(6 December 1932 – 14 August 2011)
Education
Reeves was born in
Wellington in 1932 to D'arcy and Hilda (Pirihira) Reeves, who had moved from
Waipawa to
Newtown, a working-class suburb of Wellington. Hilda was Māori and of the
Te Āti Awa iwi; D'arcy was
pakeha and a tram driver, he died in 1950 aged 52.
He was educated at
Wellington College and at
Victoria College, University of New Zealand (now the
Victoria University of Wellington), where he graduated a BA in 1955 and an
MA in 1956. He went on to study for
ordination in the
Church of the Province of New Zealand at
St John's College, Auckland, receiving his
Licentiate in Theology in 1958.
Ministry as deacon and priest
Reeves was ordained
deacon in 1958. After serving a brief
curacy at
Tokoroa, he spent the period 1959–64 in England. From 1959 until 1961 he was an Advanced Student at
St Peter's College, Oxford (BA 1961,
MA 1965) as well as Assistant Curate at the
University Church of St Mary the Virgin. He was ordained
priest in 1960. He served two further curacies in England, first at
Kirkley St Peter (1961–63), then at
Lewisham St Mary (1963–64).
Returning to New Zealand, Reeves was Vicar of
Okato St Paul (1964–66), Lecturer in Church History at St John's College, Auckland (1966–69), and Director of Christian Education for the
Anglican Diocese of Auckland (1969–71).
Ministry as bishop, archbishop, and primate
In 1971 Reeves was appointed
Bishop of Waiapu and consecrated to the
episcopate. He was
Bishop of Auckland 1979–85 and
Archbishop and Primate of New Zealand 1980–85.
Involvement in politics
During this time he also served as chairman of the Environmental Council (1974–76); he was a supporter of
Citizens for Rowling (the campaign for the re-election of
Labour Prime Minister
Bill Rowling); and he served as president of the National Council of Churches in New Zealand (1984–85).
New Zealand republic
In 2004 Reeves made a statement in support of
New Zealand republic,
stating in an interview, "...if renouncing knighthoods was a
prerequisite to being a citizen of a republic, I think it would be worth
it."
[1]
Governor-General
Appointment
On the advice of Prime Minister
David Lange,
Queen Elizabeth II appointed Reeves the 15th
Governor-General of New Zealand on 22 November 1985. His appointment was met with some scepticism due to his previous political involvement in
Citizens for Rowling, opposing the
1981 Springbok Tour, and the fact that he was an Anglican bishop. The
Leader of the Opposition,
Jim McLay opposed the appointment on these grounds,
[2]
stating "How can an ordained priest fulfil that [constitutional] role?"
However, many Māori groups welcomed the appointment, with Sir
James Henare arguing that "It must be a fruit of the
Treaty of Waitangi to see a person from our people."
[2] He was the first (and up to the present the only)
cleric to hold the post. Moreover, as a member of the Puketapu
hapū of the
Te Atiawa of
Taranaki, he was the first governor-general to be at least partially of
Māori descent (although not the first to be fluent in the
Māori language).
Tenure
During his term, Sir Paul joined the Newtown Residents' Association, and invited members of that association to visit
Government House, Wellington.
He hosted the first open day at Government House on 7 October 1990, and
employed the first public affairs officer, Cindy Beavis, to promote the
Governor-General's role.
[2]
Reeves remained in office until 20 November 1990. He was succeeded by Dame
Catherine Tizard.
Controversies
During Reeves' tenure, the
Fourth Labour Government made radical changes to the New Zealand economy, later known as
Rogernomics.
In November 1987 Reeves made comments critical of Rogernomics, stating
that the reforms were creating "an increasingly stratified society".
[2]
He was rebuked for these comments by Lange, but later stated in May
1988 "...the spirit of the market steals life from the vulnerable but
the spirit of God gives life to all".
[2] Reeves later recalled that this marked a "parting of ways" with the Government.
[2]
He also recalled "I had a little sense of being left alone and felt
that I needed to be taken into the loop more, or be taken seriously."
[3]
Reeves wrote to the Queen, but did not receive replies directly from
the Queen. He said "I used to write to the Queen and express my opinion
about this and that going on it [sic] the country and I wouldn't get a
direct reply from her but I would always get a lengthy reply from her
private secretary, which I took was expressing her viewpoint."
[3]
On a state visit to
Vanuatu in 1989, Reeves was invited to kill a pig at a ceremony, creating controversy as he was patron of the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
[2]
Retirement
After his retirement from the vice-regal office Reeves became the
Anglican Consultative Council Observer at the United Nations in New York (1991–93) and
Assistant Bishop of New York (1991–94). From 1994 until 1995 he served briefly as
Dean of Te Whare Wānanga o Te Rau Kahikatea (the theological college of Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa, and a constituent member of
St John's College, Auckland). He was also Deputy Leader of the
Commonwealth Observer group to South Africa, Chair of the
Nelson Mandela Trust, and Visiting Montague Burton Professor of International Relations at the
University of Edinburgh.
Reeves went on to chair the
Fiji Constitution Review Commission from 1995 until 1997, culminating in Fiji's readmission to the
Commonwealth,
until its suspension in 2000. On 12 December 2007 it was reported that
Reeves was involved with "secret talks" to resolve Fiji's year-long
political crisis, following the
2006 Fijian coup d'état.
[4]
He served as the inaugural
Chancellor of the
Auckland University of Technology, from its creation in 2000 until 2011.
In July 2011, Reeves announced that he had been diagnosed with
cancer, and therefore was retiring from all public responsibilities.
[5] He died of the cancer August 2011, aged 78.
[6]
Honours and other awards
Reeves was awarded the
Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977), he was appointed a
Chaplain of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem in April 1982,
[7] Knight Bachelor in the
New Zealand Birthday Honours 1985, a
Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George on 6 November 1985, a
Knight of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem in 1986,
[8] and a
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order on 2 March 1986.
[9] In 1990 he became a
Companion of the Queen's Service Order. Reeves was also made a
Companion of the Order of Fiji.
There was some concern regarding Reeves' using the title
Sir, as members of the clergy in the
Church of England do not usually receive this title when knighted, and the same rule presumably applied to the
Anglican Church in New Zealand. To avoid placing the Queen in an awkward situation (Governors General would by tradition be knighted by her in person at
Buckingham Palace), the Prime Minister of the time,
David Lange, made Reeves a
Knight Bachelor before meeting her. Consequently, when Reeves went to receive the
GCMG from the Queen, he was already Sir Paul.
On
Waitangi Day 2007 he was awarded New Zealand's highest honour, being admitted to the
Order of New Zealand.
[10]
The University of Oxford conferred on him the degree of
Doctor of Civil Law in 1985 and his college,
St Peter's, appointed him an Honorary Fellow in 1981 and a Trustee in 1994. A Fellowship of
St John's College, Auckland followed in 1989. He has received other honorary degrees, including an
LLD of
Victoria University of Wellington (1989), a
DD of the
General Theological Seminary, New York (1992), and the degree of
Doctor Honoris Causa of the
University of Edinburgh (1994).
Changes to the rules in 2006 allowed him to use the style
The Honourable for life.
[11]
Arms
Arms of Paul Reeves
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| Notes |
The arms of Paul Reeves consist of:
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| Crest |
Upon a helm with a wreath Argent and
Azure a circlet of the Maori poutama stepped pattern, stantant thereon a
tui or parson bird (Prosthemadera novaseelandiae) Proper holding aloft
in its dexter claw three feathers Argent their quills crossing in base.
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| Escutcheon |
Per pale and per chevron embowed and
enhanced Argent and Azure, three mitres (two and one) the infulae
adorned with the Maori pitau kowhaiwhai pattern and three estoiles (one
and two) all Counterchanged, in the fess point a royal crown and cap of
estate Proper.
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| Supporters |
On the dexter a brown kiwi (Apteryx
australis) and sinister a kotuku or white heron (Egretta alba) beaks
downward Proper each gorged with an ancient crown and supporting with
the interior foot crozier Gold with the shaft adorned with the Maori
pitau kowhaiwhai pattern Proper.
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| Compartment |
A grassy mount with fern fronds growing therefrom Proper.
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| Motto |
Whakarongo (Listen)
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