Sir Vincent Eri

Who is Sir Vincent Eri?

Sir Vincent Serei Eri was born on 12 September 1936 in the village of Moveave in the Gulf Province of what was then the Territory of Papua. Orphaned young after his father died carrying supplies for Australian soldiers during the Second World War, he was raised by an aunt and uncle and educated at Catholic mission schools before training as a teacher. He worked as a schoolteacher and school inspector through the 1950s and 1960s, later joining Port Moresby Teachers College and graduating among the first cohort of the University of Papua New Guinea in 1970. That year, a story he wrote for a creative writing course, exploring colonial justice and traditional belief, was published as the novel "The Crocodile," making him the first Papua New Guinean to publish a novel in English and bringing him lasting literary recognition. He went on to serve as Papua New Guinea's first Consul-General to Australia from 1975, later moved into business and university administration, and entered politics in the 1980s. He was appointed Governor-General of Papua New Guinea in February 1990, a position he held until resigning in October 1991 amid a constitutional dispute. He died on 25 May 1993.

Sources: Vincent Eri — Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Eri) · Australian Dictionary of Biography, "Eri, Sir Vincent Serei" · Encyclopedia.com, "Eri, Vincent Serei 1936-1993"