Vanuatu 40th Independence Day – 30 July 2020

Kalmer Vocor was born in Hog Harbour (just a few kilometres from Lonnoc Beach) in a mission house. His father was a minister and his mother was the housekeeper for the ex-pat minister.

After secondary school Kalmer attended bible training college at the Tangoa Training Institute on the island of Espiritu Santo. He then moved to Kawenu Teachers College in Port Vila for 3 years graduating in 1971. He began his teaching career in 1972 in Port Vila and was selected for a teacher’s administration scholarship at Murray Park College in South Australia in 1975.

At the end of his scholarship he continued teaching in Vanuatu on the island of Emau where he met his lovely wife Louisa and got married in 1976. Together they returned to Santo in 1978 after being selected as a nominee for the New Hebrides’ (now Vanuatu) first election leading towards independence.

Being successful he became a Member of Parliament for the Luganville Constituency from 1979 to 1983.

On July 30th 1980 New Hebrides became an Independent country and was renamed ‘Vanuatu’ which means “Our Land’.

At the end of his political career in 1984, he moved to Lonnoc (his family’s traditional land) and began building his bungalows, restaurant and tourism and hospitality school in 1985.