Pacific Matters
Luther Toloa
Thursday, 16 March 2023 7:00pm
Wairarapa
Rosewood, 417 Queen Street, Masterton
Luther was born in Tokelau and arrived in New Zealand as a 12-year-old. He is well known for his voluntary work in the community. His many decades of work with the Wairarapa Pasifika community were, acknowledged last year (2022) when he was honoured with the Queen's Service Medal (QSM), for services to the Pacific Community.
Motivated by how his people were left behind during Covid-19, including visa and RSE workers, he identified the need to establish a dedicated Pasifika support network.
There came about the Pasifika o Wairarapa Trust. It provides ongoing support to those marginalised families and migrant workers and strengthens the bonds between the settled Pasifika families and their new, immigrating and temporary workers.
Luther realised his boyhood dream and joined the police. He established himself as a great leader and will be remembered for his time leading the CIB in Masterton. He left a long legacy of service to police and justice, ending this chapter of his life as an investigator at the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA).
Between 2007 and 2013, Toloa led the Joyita Project to commemorate the disappearance of the MV Joyita in 1955, when the vessel went missing on a voyage between Samoa and Tokelau. It had 25 people from Tokelau, New Zealand, Samoa, the UK and the US, whose bodies never were found.
Locally, Toloa is well known for instigating the fine Masterton netball facilities, which opened in 2019.
Luther was born in Tokelau and arrived in New Zealand as a 12-year-old. He is well known for his voluntary work in the community. His many decades of work with the Wairarapa Pasifika community were, acknowledged last year (2022) when he was honoured with the Queen's Service Medal (QSM), for services to the Pacific Community.
Motivated by how his people were left behind during Covid-19, including visa and RSE workers, he identified the need to establish a dedicated Pasifika support network.
There came about the Pasifika o Wairarapa Trust. It provides ongoing support to those marginalised families and migrant workers and strengthens the bonds between the settled Pasifika families and their new, immigrating and temporary workers.
Luther realised his boyhood dream and joined the police. He established himself as a great leader and will be remembered for his time leading the CIB in Masterton. He left a long legacy of service to police and justice, ending this chapter of his life as an investigator at the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA).
Between 2007 and 2013, Toloa led the Joyita Project to commemorate the disappearance of the MV Joyita in 1955, when the vessel went missing on a voyage between Samoa and Tokelau. It had 25 people from Tokelau, New Zealand, Samoa, the UK and the US, whose bodies never were found.
Locally, Toloa is well known for instigating the fine Masterton netball facilities, which opened in 2019.
Membership
NZIIA membership is open to anyone interested in understanding the importance of global affairs to the political and economic well-being of New Zealand.