Ni Sa Moce, Mere Lomaloma

08/01/09

Well-known Pasifika radio broadcaster and programmer Mere Lomaloma Elliot passed away peacefully in Auckland on July 27, after battling cancer for many months.

Mere is perhaps best known in Fiji and the Pacific region for her remarkable achievements as the manager of Auckland’s annual Pasifika Festival. During her tenure, the festival expanded from a small but significant event celebrating the Pacific communities in Auckland to one of the largest annual events in the Southern Hemisphere, attracting enthusiastic crowds of more than 200,000 attendees from around New Zealand and Pasifika each year, eager to experience this dynamic cultural interchange of dance, music, traditional arts and delicious regional foods.

She was also one of the founding members of the regional organization Pasifika Foundation, based in Samoa.

Mere’s career in media began in Fiji, where she was on the team that founded Fiji’s first commercial 24-hour English language and Fijian language radio station. In that position, she revolutionized the programming format, striving for accessibility and interactivity for Fijian listeners. She also anchored the weekend news on Fiji Television. In Auckland, Mere was also a well-known Aotearoa radio personality, with a weekly Fijian community broadcast on station 531PI.

She was a member of the board of directors of the Fiji Observer, Aotearoa’s first Fiji bilingual newspaper, as well as the board of the Pacific Arts Centre and the Auckland Museum Pacific Advisory Board.

Mere will be remembered for her kind and enthusiastic personality, her creative initiative and her determination – all of which she applied in her ongoing efforts on behalf of the people of Fiji and of Pasifika.

Mere is survived by her husband Paul Elliot and four children.

Mere, you will be greatly missed.

–Ana Currie