Ａｄｄｒｅｓｓ ｏｎ Ｂｅｈａｌｆ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ Ａｌｌｅｙ Ｆａｍｉｌｙ ｂｙ Ｍａｕｒｉｃｅ Ａｌｌｅｙ（Ｅｘｃｅｒｐｔｓ）

It is a great privilege to be here at these celebrations today and have the opportunity to say something on behalf of the family about the life of Rewi Alley.

As family members we knew Rewi as a warm， caring and generous person. He was always generous with his time and hospitality. When we came to visit him， he would organize our activities and we always left with a book or a knick-knack of some sort about which there would often be an interesting story.

Rewi’s life was influenced by his two hard-working and strong-willed parents. From his mother Clara Buckingham， Rewi inherited his practical skills， a love of the land and that amazing determination to get things done. From his father Frederick Alley， the ability to innovate， have a sense of vision and a passion for education. From them both he inherited a strong sense of social justice.

Growing up as I did in Christchurch shortly after World War II， not far from where Rewi himself grew up， our lives were filled with the achievements and heroism of Rewi as he worked on in China. First with famine and flood relief， then the struggle against the Japanese invasion with the formation of the Gung Ho movement and the industrial cooperatives followed by setting up of the Baillie schools at Shuangshipu and Shandan. It seemed like a continuing extraordinary saga as we waited for news of the latest developments from letters sent to my father Pip， grandmother and other relations and the newspapers which were regularly filled with articles about Rewi’s accomplishments. We all felt privileged to have such a famous uncle in China. On occasions we would write to him and he would always reply—although how he found the time to deal with such painfully naive and amusing correspondence from nephews and nieces I will never know.

And so it was into the early 50’s when along came McCarthyism and the cold war. Suddenly， in his own homeland， Rewi was no longer an internationally acclaimed hero but a ‘red under the bed’ and members of his family became labeled (probably quite rightly) as “communist sympathizers”. These were difficult times for us but far worse for Rewi himself. Yet with his usual courage and determination he continued writing and learning about China and then began traveling the world on behalf of international peace movement. He visited New Zealand twice in the 60’s and came to stay with Dorothy and myself in South Otago where I had been given my first job as vet in the countryside. We had some great times， picnics at the river and enlightening discussions but Rewi left disappointed that New Zealanders at that time， particularly rural folk， had such a poor understanding of world events and of the changes that had occurred in China following liberation.

Fortunately， things changed for the better during the 70’s and we have people like Geoff Chapple， and stalwarts of the NZ China Friendship Society like Tom Newhnam， Bill Wilmont and of course Prime Minister David Lange to thank for reacquainting New Zealanders with the history of one of their most famous sons and the huge contributions that he made to world peace， and the prosperity and international understanding of China.

Throughout the difficult times， Rewi enjoyed the support of his many influential Chinese friends and loyal colleagues and of course， his wonderful Chinese family many of which we now know personally having heard so much about them from Rewi over the years. These friendships are just a small part of Rewi’s immense legacy.

At about this time in September， 20 years ago， I visited Rewi at 1 Tai Ji Chang. At that time he was frail but still had a quick wit and a glint in his eye and although he was spending most of his time in hospital he was trying desperately to get home every day if he could. His heart was failing and he could only walk a few steps unsupported yet he was visibly annoyed that his doctors would not let him undertake the long journey to Shandan for the opening of the new Baillie School. In his last days this was clearly the project dearest to his heart and it was fitting that his ashes remain in Shandan’s countryside.

There have been tremendous changes in China since Rewi’s time and a lot of the struggles he fought have now been won. But this is not to say that his philosophies are outdated because Rewi was undoubtedly a forward thinker. Many of China’s (and indeed the world’s) current problems such as the growing disparity between rich and poor and the continuing degradation of the environment， are things that Rewi thought and cared about a great deal.

There have been many meetings and tributes paid to Rewi since he died and I cannot help thinking he would have been somewhat bemused by all the fuss. Rewi would think it all rather pointless unless something good came of it. Ladies and gentlemen， it is our challenge to work together now in the spirit of Rewi Alley and make sure something good really does come of it.