Being Niuean Part 1 - Those Who Stayed

If I was only in it for the money I would have stayed in New Zealand and got a good paying job… but I wasn’t interested in the money. I just love living on my island that’s all I’ve ever wanted…is good and easy, happy, your family are there.” - Emani Lui, entrepreneur Founder of MakaNet, first Pacific owned internet service provider

In all our Island cultures there are those who have stayed on their Island homelands, and are often the holders of traditional knowledge and the ones who look after the elderly.

On the 3rd of September 1974, Niueans voted to self-govern in free association with New Zealand. Over the following 50 years the population of Niue has decreased from over 5,000 people to approximately 1,600. The stories of the ones who stayed aren't that many anymore. The ones who remain on the motu. Those who keep alive the culture and traditions that might otherwise be lost.

This is their story 🇳🇺

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In 2024 Niue celebrated 50 years of self-governance, overseen by New Zealand administration. What benefits and what problems has this created for the small Island nation? We look back at the hopes and aspirations of those who lead the 1974 movement for self-governance, and how Niueans feel about it today. 'Being Niuean' looks at what happens when most of your island population has relocated to the diaspora, and how the motherland manages to sustain itself.