups all over the country. He now lives in Brisbane, Charles shall Kevin Hague and Grant Robinson said their apologies from parliament and I apologise that I have not met Jan Loy, who I believe was coming. Someone smiling at me. Greetings, Chan from the Green Party. Thank you for [00:12:00] being here. Karen Ritchie from the Bereavement Trust who has been tremendous in support of our work war. Warren Butler, one of the very earliest quilt convenors who was out of town this weekend and most recently, Rachel, the Missouri of the AIDS Foundation, who was called to England a few days ago [00:12:30] as her father is seriously ill, there will be others, but at this moment I just like welcoming you to just invite you to take a moment of silence to remember those we remember today through these quilts and that will lead us into dare I say my [00:13:00] sung for us by our gay and lesbian singers who have honoured this day and honoured many people in this place. [00:13:30] [00:14:00] [00:14:30] [00:15:00] [00:15:30] [00:16:00] [00:16:30] One of the great things about a ceremony like this is remembering, because that is what the quilts are about. Remembering and honouring people who, in a particular period of history, have been taken through HIV and AIDS related causes. And while [00:17:00] the quilt has always been prepared and cared for and administered separately, I need to acknowledge the fact that the AIDS Foundation has, over all the 24 years, being very, very supportive. And so I'm pleased that we were unable to ask the first director, Warren Lindberg, to [00:17:30] help carry a quilon today because he was there at the start. And seeing Doctor Rob Alice Pegler reminds me of all the doctors and nurses and staff in Ward nine. C as we used to know it, who cared for the scores of people way back in the late eighties and early nineties reminds us again of people who have been involved. [00:18:00] I'm not about to now give you the total history of the quilt because they're not here all day, and I think most of you are. They had a couple of people in 1985 in San Francisco, hit on the idea of a memorial and created the first ever quilt, and it didn't take very long for the idea [00:18:30] to come to New Zealand. I believe through Dan Fielding, who created a panel in the name of Peter, a good friend who had died in Wellington back of 1988 and over time families and friends many present with us today created these [00:19:00] panels, which were made into blocks and the two blocks we see here today in 1991 Darren Moore, who was then the convenor he passed away in 1993 held or gathered the first ever unfolding, as we did at the start of the service in the Auckland City Art Gallery, and Daniel was present at that gathering, [00:19:30] and so that we also is a long one. Eventually, the quilt here grew to 16 blocks and a small number of panels that have never been joined together. For practical reasons, which we have here today, I'm told that the American quilt, if it was all laid out [00:20:00] in one place and you walked past a block and paused for one minute, it would take 33 days to pass the American quilt. It's not insignificant that in March the Australian quilt was gifted to [00:20:30] the a the powerhouse museum in Sydney, 120 blocks. The reality is folks, that the preservation and care of the quilts throughout the world has become a massive and difficult task. The passage of time has meant some deterioration. But when we look at some [00:21:00] of these quilts today, as you will have an opportunity, it's amazing that in 20 years most of them have lasted pretty well. And many of you have seen them lying on the grass at Coyle Park, in school halls where Children have run across them without realising what they were doing, brought sacredly onto marae been displayed in Parliament. All [00:21:30] so many places, and many of you probably have lost count of the number of times that you have been in this church for funerals and AIDS candlelight memorial ceremonies. So it was timely that we do something about the future. In 2008. Rachel and a [00:22:00] encouraged by Andrew White side many of you know and myself started a process of talking to. In the meantime, we had to do something practically speaking, for the day when we would hand them over, and Kevin Jensen, whom I've already mentioned [00:22:30] started a website and if you haven't already seen it, go to the website sometime and see what he has done. It's a marvellous record. And alongside Kevin, we have in the last two years been privileged to have. I've called him a nationally renowned photographer, Gareth Watkins, and his partner, Roger, who have [00:23:00] photographed every single block, every quilt and lots of material so that it could be placed in the website and kept for posterity. So in mentioning them, I thank them on your behalf because without the work of Kevin and Gareth in particular, we couldn't really hand over the Quins. We'd be giving everything away. [00:23:30] Last year I met with Stephanie Gibson, and I gave her, and others gathered on that day a little bit of a surprise. I walked into into with a suitcase. They escorted me into a room and I the suitcase and pulled out a quilt, [00:24:00] and I can see the shock on their faces, and I'll never forget either Stephanie or one of the other creators words, Michael. They will never be touched by human hand again. Once we get because in the hand in the Mo as our Tonga, our treasure. They do become even more sacred than they are already, and they will be cared for and treated [00:24:30] with huge respect. And Stephanie, your words on that day almost inaccurate. I think it would be an honour and a privilege for us to house the church harbour for future generations. That Dame Claudia, I must say she is very quick to add, but we'll have to get the other directors to agree first. Well, we wouldn't be here right now [00:25:00] if that hadn't been the case for most of the years of the quilt. They have been for practical purposes kept here in Auckland. But I don't want this ceremony to end without us remembering that the quilts are the New Zealand quilt and there are pedals from all parts of New Zealand. I run a risk [00:25:30] of leaving out a place, but immediately glancing around Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Taranaki, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin are some of the places people have come from literally the whole country. The journey of the quilts is about to be made, but in going forward we remember little [00:26:00] things from our past. Some of you here today are old enough to remember them some of you remember Brett Shepherd and Alfie, who used to hold fundraisers to charge people to go into a nightclub for the quilts. I don't think you can do that these days. The old staircase, the [00:26:30] out empire, as we used to call it the old and man to man, which we know is Express magazine now. And Jay Bennie Jay, Thank you, because Jane has often stirred me along about these things and kept us mindful of it. And in the present day KMZ dot com and at the risk [00:27:00] are being told off. I am going to say that most of the venues now don't have that same attitude of having special fundraisers for things like cooks. But I can signal out urge Bar to continue to give me personal support and work towards funding from time to time. [00:27:30] And there's one other person closing my remarks here that I'd like to thank Kay Brock. Who's she? Well, most of the last 10 years, these quilts are being stored at national mini storage, and I become familiar enough to be called how might as I come and go from the place, [00:28:00] but we have known and I have known that the quilts are being cared for because that building is looked after. Thank you for honouring the group today, Cathy, by being present and to your staff, who can help you look after it. So where does this take us? It takes us from here back into two suitcases. [00:28:30] As these two blocks will be taken by our representatives with us today and next Thursday morning, there is to be a formal ceremony on the marae at the Museum of New Zealand where we will officially have the whole pool over and it will be officially received. [00:29:00] Be good. And I'm delighted that one of the very first convenors called is able to be present with me when we do that. And some of our friends in Wellington are going to gather with us from the foundation and other places to hand those over. So it [00:29:30] becomes my privilege on behalf of all of you to officially say to you that we are gifting the New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt to the Museum of New Zealand to to through this ceremony of farewell and handing over. And [00:30:00] I would like to invite Nicky and Jean Stewart to come forward, please. It's two of the earliest people from the quilt front here. You'll see a very simple and then there is the paperwork and I invite Dame Claudia, [00:30:30] Sara and Stephanie to come forward that they may presents you with our handing over documents. The I now call upon [00:31:00] David Claudia to address us and thank you, Michael. It's an honour to be here today, it goes without saying, but I will say that it is significant for all of us here and for so many others. But the event certainly marks [00:31:30] the gifting to us at, and therefore to all of us in the nation of a nationally significant connection and archive. As I sat in the front there and have been able to look at just the 1 ft in front, I realised that each kernel is such a unique and a moving piece of social history, of the devastating impact [00:32:00] of HIV and AIDS in New Zealand. It's an honour for te papa to take care of the quilt and the spiritual and the emotional connections of that. We know that the quilt has with families with partners and with friends, and we assure you that we will continue [00:32:30] your care of the quilt and also ensure that it's accessible for the loved ones and the visitors that will come to see it in the years to come. I know that since around 1988 as Michael said, the quilt has been seen for many years in many diverse places such as churches, school halls and civic squares. [00:33:00] Well, from now on, it will be stored and cared for to the very best of our abilities and also made available wherever is possible. There's no doubt looking at the the quilts, too. Two, especially that are here today. They have a message of remembrance and of hope, and Papa will honour that. And we also will [00:33:30] have the ability to disseminate those messages through our collections online and our public programmes in the future, and just a little explanation of what I mean by collections online. That's our record. It's a very large electronic database of every object of some 2 to 3 million objects in each of those, [00:34:00] um, entries on the database. There's a great deal of information about the objects, and so through connections online, we would have the opportunity both there and in other ways at to make sure that the significance of the quilt and the message that they contain and many messages indeed they contain of [00:34:30] love, grief, of pain, of remembrance All those messages will be captured and will be able to be accessed there for New Zealanders. For you. For others that will follow us. And indeed, of course, those messages will go out to the world on behalf of I do want to thank all of you and those who've worked with us to make this gift possible. Particularly [00:35:00] Michael to you and and my special Thanks our special. Thanks to you for your tireless efforts. It remains therefore, for me to simply say we accept this. It is an honour to accept it. We're proud to be the the guardian of this important national. Thank you, Michael. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, [00:35:30] David Claudia, Thank you for your words. And I'm sure you'll be relieved to know that while there will be a short pause of a few minutes of the song that gals will sing will be your We won't ask you three to come and sing [00:36:00] before we do enter into the last part of our time together. I would like to just make an apology to you. It's in the nature of myself and many at gatherings like this, that you have some hospitality at the end of the of the gathering. This church is well known for its hospitality. Well, there was due to be a concert starting at 3 30. That's why we were told to be out [00:36:30] of here by three. And at two o'clock on Friday afternoon, the can The concert was cancelled, but it didn't leave me or anyone else. Time to arrange hospitality. Sorry about that. Don't go to Sky City anyway. That's your choice. In a few moments, I'd like you to take, you know, if it takes us 5 to 10. So it's no problem to just go for a walk around the [00:37:00] church and look at the quilts and panels that we do have here to take in something of them. Because while we are going to retain the individual panels here for times when people say, could we have a little bit of a quilt to display at a candlelight memorial or some other service? Uh, generally, they won't be as accessible as they might have otherwise been. So take that time and the gals will sing the song. [00:37:30] You are the light while we're doing that. And, um, we'll we'll just take that time. And then when we come together again, those people who brought the quilts forward will fold them back, and then we will symbolically walk them to the back. In a sense, we're handing them over, then to be taken to Wellington. And, um, we will end the ceremony, uh, with the singing of our [00:38:00] national song, and Stephen will blast us out of the church with an organ piece. Not literally, but I thank you again for taking the time to be with us this afternoon. Um, we will have just a little bit more formality, So it'd be good if you are able to stay till we actually finish the ceremony. So, um, time now, just to walk around to look and [00:38:30] just to take him the beauty of the quilts. And I just want to say, as David mentioned, just looking at one. I've conducted a number of the funerals of people who are paddled here, and there's one panel here where the family forbid me to make any mention of aids at the funeral to make sure no one wore red ribbons [00:39:00] to give it away. It was to be completely no mention three months later, that family without our knowledge and put together a quilt panel with their son's name and blazing all over it. They weren't ready at the time of his death. But ever since, they have acknowledged through a quilt. [00:39:30] Thank you. Take the time. [00:40:00] [00:40:30] A [00:41:00] No, [00:41:30] [00:42:00] [00:42:30] [00:43:00] [00:43:30] [00:44:00] he Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen. There will be an opportunity for you to just, uh, take time at the end of the service. It's my privilege. Now you can call upon David. We'd like to just share a few [00:44:30] of her reflections with you. Thank you. I don't know that I have much to add to what has already been so eloquently said, But could I just before I say anything, ask you to pay a school tribute to the lovely singing we've heard [00:45:00] so often feel that because we're in church shouldn't applaud. And I'm never quite sure why that is. I'm sure if there's a god, he would be cross, but, uh so thank you very much. That was really beautiful. I first became personally aware of what we now know as the A. I DS epidemic through a neighbour and a friend who, [00:45:30] Uh, I came back from a trip and my daughter, Judith said to me, Digby is in hospital and I said, What's the matter with him? She said, I don't know. So I said, Well, I better go and find out, haven't I? So I went to visit him, and I just said, What's the matter? Did we? And he just said to me, I've got AIDS and I don't know what to say, because at that stage it wasn't something that was It was something [00:46:00] that sort of happened elsewhere. It wasn't our problem at that stage, but, uh, Digby Law was a fine cook, a writer of recipe books, my next door neighbour and a good friend, and that woke me up to the bitter, bitter grief that AIDS brings with it. I was delighted to be able to [00:46:30] lend my name to this pro at an earlier stage of my life before I became an old age pensioner of and, uh, I'm delighted to be here today to thank te Papa and its wonderful representatives, uh, for doing the AIDS quilt, approaching the honour of acknowledging that this these [00:47:00] quilts are treasures and are to become part of New Zealand's heritage. Thank you very much indeed. Um, there's so much one could say that so much doesn't need to be said today. I just ask you to look at the very tiny words at the front of your programme. Remember, their names cherish their memories, [00:47:30] celebrate their lives. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you again. Just one little commercial before we close. We do need to keep the work of the quilt going [00:48:00] in this part of the world. We still have storage bills to pay and other things. So if you are able to make a little contribution in the bowl at the entrance, that would be appreciated. And Dubai in Morocco are going to to the and wait. And while they are doing that, those [00:48:30] who unfold with the quilts will refold and we will symbolically give them to our representatives. And then we will close our time together and see We don't have to be out of here five minutes time. Don't rush. Thank you again. I'll give you a [00:49:00] call you? [00:49:30] Yeah, and mhm [00:50:00] to [00:50:30] [00:51:00] oh can enjoy. [00:51:30] And when my when my culture to [00:52:00] Hey, [00:52:30] after the orange to my farm Hi. You come back to tonight. Um, [00:53:00] [00:53:30] [00:54:00] [00:54:30] [00:55:00] those [00:55:30] that Hi. Hi. Hi [00:56:00] to me, are you?
This page features computer generated text of the source audio. It may contain errors or omissions, so always listen back to the original media to confirm content.
Tags