Vaimoana Mase: Upholding faith, family, and Pacific stories

As Sāmoan Language Week unfolds, award-winning journalist Timuiaipaepaetele Lealaiauloto Vaimoana Mase reflects on her journey in telling Pacific stories and how her personal values fuel her work.

Since 2008, Mase has worked as a journalist for the New Zealand Herald and is now the Pasifika Editor for the publisher’s Talanoa section.

In 2023, she won Best Opinion Writing at the Voyager Media Awards, an acknowledgement she views as a victory for the Pacific community.

Mase admits she was not present at the ceremony to accept her award, as she prioritised a trip to Sāmoa for her late grandmother’s unveiling.

“I took that [award] as a Pacific win still, because all my entries were Pacific opinion-related,” she tells Carolanne Toetu'uon PMN’s Morning Soul.

“After Covid, that was really important for our ‘āiga. I just thought that’s where I need to be.”

A Massey High School alumna, Mase has made waves in journalism since being named Junior Reporter of the Year at the Qantas Media Awards in 2010.

A deeply cultural upbringing

Born and raised in West Auckland, Mase is a proud Sāmoan with ties to Toamua village in Upolu and Lelepa in Savai‘i. Her parents, Puniloa and Tauamafili Tapāleao, migrated from Sāmoa to Aotearoa New Zealand before she was born.

“I'm an only child, which kind of shocks Pacific people, or anyone, actually, when they find out,” she laughs. “But that's what happens - my parents married late and I was the only blessing.”

Watch the full interview with Vaimoana Mase below.

Mase credits her parents for instilling a deep sense of faith and purpose, along with her father’s unique sense of humour.

“I would sometimes say, ‘Man, it's not fair, I don't have a brother, I don't have a sister’ and my dad would always say, ‘Jesus is your brother’.”

Language and culture are central to Mase’s upbringing and personal identity. Her early years were steeped in religion at Te Atatū EFKS Church in West Auckland.

“I didn’t learn English until I went to school. My start in life was speaking Sāmoan. It wasn’t until I got older that I realised how much of a blessing it was... to be fluent in Sāmoan.”

Vaimoana Mase (left) with her husband and parents, Christmas 2024. Photo/Supplied

A father’s example and mantle

Faith is not just part of Mase’s background, it is her foundation. Earlier this year, Mase lost her father to cancer. He had been in remission for six years before falling ill again in February.

“From as far back as I can remember, God has been a part of my life,” she says. “They basically told us that day that he wasn’t going to make the night.”

Miraculously, the family was graced with almost two more weeks with him. “He was so happy, he was still joking, and his faith was so strong. Right up until his deathbed, he showed me again that if you have faith, you know where you’re going, then everything’s going to be all right.”

Puniloa Tapāleao is remembered as a proud father and man of faith. Photo/Supplied

She recalls a particular powerful moment: “My dad said to me, when his time comes, my face will be the last face that he thinks of ... Honestly, to be loved by such a dad was such a blessing.”

His final words left a deep impact: Ua manumalo le Atua - God is victorious. “I’ve never ever heard my dad say those words or that phrase ever in my entire life, and so we knew it was divine.”

Mase navigated the challenges of holding a wedding during the pandemic and is married to Mase Josh Mase, musician and head of Pacific Music distribution at Precise Digital.

Faith in work

Faith continues to guide her daily life. “Sometimes it honestly feels like that’s the only thing that keeps you up in the morning or gets you out of bed... I pray more now.

“I write a lot of my prayers. But since dad died, I sort of say random prayers anywhere and everywhere.”

Vaimoana Mase and her cousins singing Si Ona Paopao at her father's family service, a song he composed in honour of his own mother. Photo/Supplied

As a Christian working in mainstream media, Mase has always been open about her identity. “Everyone knows that I go to church, I’m a Christian. There’s two Sāmoan flags sitting on my desk.”

Earlier in her career, she even adjusted her work schedule to attend church, opting to work a later shift on Sundays.

“Sometimes I come straight from church and go straight upstairs with my white puletasi or aufaipese pelaue (choir outfit) and someone would be like, ‘Why are you wearing a blazer?

In this season of grief, Mase says prayer has become more vital than ever in life and work.

“If I can’t come up with the words... I say, ‘God, please give me the words’.”