A filled atrium at the Malvina Major Retirement Village in Khandallah, Wellington, on July 10, provided the venue for the first in a series of community fundraising events for the restoration project for the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Thorndon.
The residents were joined by parishioners of the cathedral, and laity from other parts of Wellington drawn by publicity in parish circulars.
A programme of entertainment was led by long-time resident cathedral priest Fr James Lyons. Pianist Janet van Polanen and soprano Katheryn Ennis Wilson, both cathedral attendees, filled the atrium with musical renditions that drew long and warm-hearted applause.
The guest speaker for the event was former Ombudsman and Governor-General, Sir Anand Satyanand, who spoke of Wellington having an array of heritage municipal and church buildings, a number of which were requiring strengthening through being in an area prone to earthquakes and which, in many
cases, had stood for a century or more.
The centrepiece of his address was a description of the large part that civil society plays in the conduct of everyday life in New Zealand, and the volunteering that is so central to the continuance of organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureaus, Rotary, sporting clubs and Plunket.
He then went on to set out the conventions regarding the naming and appointment of New Zealand Governors-General, with that being relevant at the present time with the installation of Dame Cindy Kiro in a few weeks.
His talk generated a number of questions, which he answered before joining everyone in the afternoon tea, which had been an advertised attraction.
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