Albert Wendt Honoured for Service to Education

Professor Maualaivao Albert Wendt Honoured for Service to Education in New Zealand

Professor Maualaivao Albert Wendt has been named as one of the recipients of the Samoa College Old Pupils Association (S.C.O.P.A) New Zealand ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his service to Education in New Zealand.

Professor Maualaivao Albert Wendt taught at Samoa College from 1965 and became the principal in 1969, the first Samoan. In 1994 was awarded the Order of Merit of Samoa for services to Education and Literature, in 2000 was awarded Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZOM) for Services to Literature in New Zealand. In 2013 Professor Maualaivao Albert Wendt was awarded the highest possible honour in New Zealand's honours system, becoming a member of the Order of New Zealand.

“To mark the 65th anniversary since the establishment of Samoa College, S.C.O.P.A New Zealand will be hosting a special function on Saturday 8th December at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland to acknowledge the contribution of Samoa College ex-students and former teachers in New Zealand,” says So’oalo Setu Mua co-chair of the organising committee,

Professor Maualaivao Albert has been an influential figure in the developments that have shaped New Zealand and Pacific literature. He was awarded First Chair in Pacific Literature at University of the South Pacific. In 1980 was Awarded the Goodman Fielder Wattie Book of the Year for ‘Leaves of the Banyan Tree’. 1992 was awarded the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for the Asia Pacific Region for his novel ‘Ola’, 1993 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bourgogne in Dijon, France. 2003 was awarded New Zealand’s Senior Pacific Islands Artist’s Award. 2004 was awarded Japan’s Nikkei Asia Prize for Culture. 2004 was Awarded the Montana New Zealand Book Awards for ‘Whetu Moana’.

In 2005 Professor Maualaivao Albert Wendt was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Literature from Victoria University and 2009 was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Hawaii. In 2010 was awarded the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for the Asia Pacific Region for ‘The Adventures of Vela’. 2012 was awarded the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement for Fiction. 2018 was awarded the Icon Award by The New Zealand Arts Foundation.

In 1952, Professor Maualaivao Albert won a scholarship to study in New Zealand. After finishing New Plymouth Boys High, he enrolled at Ardmore Teachers College in Auckland in 1958. He went on to study at Victoria University in Wellington and graduated with an M.A. (Hons) in History in 1964. 1974 he moved to Suva and became a lecturer at the University of the South Pacific. 1988 - Took up a professorship of Pacific studies at the University of Auckland. 1999 became the visiting Professor of Asian and Pacific Studies at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. 2000 he delivered the 2000 Book Council lecture, entitled ‘Le Vaipe: The Dead Water’, at the 2000 Festival.

Professor Maualaivao Albert Wendt has published a huge range of fiction and poetry. He has also written numerous scholarly articles for various magazines and journals. His publications often feature his own drawings, and in 2008 an exhibition of his paintings opened in Auckland. Professor Maualaivao Albert continues to play a major role in fostering and promoting Pacific literature.

Maualaivao Albert Wendt is currently the Emeritus Professor at the University of Auckland and continues his writing and painting full-time.

The memories, his legacy, contributions and life forever etched into the hearts and history of your church, and of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. The memories, his legacy, contributions and life forever etched into the hearts and history of their church, and of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand.For 65 years Samoa College has produced leaders who have served, and continue to serve Samoa well and beyond including New Zealand in various capacities, covering every imaginable sphere of life.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, it was clear that Samoa needed educated men and women to manage its own affairs as an aspiring independent nation. Officially opened on 2nd October 1953 by Dr. Beeby the then New Zealand Minister of Education; a gift from the people of New Zealand to the people of Samoa.

The real gift was that of learning and education..... men and women have passed through the school's corridors and classrooms and gates and into the world, empowered with 'knowledge to serve,' as the Samoa College school motto proclaims.

S.C.O.P.A NEW ZEALAND ‘LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS’
1. Reverend Elder Lei’ite Setefano for Service to Religion presented by Federal Pacific Group
2. Le Mamea Taulapapa Sefulu Ioane for Service to the Pacific community presented by Aotea Finance Limited
3. Maualaivao Professor Albert Wendt for Service to Education presented by Samoa Airways
4. Toesulu Brown for Service to Samoan Culture in Education presented by G-Mana Wholesale Autos
5. Faimai Tuimauga for Service to Samoan Language in Education presented by McCallum Company

S.C.O.P.A NEW ZEALAND ‘OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS’
1. Captain George Clarke in Maritime presented by SEKI Works
2. Judge Ae’au Semi Epati in Judiciary presented by Moana Rentals & Pacific Ezy Money Transfer
3. Professor Asiata Dr. Satupaitea Viali in Medicine presented by Pasifika Futures
4. Namulau’ulu Alama Ieremia in Sport presented by Digicel
5. Punialava’a in Music presented by Club Orator

© Scoop Media