The new wife of Governor General, Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae, was officially welcomed today at the Government House.
Lady Emeline Tufi Dadae, who tied the knot with the Governor General in January, was given a welcome by the staff of Government House during their annual dedication ceremony, where she briefly introduced herself as well as expressed a desire to work closely with everyone.
Of Tongan descent, Lady Emeline Tufi Dadae, who prefers to be addressed as “Lady Tufi”, was part of the dedication service at Konedobu, where she was given an opportunity to address the staff.
“Thanking his excellency for the opportunity, for giving me a chance to stand here and meet you all, your beautiful smile and good soul that make me warm heart (sic),” she said. “I want to thank all of the Government House staff for all your hard work during our wedding ceremony. It was hard but you tried your best and at the end of the day, mission accomplished.”
Lady Tufi further introduced her small Polynesian island nation of Tonga, saying they have 111,000 people from five main islands.
“And we only have two languages – official is Tongan language, our mother tongue and our second language is English, British English. So if you want to know more about the Kingdom of Tonga, you are most welcome to ask me,” said Lady Tufi amidst laughter from the staff.
“Thank you for your warm welcome, I appreciate your hard work and I look forward to working with you, and you must help me the right way to do it (sic).”
Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae said he was introduced to Lady Tufi by her lady-in-waiting, who is married to his nephew. They got married in a private wedding on January 11th – over a year after losing his wife on the 4th of December, 2018.
Meantime, the Government House dedicated their new Bentley as well, where the Governor General thanked the Government for recognising the need to use such a vehicle for protocol.
The luxury vehicle will be used as a “ceremonial vehicle”, clarified Acting Official Secretary Bill Toraso.
“When ambassadors or dignitaries come to PNG, we are tasked to go and pick them up with our police personnel and bring them here for their credentials – and all the ceremonies that are attached to that.”
(Lady Emeline Tufi Dadae at the Government House today)