Community leader receives King’s Honour for service to Pasifika

For Eddie Junior Fa’avae, the King’s Service Medal recipient, is more than a personal honour - it is a tribute to the generations of Pacific people he has helped guide, support, and empower in Nelson for more than three decades.

Fa’avae is among 14 Pasifika acknowledged on the highly-coveted King’s Birthday 2025 Honours List.

Officially announced on Monday, Fa’avae says he is humbled by the accolade, which recognises the Pacific community in the Nelson region.

He is a founding member of the Nelson Tasman Pasifika Community Trust, serving as chairman from 1990 to 2011 and as a cultural adviser until 2021.

Fa’avae established the first Congregational Church of Sāmoa in the northern South Island in 1996. Since then, it has fostered connection and collaboration with local businesses and provided services to Pacific families in the Nelson region.

“We have done a lot of things like after-school programmes and health programmes, and part of my work in the past was looking at settlement, housing, employment, education, and health in the Nelson region,” he says.

Fa’avae was also responsible for establishing some of the first Pasifika language nests in the Nelson region, catering to first-generation Pacific children in the region.

“We started our first language nest, and most of those children were New Zealand-born Pacific Islanders, Samoan, Tongan, Fijian and Niuean,” he says.

Fa’avae served as a pastoral carer between 2006 and 2021, laying the groundwork for the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme.

Listen to Eddie Junior Fa'avae's full interview below.

He supported Pacific workers in orchard operations in the Nelson region, contributing vastly to the economy and growing the Pasifika community in the area.

The community initiatives led by Fa’avae have focused on providing settlement support for seasonal workers following their arrival in the Nelson region.

“I was part of that startup [to] support our people here,” he says. “I think it helped our people in the islands, especially for local people, families, and that's their support to families there.

“We support them by sort of helping them settle with different things, clothes, and especially to maintain that they're in New Zealand, a different environment.

“We make sure that they spend their money well, take money home, and all that.”

One of the first Nelson-based Pacific language nest meetings that was established by Eddie Junior Fa'avae. Photo/supplied

Fa’avae’s broader focus is on promoting the advancement of Pacific communities through education and the growth of the Pacific community in Nelson.

He says the local government and the community support his goals and vision.

“I'm grateful for both City Councils here, Tasman District and also the Nelson Council, which have come on board to support our Pacific community around the area,” Fa’avae says.

“That helps a lot for us, and the youth are also involved in the local community.”

Fa'avae's work has strengthened Iwi-Pasifika relations in the Nelson region, reinforcing a partnership that has endured for more than 30 years, including fundraising efforts for Nelson’s Whakatū Marae.

From left, Tiakono Toeaina Puleamaalii Ifopo, Nelson Mayor Dr Nick Smith, Reverend Faleulu Malaulau, and Eddie Junior Fa'avae. Photo/supplied

“We get on with the Iwi and support them, and vice versa for us, and we have benefited from that relationship with the local Iwi.

“Whatever Māori achieve, we are there also - it's been quite a positive relationship,” he says.

Fa’avae’s ongoing focus is to strengthen the Pacific community in Nelson and encourage rising leaders to step forward and take charge in the local community.

Fa’avae is hopeful that future community leaders continue to have immense pride in their Pasifika roots.

Eddie Junior Fa'avae and his family. Photo/supplied

“We are here to stay and build our families, the next generation of Pacific Islanders and we are entitled to anything that's happening.

“We've been rowing our canoes around these waters for a thousand years, and we're very much part of the environment - and I think it's for us not to be afraid of anything.”

Following his recognition, Fa’avae hopes to continue supporting the community. He notes that the first beneficiaries of his programmes 30 years ago are now young professionals ready to take the lead after watching them leave, study, and return to inspire their communities.

“I'm excited because I think the next generation, they've got it,” he says. “You understand it's for us, as older Pacific Islanders, to just be there for them and make sure they are okay.”