tauatavalu

Tauatevalu is the son of Mele and Semisi Vave. He was born in 1976 at ‘Eua, Tonga Island. His Mom is Tongan and his dad is Tongan Fijian Samoan. This means I have Tongan, Samoan and Fijian blood in my family. My dad is number 2 in a family of 11 children.

Growing up in Eua as a kid it was hard for my Dad, their house was very basic and small for a family of 14. My dad played Rugby, he remembers chasing the pigs and climbing coconut trees to get coconuts. Sometimes they had to kill the pigs to eat, they did this by chasing the pig and then stabbing it when they caught it.

His first school was Liahona, it was a boarding school so he just came home on the weekends. My Papa (Dad’s father Semisi) passed away when I was not born. My Nana (Mele) still lives in Eua, some of my Dad’s other siblings still live in Tonga and other relatives live in different parts of the world.

My Dad is very connected to his culture, he speaks Tongan mostly but also speaks English. We are part of the Church of Jesus Christ, Latter day saints. We go to Church every Sunday in Takapuna, sometimes we go to the Temple in Manukau or Hamilton. Dad is a manager at a landscaping company and he works day and most of the night.

Tauatevalu came to New Zealand in 1997 at the age of 21. He met my mum Tang Tang in 1998- got married and have 8 children and two dogs. Our family live in Northcote. Tauatevalu loves fishing