More than 100 people gathered at St Johns Theological College on Friday afternoon for the unveiling service for Sir Paul Reeves.

The former governor-general and archbishop of New Zealand died in August 2011. It is Maori custom to return to the grave one year later to unveil the headstone.

The ceremony was attended by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who is in New Zealand for the Anglican Consultative Council.

The archbishop spoke of Sir Paul's ability to live a double life, in the best possible way. He was a symbol of the establishment but always managed to keep his feet on the ground and stayed close to his roots, always helping those who are most vulnerable.

"He occupied a series of extremely dignified positions in an extremely relaxed way," the archbishop says.

Sir Paul chose to be buried at St John's College as it was where he studied for priesthood and later taught.

In 1964, as Vicar of Okato, a Taranaki coastal town, Sir Paul lived among his mother's Te Atiawa whanau for the first time and was able to reconnect with them.

A strong contingent of Sir Paul's friends and whanau from Taranaki travelled to Auckland for the service.

The flag of the Anglican Communion was draped across the headstone along with Sir Paul's korowai, the kiwi feather cloak, which lay on his casket during his state funeral. Sir Paul's eldest daughter Sarah helped the archbishop remove the coverings.

The headstone was designed by the Reeves family. Above the inscription is the raukura, the albatross feathers of Parihaka, that symbolise a desire to live in harmony. Many of the Taranaki women wore the raukura in their hair for the service.

Sir Paul was New Zealand's first Maori governor-general. He later spent three years as Anglican Observer at the United Nations.

For the UN, he observed elections in Ghana and South Africa and chaired the Nelson Mandela Trust.

In 2007 he was made a member of the Order of New Zealand.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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