This blog is an AWESOME collection of Expressive Arts and Historical Contents in text, images and video forms. The PNG Music, Films, Short Stories, and Image and Digital Archive is a treasure trove of PNG's cultural richness.
Rhee is back on PNG Music. She explains her name and talks about women in PNG Music. Here is what she says:
What is your real name?
'My full name is Matu Harina. That's originally from Vanuatu, and so my family friends call me Rheena. So from the arena I yeah that's where #Rhee came from.
Are you single?
I've got a family of my own. I'm a mom of two, they're only girls, one is um six and the other one's not yet one.
What do you think about PNG Music?
PNG music has always been dominated by males and back way back to when it all started and there wasn't a lot of um all I say like a boost for women to be part of the music industry in PNG.
Are there any women in PNG Music, lately?
Yeah but um so far we've got like good women like Mariani Masani, we've got Rock Set out there, Danielle Morgan.
Yeah, women like that um and myself coming up yeah well they're a lot coming out now it doesn't get that much challenging like how it is now.
Ngaire Laun Joseph was born in Lae, Morobe Province. She is a mix of New Guinea Island and Highlands.
She moved to New Zealand and then settled in Australia where her music career blossomed.
What NGAIIRE 3 Moonshine means
In her own words, NGAIIRE explains the meaning of her new album.
“I am full to the brim of stories that many don’t have the privilege to hold within themselves; some I know quite well and some live deep in my DNA that I won’t have enough lifetimes to unpack,” Ngaiire shares.
“But the ones I know, I will tell how I want to because I can. So here is a collection of love letters to 3 entities – myself, my country and those I love both here and now departed.”
NGAIIRE PNG Background
Now 37, she made it to the second season of Australia Got Talent in 2004. She left the AGT judges in surprise with the range of vocals and unique blend of music.
Unsurprisingly, for those who know NGAIIRE, she has the New Ireland and East New Britain blood in her. SHE ALSO HOLDS A BACHELOR IN PURE JAZZ MUSIC.
Her stage name NGAIIRE. She is a Papua New Guinea-born Australian-based singer and song writer.
Since August 2019 I have been extremely honored to serve as Miss Papua New Guinea/Pacific Islands. During my reign I had the opportunity to:
serve as a youth representative when the United Nations Deputy Secretary General visited;
be the first Miss Papua New Guinea/Pacific Islands to visit the women’s unit at Bomana Prison; and
used my voice to advocate for the empowerment of women through sport.
When my term ended in late 2020, rather than hand the crown to my successor, the pandemic presented other plans. A pageant could not be held and therefore when asked to continue my service as Miss Papua New Guinea/Pacific Islands, I willingly agreed.
However, the time has come to move forward with the next chapter of my life.
While some have implied that the crown was taken from me, that is not the case. Instead, in agreement with the Pageant Committee, I completed my service as Miss PNG Pacific Islands 2019-2020.
I thank the Pageant Committee, partners and sponsors to the pageant, as well as the many who have supported me;
The PNG Special Parliamentary Committee on Gender-Based Violence,
The United Nations in Papua New Guinea, and
especially my sponsor, Paga Hill Estate.
I also want to thank the many people who have reached out to me in the past few weeks with messages of encouragement and support.
The opportunity to represent PNG on this unique platform gave me a great perspective on the visibility and value of the Pageant to not only each participant, but more importantly to young women across our land.
Further, my interactions with many young women, and my own recent public adversities has given me a fresh perspective on the struggles our women face to simply be their authentic selves.
I am someone who grows stronger with adversity but my heart goes out to those who have faced similar experiences without the kind of support I have received and who fail to see the ignorance for what it is.
Thus, as I have completed my term, I will continue to help others. This experience inspired me to use my voice for those who have no voice and to stand strong against those who desire to tear down and destroy young women.
In the words of Governor Allan Bird,
“What kind of society does not condemn the torture and killing of women yet gets upset when a young woman does a dance video.”
My hope is that we as a society can focus on the right priorities. We must grow to be more accepting of one another, to be kinder to one another, and to learn to appreciate our individuality and diversity which is one of the many things that makes PNG unique.
Unfortunately, my recent adversities serves as a sad reminder of how far we have to go as a country.
While I endured public abuse and harassment online, thousands of women around the country and the world are being subjected to daily physical and psychological abuse.
Quite often they are silent, in constant fear of further abuse and backlash. These women, and sometimes men, are sadly not as privileged as me. I have decided to use the platform I have to be a voice for women and men like these who need all of us to take a stand on their behalf.
As I move forward with my career and education I will look back on this experience with gratitude for the opportunity I had to be Miss Papua New Guinea/Pacific Islands 2019-2020 and for the love and support that has been shown to me personally.
I have immense gratitude for those who are working to make PNG a land of opportunity for all and am committed to continue to contribute where I can.
