Tērā tō waka te hoea ake e koe i te moana o te Waitematā
kia ū mai rā ki te ākau i Ōkahu.
Ki reira, ka mihi ake ai ki ngā maunga here kōrero,
ki ngā pari whakarongo tai,
ki ngā awa tuku kiri o ōna manawhenua, ōna mana ā-iwi
taketake mai, tauiwi atu.
E koro mā, e kui mā i te wāhi ngaro, ko Tāmaki Makaurau tā
koutou i whakarere iho ai,
ki ngā reanga whakaheke, ki ngā uri whakatupu - ki tō iti, ki tō rahi.
Tāmaki - makau a te rau, murau a te tini, wenerau a te mano.
Kāhore tō rite i te ao.
Tō ahureinga titi rawa ki ngā pūmanawa o mātou
kua whakakāinga ki roto i a koe.
Kua noho mai koe hei toka herenga i ō mātou manako katoa.
Kua ūhia nei mātou e koe ki te korowai o tō atawhai,
ki te āhuru o tō awhi,
ki te kuku rawa o tō manawa.
He mea tūturu tonu whakairihia,
hei tāhuhu mō te rangi e tū iho nei,
hei whāriki mō te papa e takoto ake nei.
Kia kōpakina mātou e koe ki raro i te whakamarumaru o āu
Manaakitanga.
E te marae whakatutū puehu o te mano whāioio,
e rokohanga nei i ngā muna, te huna tonu i ō whāruarua
i ngā hua e taea te hauhake i ō māra kai,
i ngā rawa e āhei te kekerihia i ō pūkoro.
Te mihia nei koe e mātou.
Tāmaki Makaurau, ko koe me tō kotahi i te ao nei, nōku te
māringanui kia mōhio ki a koe,
kia miria e te kakara o te hau pūangi e kawe nei i ō rongo.
Ka whītiki nei au i taku hope ki ngā pepehā o onamata, ki ōku
tūmanako mō āpōpō
me ōku whakaritenga kua tutuki mō te rā nei.
Tāmaki Makaurau, tukuna tō wairua kia rere.
English version
Let your canoe carry you across the waters of the Waitematā until you make landfall at Ōkahu.
There, to greet the mountains, repository of all that has been said of this place,
there to greet the cliffs that have heard the ebb and flow of the tides of time,
and the rivers that cleansed the forebears of all who came those born of this land and the newcomers among us all.
To all who have passed into realms unseen, Auckland is the legacy you leave to those who follow,
your descendants - the least, yet, greatest part of you all.
Auckland - beloved of hundreds, famed among the multitude,
envy of thousands.
You are unique in the world.
Your beauty is infused in the hearts and minds of those of us who call you home.
You remain the rock upon which our dreams are built.
You have cloaked us in your care,
taken us into the safety of your embrace,
to the very soul of your existence.
It is only right that you are held in high esteem,
the solid ground on which all can stand.
You bestow your benevolence on us all.
The hive of industry you have become
motivates many to delve the undiscovered secrets of your realm,
the fruits that can still be harvested from your food stores
and the resources that lie fallow in your fields.
We thank you.
Auckland you stand alone in the world, it is my privilege to know you,
to be brushed by the gentle breeze that carries the fragrance of all that is you.
And so I gird myself with the promises of yesteryear, my hopes for tomorrow and my plans for today.
Auckland let your spirit soar.
