King’s honour for Niue matriarch Vai Kumitau who spent decades helping Pacific families

Niuean community leader Vaitoelau “Vai” Kumitau says she never set out to win awards.

Instead, she simply followed a lifelong belief in caring for others.

Now that commitment has earned her a King’s Service Medal in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours.

Kumitau has been recognised for decades of service to Pacific communities in Otago and her work in preserving the Niuean language and culture.

“All the things I’ve done, I do it with my heart,” she says. “I love helping people, and my Niuean family.”

She moved to Dunedin in 1991 and became a respected figure among Pacific families in the South Island.

Niuean community leader Vai Kumitau says her work has always been guided by faith, service and a love for people, encouraging younger generations to learn their language and culture "with a heart". Photo/Supplied.

A year after arriving, she became an elder of the Pacific Islands Presbyterian Church in North Dunedin where she saw a growing need to support Niuean students studying far from home.

She helped young people settle into university life by offering practical support and preparing traditional Niuean meals to ease homesickness.

“I love to see the children of Niue come down here. I love to hear the Niuean language when they speak,” she recalls fondly. “In those days, there were hardly a lot of Niuean down here.”

For more than three decades in Dunedin, Vai Kumitau has supported Pacific families, students and church communities, helping young Niueans stay connected to their language and culture. Photo/Government of Niue

Her contribution has extended well beyond the church. Kumitau has played a leading role in promoting Vagahau Niue and Niuean culture through storytelling, songs, and community events - helping younger generations stay connected to their heritage.

She has also worked alongside the Vagahau Niue Trust during Niue Language Week and supported researchers seeking to better understand and contextualise Niuean artefacts in museum collections.

She is also a founding member of Pacific Trust Otago, which supports Pasifika communities across the Otago region.

For Kumitau, the work has always been guided by faith and service. Her philosophy is simple: “God gave me loving and caring and I give it to people.. I still enjoy it until today.”

Her message to young Niueans is equally heartfelt: “Learn the language, learn the culture with a heart, not the mouth,” she says. “If you use the mouth, it will never work.”

Watch Vaitoelau “Vai” Kumitau's full interview, in Niuean, below.

This year’s King’s Birthday honour adds to a growing list of recognitions for Kumitau. In 2024, she was named among 50 influential Niueans during celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Niue’s Constitution.

Kumitau is one of 178 New Zealanders recognised in the 2026 King's Birthday Honours, and 12 of them are of Pacific heritage. The group has been recognised for their service to their communities and Aotearoa.