Biographical entry: Kere, John Wesley (1919 - )

Born
23 September 1919

Details

John Wesley Kere was born on 23 September 1919 at Munda, New Georgia. He was educated at the Methodist Mission at Kokeqolo (1929-1934), Queen Victoria School in Suva (1936), and the Fiji School of Medicine (1937-1940). He was awarded the Pacific Islands Monthly Prize for the Best All-Round Student in 1940 and, that same year, the BMA Gold Medal in Surgery. During the Second World War he served with the BSIP Defence Force as a Warrant Officer 1st Class, serving at Tulagi on Nggela, and on Guadalcanal, Malaita and Makira. After the war he took up his career as Assistant Medical Officer with the BSIP Government Medical Services, and then from 1958 to 1960 worked as resident medical doctor for Kauri Timber Co. at Vanikolo. In 1962, Kere was made Acting Medical Supervisor at Helena Goldie Hospital at Munda. In 1964, he attended the South Pacific Commission Conference in New Caledonia and visited the New Hebrides, and in 1967 he was elected to the Legislative Council (q.v.) as the new member for New Georgia. He was married with three children. (NS 15 Oct. 1964, 7 July 1967)

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Published resources

Journals

  • British Solomon Islands Protectorate (ed.), British Solomon Islands Protectorate News Sheet (NS), 1955-1975. Details