Prince Harry has visited a spinal unit at Middlemore hospital in Auckland and given an All Blacks jersey.
The prince was welcomed with a speech by rugby great Sir Colin Meads this morning, which unfortunately no one could hear because of the pouring rain.
The Auckland Spinal Rehabilitation Unit is a 20-bed facility based in Papatoetoe. It offers surgical, acute and rehabilitation services to patients with spinal cord impairment.
The New Zealand Rugby Foundation helps to fund equipment and some resources because some of the patients are rugby players.
Rugby players Keven Mealamu and Jerome Kaino presented the shirt, which had 'P Harry' and the number 15 on it, at the end of his visit to the spinal unit.
"He was like, 'finally, I get one of these'," Mealamu said. "It was pretty special to have him come in."
The Prince was also given two watercolour paintings by patients at the spinal unit, which he said was "amazing".
"Are you sure you want to give it to me?" He asked artist Philip Spring, who was injured in a rugby accident 36 years ago.
Mr Spring's large painting was of a wheelchair rugby clash.
Harry also chatted to Grant Sharman, who paints holding a brush in his mouth.
Mr Sharman, of Pukekohe, gave him a watercolor depicting the prince with a helicopter.
VISITS WITH TYLA PROGRAMME AND SCHOOL
The prince then visited youth programme Turn Your Life Around (TYLA) in Otara, South Auckland.
The programme works with police, to target intervention of offending and to manage the cases of young offenders with their families and community. Children from ages 9 to 17 can be referred to it.
Prince Harry and the TYLA youth sat down and ran through the values of the programme: trust, truth, respect, choice and consequence.
Harry asked the young people whether any of the people there had made bad choices.
"Where there consequences? Did you make it right? If you haven't made it right, you need to," he said.
The prince said it was the actions that people take to make things right that build their character, not the bad choices they make.
TYLA's feneral manager Anastasia Meredith said she was blown away when she was told Harry would be coming for a visit.
"I couldn't believe it, we are a small community, a small charitable trust, and someone like Prince Harry wants to come to our hood and hang out with our kids."
She said some of the young people in TYLA diid not know who Harry was before they were told.
Earlier, the prince visited Southern Cross Campus in Mangere.The special guests of the school, including trustees of the school, sang before greeting the prince with a hongi. Harry and his party were presented with lei by students.
A Samoan cultural group were welcomed to the stage with conch shells being blown by students. They performed a dance with big smiles and lots of cheering.
