The Tongan Princess who accepted the Dawn Raids apology from the New Zealand Government and spent much of her life serving her people has died in Auckland Hospital.
The Palace office in Nuku’alofa announced last night Princess Mele Siu’ilikutapu Kalaniuvalu Fotofili died peacefully at 7.15am on Sunday surrounded by family.
Princess Siu’ilikutapu, eldest daughter of their late Prince Tu’ipelehake and Princess Melenaite, is first cousin to King Tupou VI - both of them the grandchildren of the late Queen Salote.
1News understands King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau’u Tuku’aho are both currently in Auckland.
In 2021 Princess Siu’ilikutapu accepted the apology from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for the 1970s dawn raids saying it had haunted her community for decades.
She said a formal government apology was necessary "to right the extreme, inhumane, racist and unjust treatment, specifically against my community, in the Dawn Raids era".
Aware of the immigration challenges many Tongans have continued to endure she added it “could be better and complete should the Government promptly respond to the immigration-related needs of the community".
In a remarkable feat for the time, Princess Siu’ilikutapu became the first elected female parliamentarian in the Kingdom from 1975-77.
She was passionate in empowering women and was later President of the Langafonua Gallery & Handicrafts Centre, founded to enrich traditional skills, and deputy President of the National Women’s Organisation.
Princess Siu’ilikutapu worked to ensure the Tongan language was preserved saying “language is important, if the language is lost in a very short time the culture will also be lost and then there will be no more understanding”.
She will be returned to Tonga to be laid to rest at the Mala’e Kula Royal Tombs.
SHARE ME