Sir Vincent Serei Eri (12 September 1936 – 25 May 1993) was a Papua New Guinean politician who served as the fifth governor-general of Papua New Guinea from February 1990 to October 1991.
Early life
Eri was born on 12 September 1936 at the village of Moveave in the Gulf Province of the Territory of Papua. He was the second of three children born to Morasuru Lafe and Eri Haiveta. His father was a deacon in the London Missionary Society.
Eri's parents died when he was young. His father was a "Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel" during World War II and died while carrying supplies for Australian soldiers on the Bulldog Track. He was subsequently raised by an aunt and uncle, attending Catholic mission schools at Terapo and Yule Island. He completed his secondary education at the Sogeri Education Centre and went on to study teaching at a training college.
The Crocodile
He is often cited as being the first Papua New Guinean national to publish a book in English; The Crocodile (a novel), which was published in 1970. However, in 1932, the country's first Methodist Priest, , known as "Ligeremaluoga", published an autobiography that was translated as The Erstwhile Savage.
The Crocodile is about the colonial period. Its title refers partially to a crocodile in Moveave and partially to the assistant district officer, Jim Green, who received the main character, Hoiri, together with other Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels in Lae during World War II. It was compulsory reading in secondary schools during the 1970s and 80s. In 2011, the Crocodile Prize was established as an annual literary award.
Personal life
In 1959, Eri married Margaret Karulaka, a nurse, with whom he had four sons and two daughters. He died of a heart attack in Port Moresby on 25 May 1992, aged 56, and was buried at his home village of Moveave.