Image Caption: University of Canterbury Master of Arts student Josiah Tualamali’i has co-written a chapter considering the University’s Pacific history in a new book.
Josiah Tualamali’i, a part-time Master of Arts (New Zealand and Pacific History) student at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC), has Samoan and Pakeha ancestry and describes himself as totolua (in his words, meaning blessed with two bloods).
The 28-year-old contributed to the chapter, “The Ocean in Us: The Pacific and the University of Canterbury”, in the University’s newly-released 150th anniversary book, A New History: The University of Canterbury 1873-2023, by historian Dr John Wilson.
Tualamali’i, who was appointed as a Children’s Commissioner earlier this year, says the chapter traces the growing focus on and support for Pacific Peoples, culture and knowledge. “It shows the growth of goodwill at UC for this new stage of voice, influence and input from Pacific people.”
He says Pacific migrants in Canterbury are not just a recent phenomenon. Although the ethnicity of students wasn’t officially recorded until the 1970s, Pacific graduates from UC have gone on to become judges, health care leaders, lawyers, engineers and politicians.
The former prime minister of Tonga, Dr Feleti Sevele, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Canterbury in 1967, followed by a Master of Arts (Honours), and the former president of Kiribati, Anote Tong, graduated from UC in 1976 with a degree in Chemistry.
“There are also many young Pacific UC alumni here in Christchurch who have helped lead our Pacific clubs such as UC’s Samoan Students’ Association and taken what they have learnt from these experiences and helped people locally, nationally and internationally,” Tualamali’i says.
“Pacific people play a foundational role across the region and we’re becoming more visible as a community, especially with an event like Canterbury Polyfest now being held in North Hagley Park.”
He says by 2038, half of Aotearoa’s population will be Māori, Pacific or Asian and the country needs to prepare for that by becoming more inclusive. “Our chapter looks at how can we all be part of this collective journey into the future as a university, guided by equity, inclusiveness and diversity.
“We’ve made so much progress and there’s so much we can celebrate but there are also a lot of Pacific people who have not yet been acknowledged.
“In recent times it’s been much, much better but we don’t know enough about who was here in the early days of the University and what their experiences were like. I know all our chapter co-authors hope this part of the history book will spark some more interest and more research on these experiences, and we’ll gain wisdom for the future from it.”
He says developments at the University mean the growing number of Pacific students will be much more well-supported than in the past. “There’s been more growth in the last 20 years than there was in the previous 130 years.”
UC is the home of New Zealand’s leading interdisciplinary research hub on Pacific issues, the Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies which was established in 1988 as part of the legacy of the late University of Canterbury Professor John Macmillan Brown (1846-1935).
The UC Pacific Development Team was set up in 2004, and in 2023 students voted for a Pacific student representative role recently created by the University of Canterbury Students’ Association.
Tualamali’i says the number of Pacific research and teaching academics at UC has expanded and earlier this year, Distinguished Professor Ratuva, who is director of the Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, was appointed the first Te Amorangi |Pro-Vice-Chancellor Pacific.
Distinguished Professor Ratuva led the team of writers for the Pacific chapter, which included Tualamali’i, Dr Suliasi Vunibola and Dr Christina Laalaai-Tausa.
Tualamali’i, who has twice been a semi-finalist for a Young New Zealander of the Year Award, co-led younger Pacific communities’ support of the successful Polynesian Panthers Claw which lobbied for the 2021 Dawn Raids apology. He is also part of the Pacific Youth Leadership and Transformation Trust which grows opportunities for Pacific young people.
Tualamali’i feels positive about the University of Canterbury’s future. “If UC can keep its strong focus on equity it could be among the best universities in the world and become a place where there’s no gap between Māori and Pacific students’ achievement, and other students’ achievement.”
- A New History: The University of Canterbury 1873-2023 will be launched on 12 December, 5.30pm at The Arts Centre’s Great Hall. Book free tickets here. Copies are on sale from today.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 - Quality Education.
