The joint celebration of New Zealand's national day and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee formed the theme for the governor-general's Waitangi Day speech at Government House.
Sir Jerry Mateparae noted that Queen Elizabeth II became New Zealand's head of state on February 6, 1952, 112 years after William Hobson signed the Treaty of Waitangi in the name of her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria.
Queen Elizabeth had visited New Zealand 10 times as monarch and continued to hold a "keen interest in, and knowledge of, New Zealand and its people, whom she continues to hold in high regard," Sir Jerry said.
"When Her Majesty became our Queen in 1952, the sun was setting on the British Empire and New Zealand was an independent realm," he said.
"In the intervening 60 years New Zealand has continued to change."
New Zealand's focus had moved from Britain and Europe to Asia and the Pacific, as the country charted an independent course in international relations and trade.
New Zealand had been transformed into a thoroughly cosmopolitan nation.
"Seeking a better life is what brought all New Zealanders to this land. As one of the last places to be inhabited by humans, we are all immigrants or the descendants of immigrants, whether we came here by canoe, sailing ship, steamer or by aeroplane."
Earlier at Government House, Sir Jerry hosted a ceremony where 24 people, from 19 countries, became New Zealand's newest citizens.
They were from Somalia, South Africa, Thailand, the United States, Iran, Britain, Ireland, Gambia, the Netherlands, India, China, Mexico, Bulgaria, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Japan, Thailand, Samoa and Australia.
NZN