Roger Hau'ofa (December 28, 1943 – March 4, 2017) was a

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

n radio broadcaster and presenter. Hau'ofa, whose broadcasting career spanned more than fifty years, was called "the voice of Papua New Guinea" for his focus on the country's economic, political and social issues. He was a long-time fixture at NBC PNG, the state-owned radio station, and, more recently, FM100, where he hosted the "Talk Back Show". His constant presence on the radio made him a household name in PNG. Roger Hau'ofa was born on December 28, 1943, on

Misima Island Misima (formerly called St. Aignan) is a volcanic island in the northwest of Louisiade Archipelago within Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. History Misima Island was inhabited by Austronesians since about 1500 BC. The island was sig ...

Territory of Papua The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the a ...

, in present-day

Milne Bay Province Milne Bay is a province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Alotau. The province covers 14,345 km² of land and 252,990 km² of sea, within the province there are more than 600 islands, about 160 of which are inhabited. The province has a ...

. His parents, Isikeli Hau'ofa and Mele Sikimeti, were Christian

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

from

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

. Hau'ofa had four siblings — two sisters and two brothers. Hau'ofa's broadcasts became popular and highly influential throughout rural and urban areas of Papua New Guinea with low literacy rates. According to Martyn Namorong, one of PNG's leading writers and social commentators, Hau'ofa helped to shape national policy on key issues by exposing residents in rural areas to important, national issues. As Namorong explained to

RNZI RNZ Pacific or Radio New Zealand Pacific, sometimes abbreviated to RNZP, is a division of Radio New Zealand and the official international broadcasting station of New Zealand. It broadcasts a variety of news, current affairs and sports program ...

following Hau'ofa's death in 2017, "Levels of

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

are very low. In some parts of PNG you only have 30% of the population that can read and write...So radio and oral culture is still very strong. It's just about someone being able to negotiate that space and win the audience over. And that's where the gap is." Hau'ofa suffered from a lengthy illness with kidney failure for over a year, as well as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. He spent much of February 2017 hospitalized at Pacific International Hospital in

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

. On March 2, following his wishes, Hau'ofa was released from the hospital and flown by Helifix medical helicopter to his wife's home village of home village of Iare in Kairuku District, Central Province. Roger Hau'ofa died from complications of kidney failure in Iare at 11:42 p.m. on March 4, 2017, at the age of 73. He is survived by his wife, Pauline, nine children, approximately twenty grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Hau'ofa's funeral was held at the

Sir John Guise Stadium The Sir John Guise Stadium is a multi-sport and Sport of athletics, athletics venue located in Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea, and is part of the larger Sir John Guise Sports Precinct which also includes an indoor arena, beach ...

in Port Moresby on March 10, 2017. He was buried in Iare, Central Province. His death came just months after the passing of another influential member of the PNG media, newspaper pioneer Oseah Philemon, who died in December 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hau'ofa, Roger 1943 births 2017 deaths Papua New Guinean radio personalities Papua New Guinean radio people Papua New Guinean people of Tongan descent People from Central Province (Papua New Guinea) People from Milne Bay Province