at daybreak at 6 am. They were called on to the site by a karanga and the blessing (te karakia) and the greetings (te mihi) took place. Once in the building speeches of welcome from both sides, following marae etiquette were held. These speeches were followed by waiata (singing). One of the waiata had the following text: Ka haere mai ano nga kuaka Ka kite ano – te iwi pakeha Ka kite ano – te tangata whenua Na tatou katoa – Pukorokoro nei Welcome again the godwits For the Pakeha to see For the first people to see For Miranda is for all Then the Miranda Trust executive council members welcomed the tāngata whenua to the opening ceremony. The early start and the procedures at this day were chosen, to show that the trust was conscious to be in fact guests on the ancestral lands of Te Tangata Whenua. Following breakfast the tangata whenua left and Rev. Richard Fenton conducted a small dedication ceremony. Following this ceremony a number of speakers performed, among whom Sir Peter Elworthy, chairman of the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust and Professor Max Maddock, from the University of Newcastle (NSW), chairman of the Shortland Wetlands Centre. In the same year a $50,000 grant from the N.Z. Lottery Grants Board was received, which allowed the building of new rooms at the centre. Recent developments In 1992 John Gale, a recently retired Auckland businessman, became honorary full-time manager of the centre. From then on the centre could be open permanently for all hours. This only lasted for sixteen weeks however, when John left for a visit to England. It then became clear that a full-time centre manager was a prime necessity for the future. The next year a full-time manager was appointed, paid with funding from "Task Force Green", a government agency involved with subsidising employment of people. John Gale would then become member of the executive council of the trust and subsequently chairman (until 1998). In 1993 the land surrounding the former lime-works were brought under the protection of a QE II National Trust Covenant. The area was called the "Robert Findlay Wildlife Area", to commemorate that the Findlay and Lane family (subsequent generations) have allowed birdwatchers unimpeded access over the land ever since arriving and first purchasing the land in 1869. In 1994 Adrian Riegen formed the New Zealand Wader Study Group, supported by the