August 2009 – Established Centre

As I pen this text preparations are underway in Old St Paul’s Wellington to receive and process a select group of Kiwi men and women, cham­pions of our realm, into Knights and Ladies. The choice of Old St Paul’s as the venue for this is particularly fitting. Apart from it being extremely handy to the parliamentary precinct, it is gor­geous to be in a space that was created several cultural time-zones away from the world in which we now live. The difference of the interior from familiar workaday environments helps visitors put their preoccupations on hold and simply enjoy the feast of trusses hewn from our native forests and the sparkle of coloured light that tumbles through the glass into the space. Under the influence of such beauty, one must resist the temptation to over romanticise the past. This is probably how some also view the reinstatement of Knighthoods.