Queen’s honours for Niue

Mana (Auckland), 14 July 1977, Page 7

Queen’s honours for Niue

Three prominent Niueans were awarded Queen’s honours in the Queen’s Jubilee and Birthday Honours List, last month. These honours are a rare thing in the Niuean community both here and in Niue. It is believed that only eight such honours have been conferred on the Niuean people since the time of British sovereignty and later the New Zealand administration over the island in the last 77,years. Two of the earlier recipients of these honours are now dead, two still live in Niue and two are here in Auckland.

The highest Queen’s honour yet to be accorded to a Niuean is the Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (CMG), which was awarded to the present Premier of Niue, the Hon. R. R. Rex. in last month’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Mr Rex was also awarded the 0.8. E. in 1973.

Mrs Betty Head Togalea, a mother of five children, received the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal, and Mrs Marion McQuoid was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal; both for community services, in the recent Queen’s Jubilee and Birthday’s Honours Lists. Both Mrs Togalea and Mrs McQuoid are living in Auckland. In view of these honours, which are a rare thing as far as the Niuean community is concerned, it is felt fitting that something be done about this year’s honours’ recipients and their background. To try to cover their full background experiences will be an injustice so the article will only relate a few of the events in their lives to date. The Hon. Rex has been a member of the Niue Legislative Assembly since its establishment in 1960 - prior to this the present Assembly was known as the Niue Island Council in which Mr Rex

had been a member continuously since 1953. He had been also a member of the first Executive Committee when it was set up in 1966, which later became the Cabinet when Niue attained internal self-government in 1974. He was Niue’s first Leader of Government Business and later became its first Premier when the island attained internal selfgovernment. Mr Rex has travelled widely throughout the South Pacific area including New Zealand. He held several senior posts in the Niue Public Service before he resigned to go into private business and politics. Mrs Betty Head Togalea, who was born and raised in Niue, came to New Zeland when she was 16 years old and attended Queen Victoria Maori Girls’ Boarding School. After leaving school, she went through a Jot of traumatic experiences and later through housing difficulties and a host of other problems encountered by young couples trying to set up a home for their young family. It was these experiences and difficulties that made Betty aware of others’ needs later when she played, and still does, a vital role in providing them with the necessary assistance and advice. Mrs Togalea first became involved in community affairs as far back as 1945 when she and her husband were asked by the then Island Territories Department to care for a young Niuean boy, who was sent here by the Niue Government for medical treatment. At this point the migration from Niue was increasing and most of the migrants could not speak English, hence Betty became more involved in their social and community affairs. She stated that she really saw some injustices done to her own people and even in her own cases in those days but she was helpless to do anything.

She said that migrants to New Zealand nowadays were more fortunate than the ones that came before, because the way has been paved for them and agencies and personnel are established to help them.

Mrs Togalea has for many years been involved in many community affairs and other activities as well as being a foundation member of the Niue N.Z. Society, which paved the way for many social and educational developments within the Niuean community in Auckland. Betty is a member of many committees and associations such as Polynesian Parents Association at Avondale College, Avondale Community Committee and Citizens Advice Bureau, Truancy Committee, Auckland Children’s Board, Avondale College Board of Governors and others. She is also an interpreter in the Children’s Court and is frequently invited to give talks in many areas such as schools, teachers’ courses, police training courses, W.E. A. classes etc.

Betty said, “the most exciting year of my whole life is 1977!” She was invited and went with others to have lunch with Her Majesty The Queen and the Duke at Trillos on 22 February this year and the following day, 23 February, she was accompanied by her eldest daughter to the Garden Party at Government House, Epsom, where she was personally introduced to Her Majesty Queen. Betty said, she was so nervous that she forgot to curtsey. Five months’ later she was awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Silver Medal.

Mrs Marion McQuoid has her cftvn fill of community involvements and others. She was the Secretary of the Niue New Zealand Society when it was

formed and she is now its president with Betty Togalea as secretary. Marion has been instrumental in many moves towards the improvement of the education and welfare of her people here in Auckland and in Niue. She has been a member of many associations and committees including the Ponsonby Festival Committee, Pacific Islanders N.Z. Association, Committee of Islands’ Womens’ Conference, Auckland Children’s Board, Pacifica to mention some. ,She is one of the original members who helped establish Pacifica in which she is now Vice President. Marion is also a member of the Social Development Council of New Zealand. She stood unsuccessfully for the Auckland City Council in 1971 and 1974 respectively.

As mentioned earlier, it would be an injustice to endeavour to write a complete history of the recipients’ background as space in Mana will not be big enough. However, both Betty and Marion are too modest to tell of their many community and civic involvements. Whats written here are the author’s own version from his talks with Betty and Marion. Both ladies would like specially to pay tribute to the late Vetevihi Pamatatau, who they said was a tower of strength in his endeavours to help the Niuean people here in Auckland and was the founder of the Niue N.Z. Society. One of the ladies said this of the late Vete Pamatatau, “This great man was a fanatic for education and a perfectionist in whatever he did. He was a man of rare calibre not equalled by Niueans today.” Congratulations Hon. Rex, Betty and Marion, we in the Niuean community, are very proud of your good work and . achievement. You have set a good example for us to follow.