Veteran SIBC Chief Passes Away

DXers who have previously QSLd the SIBC in Honiara, Solomon Islands will be saddened to learn of the passing of one of the organization’s most prominent announcers.
Patteson Mae died on Saturday at his home on Gela in the Central Province. Patteson joined the Government Information Service in 1972 and transferred to the SIBS and, later, SIBC. He rose from the position of announcer to General Manager of the SIBC and left the organization in 1993.
The “Solomon Star’ newspaper printed this story today:
A veteran broadcaster and provincial politician has died at his home village in Central Province on Saturday. Patteson Mae passed on after a long battle with diabetes and heart problem.

Mae started his career as a broadcaster with the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation in the late 70s. He went to become the station’s general manager in its later years.  While heading the station, he was elected president of the Fiji-based Pacific Islands New Association (PINA) for a term.

After retiring from broadcasting, Mae went on to contest the provincial elections in Central Province. He won a seat and became a provincial member, before becoming premier of the province. Mae stepped down last year and remained an ordinary provincial member at his passing yesterday.

The veteran broadcaster has a unique heavy voice that made him popular and closely followed whenever he was on air. Young broadcasters today had admired Mae’s on air presentation. Many Solomon Islanders paid their tributes to Mae on social media.

(Thanks to Martin Hadlow for passing on this sad news via the DX Dialog news-group.)

Comments are closed.