Abstract

When I returned to Victoria University in 2006 I was amazed by the changes from the 1960s – when I was one female in a very small bunch of students. Today there are almost 1,000 Pacific students; the Pacific along with the Mäori are written into Victoria’s strategic goals; there is a Pacific Peoples Advisory Council (PPAC) to the Vice-Chancellor; and now we have our Vaaomanu Pasifika – the only building on the campus with a fa’i in front. To my constant delight, Pacific languages, laughter and jokes echo up and down the roads as our students add colour and a certain style to the campus and, may I add, to the gym. But as time has unfolded, I have found that while a lot has changed, much has remained the same.