Meet Your Tutor

Galumalemana Afereti Hunkin, MNZM.

Galumalemana is a highly experienced and qualified teacher and university lecturer, with extensive experience in both school and university classrooms. His teaching career began in Samoa and later continued in New Zealand, where he taught in schools and at Victoria University in Wellington from 1989 to 2014. After retiring in 2014, he returned to Samoa and has since been employed as a senior lecturer at the National University of Samoa, specializing in linguistics. He has also taught English as a Second Language in schools in both Samoa and New Zealand.

In 1976, Galumalemana began teaching Samoan language classes at the Auckland Pacific Islanders Educational Resources Centre, where he developed innovative approaches to presenting ideas from a Samoan cultural perspective. Four years later, he moved to Wellington to direct operations for a new Multicultural Educational Resources Centre. One notable initiative during this time was the creation of a program teaching the Samoan language to police officers, public servants, and others in Wellington.

In 1989, Galumalemana joined Victoria University, where he founded, directed, and taught the Samoan language program for 24 years, offering instruction up to the bachelor’s degree level. This program was the first of its kind at a New Zealand university.

Born in Samoa, Galumalemana received a scholarship to study in New Zealand. His academic achievements include a bachelor’s degree in history and anthropology, a bachelor of arts with honors in social anthropology and applied linguistics, and a master of arts degree in applied linguistics. He has been recognized for his contributions to education and the Samoan language in New Zealand with two Queen’s honors: the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal for services to education and the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for community services to Pacific Islanders, particularly for contributions to the Samoan language. Additionally, he was honored as the Patron of Recruit Wing 139: The Alfred Hunkin Recruit Wing of the Royal New Zealand Police College, acknowledging his work teaching the Samoan language and providing cross-cultural training from 1984 to 1988.

Since returning to Samoa in 2014, Galumalemana has continued to teach the Samoan language on a part-time basis to SIT university students from the United States. Earlier in his career, he worked closely with the American Peace Corps, valuing their dedication and contributions to Samoa.