2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours PNG

PNGAA congratulates the following recipients of Queens Birthday Honours in PNG recently:
Dame Sandra Lau and Wayne Uechtritz.

Dame Sandra Lau
Order of the British Empire – DBE
Sandra Geok Mei, Mrs LAU, MBE
For services to commerce and the community through her philanthropic contribution in the areas of women and children welfare, education and health services.

Sandra Lau, a PNGAA member for many years, is a business and community leader who’s lived in Rabaul and Kokopo for 45 years with her husband, John and their family. They survived and rebuilt their business following the 1994 volcanic eruptions in Rabaul and a later fire which destroyed the retail business. Their hospitality is legendary! They warmly welcome and host many visitors to Kokopo ensuring that their visit to East New Britain is memorable.

Often called ‘Mama Sandra’, Sandra is widely recognised because of her philanthropy, especially with children’s education (not only has she sponsored children to be educated both locally and overseas, but has sponsored classrooms in East New Britain), and her regular hospital and prison visits.

Sandra, John and their business, Tropicana, assisted the PNGAA by shipping a container of books from Sydney to Rabaul in late 2014. Over 10,500 books were donated by the Rotary Club of Canberra Weston Creek and courtesy of our PNGAA member, Jack White. After their arrival in Rabaul, Sandra liaised with the East New Britain Education Department and organised dispersal to numerous schools in the province. See Una Voce, March 2015.

Congratulations, also, to Wayne Uechtritz, of Lae, recipient of the Queens Diamond Jubilee Medal for community services to PNG.