A tight-knit local population is proudly preparing for a prominent national profile.
Dunedin’s Solomon Islands residents have been chosen by the Ministry for Pacific Peoples to be the face of this year’s Solomon Islands Pidgin Language Week.
Wellington photographer Jacinta Mauga flew south on Saturday to record the group wearing traditional garments and displaying cultural artefacts.
Photographs will feature in posters and be shared on social media as part of the language week celebrations.
Co-organiser Dr Charles Radclyffe said the national recognition was special.
“Especially for our small community, we’re quite a tight-knit community of our Solomon communities in New Zealand,” Dr Radclyffe said.
The heart of the community traces back to respected elder Mama Joy Breward.
She arrived in Dunedin in the early 1990s with her late husband, Dr Jan Breward.
“When I first came down, I did not know anybody,” Mrs Breward said.
“I didn’t know that there was a few Solomon Islanders here and families here.”
She first connected with people from Polynesia such as Samoa and Fiji.
“But then, because my late husband was also involved in university, medical side of things, he came across some students from the Solomons, so he said, why not just get them invited.”
More and more students would come every year, and so she and her husband would arrange gatherings for events such as Christmas, Easter and the Solomon Islands Independence Day on July 7.
“We were just meeting at my place.”
The countrywide profile offered crucial visibility for the growing population.
“It is important for us, especially to get recognised and have our own language spoken here in New Zealand,” she said.
Mrs Breward said passing on the culture was vital for her children so they understood traditional customs and greetings.
“My children are part New Zealand so for me as a parent it is important to give them some knowledge of my own culture, where I come from, so that they don’t get surprised when they meet other people from my country.
“The customs and the traditions and how to greet people without, you know, alienating themselves, and if they come to the Solomons, they have that knowledge of respect.”
Her gratitude for the local network remained strong.
“I’m grateful to have them around.”
A collection of Solomon Islands treasures can be found within the Tangata Moana Gallery at Tūhura Otago Museum.
These treasures carry stories of past and present traditions in this region.
Solomon Aelan Pijin Langguis Wik — Solomon Islands Pidgin Language Week, will take place from November 22 to 28.