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Joseph Mave, 1984.

Photo courtesy of Barry Oliver.

Mave, Joseph (1922–2009)

By Milton Hook

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Milton Hook, Ed.D. (Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, the United States). Hook retired in 1997 as a minister in the Greater Sydney Conference, Australia. An Australian by birth Hook has served the Church as a teacher at the elementary, academy and college levels, a missionary in Papua New Guinea, and as a local church pastor. In retirement he is a conjoint senior lecturer at Avondale College of Higher Education. He has authored Flames Over Battle Creek, Avondale: Experiment on the Dora, Desmond Ford: Reformist Theologian, Gospel Revivalist, the Seventh-day Adventist Heritage Series, and many magazine articles. He is married to Noeleen and has two sons and three grandchildren.

First Published: January 28, 2020

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Joseph Mave, from Emirau Island, Papua New Guinea, was the first Papua New Guinean to be elected as an officer of the Papua New Guinea Union Mission.

Beginnings

Joseph Mave was born about 1922 in Tavilu village on Emirau Island, Papua New Guinea. His village people were animists until the arrival of SDA missionaries when he was about ten years old.1 He received some basic education at SDA elementary schools, possibly beginning at Boliu on Mussau Island, and later at Put Put Training School on New Britain Island.2

Mission Service

From Put Put Mave began his mission work in 1937 by operating the printing press at the SDA mission on Manus Island.3 In 1940 he was appointed to be an assistant to Manovaki, the teacher at the mission school on nearby Lou Island, an elementary school with 23 boys and girls. It was there that he learned of the premature death of Harry Steed, his esteemed teacher while at Put Put. Mave was one who sent letters of condolence to Steed’s widow, Viola.4

When the Japanese army invaded Lou Island, they destroyed all the English language Bibles and hymnbooks and unsuccessfully tried to teach Manovaki and Mave to speak Japanese. The enemy occupation lasted approximately two years before the Australian and American troops liberated the area. Mave assisted the allies to search for Japanese stragglers in the jungle, and conducted worship services for their contingent. An American officer enlisted Mave to accompany him to Emirau and Mussau Islands in the course of restoring order to the region. Having arrived back home among his people in mid-1944, Mave assisted Rogapitu in the elementary school on Mussau Island for two years.5

In mid-1946 Mave was chosen with six other New Guinea nationals to act as crew on the Veilomani II, sailing from Sydney to Port Moresby and on to the Solomon Islands, then progressing to Emirau, Mussau, Lou and Manus islands.6 While waiting in Sydney for the boat to be prepared, the nationals were awestruck with the city buildings. They visited The Domain to witness the novelty of hearing the soapbox speakers of various political and religious persuasions. The New Guinea boys were noticed in the crowd and invited to tell their story. Mave was first to step forward to give his testimony and tell of how he helped the allied servicemen. They sang a hymn in their own language, and one listener gave them ten shillings to share. Another person spoke up and said to the sceptics, “These simpleminded folk will go into the kingdom before you!”7

The Veilomani II sailed from Sydney on February 16, 1947,8 arriving at Honiara, Solomon Islands, on March 21,9 and at Manus Island some weeks later. Having arrived back safely at his mission field, Mave resumed his teaching work at the school on Manus Island until 1950 and was then appointed as the mission director for the entire island.10 In this period he pioneered a mission station and school on the far western Wuvulu Island.11 During his term of office the first camp meeting for the region was held on Lou Island. At that gathering, on August 9, 1952, Mave was ordained to the gospel ministry.12

Soon after his ordination Mave was appointed to be Home Missions secretary in the Bismarck-Solomons Union Mission office in Rabaul, serving in this capacity for two years,13 until he was reappointed to be the district director stationed at Kimbe, New Britain.14 In 1961 Mave was elected as the president of the New Britain Mission.15 After three years the area was divided, with Mave becoming the president of the East New Britain Mission in addition to holding the portfolios of education, temperance, youth and religious liberty.16 It was during this time that he was appointed as a delegate to attend the 1962 General Conference session in San Francisco.17 In 1966 he began a seven-year term specializing as temperance secretary in the Coral Sea Union Mission.18

In 1972 Mave took a break from departmental work and returned to educational work, serving as preceptor at his alma mater, then called Kambubu Adventist High School (formerly the Put Put Training School). The following year he transferred to assist at Sonoma Adventist College.19

Mave was appointed to resume administrative duties in 1974, first as president of his familiar territory in the Madang/Manus district,20 followed by a transfer back to Lae in 1975, where he served as associate secretary of the Papua New Guinea Union Mission until his retirement in 1982.21

Retirement

When Mave retired he and his wife, Arovo, went back to his home island of Emirau and continued to support the mission in all its aspects. After 27 years in retirement Mave passed away peacefully and was laid to rest on December 4, 2009. He was survived by his wife, five daughters, and two sons.22 Known for his ready smile and faithfulness to his Christian principles, he was highly respected among the national church members and his expatriate peers alike.

Sources

“A cable has reached us . . .” Australasian Record, April 7, 1947.

“After some delay, owing to complying with . . .” Australasian Record, March 3, 1947.

Boehm, Ken. “Joseph Mave.” Adventist World [Record], March 2010.

“Delegates to the 1962 Session.” ARH, July 26, 1962.

Fletcher, J[ohn] K.L. “First Camp-meeting of the North-west New Guinea Mission.” Australasian Record, September 15, 1952.

Gander, S[tanley] H. “National Leaders in the North-West New Guinea Mission.” Australasian Record, November 24, 1952.

Greive, Constance M. “Smiling ‘Seven Days’ Boys From New Guinea.” Australasian Record, October 21, 1946.

Hetzell, M. Carol. “International Flavour at Session.” [Atlantic Union Conference] Gleaner, August 20, 1962.

“Island Delegates to the General Conference.” Australasian Record and Advent World Survey, August 14, 1961.

Kemo, Tony. “Pastor Mave Retires.” Australasian Record and Advent World Survey, February 5, 1983.

Lopa, Aaron. “The Isolated Western Islands of Papua New Guinea.” Journal of Pacific Adventist History, December 2010.

Mark, M. Deni, and Joe Mave. “Letters of Sympathy From Native Teachers.” Australasian Record, August 11, 1941.

“New Guinea Boys Speak in the Sydney Domain.” Australasian Record, January 5, 1947.

Radley, Rose-Marie. Captain Jack Radley and the Heyday of the Fleet. Warburton, VIC: Signs Publishing Company, 2018.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1954–1983.

Notes

  1. M. Carol Hetzell, “International Flavour at Session,” [Atlantic Union Conference] Gleaner, August 20, 1962, 1, 2.↩

  2. “Island Delegates to the General Conference,” Australasian Record and Advent World Survey, August 14, 1961, 16.↩

  3. Tony Kemo, “Pastor Mave Retires, “Australasian Record and Advent World Survey, February 5, 1983, 12.↩

  4. M. Deni Mark and Joe Mave, “Letters of Sympathy From Native Teachers,” Australasian Record, August 11, 1941, 4, 5.↩

  5. Constance M. Greive, “Smiling ‘Seven Days’ Boys from New Guinea,” Australasian Record, October 21, 1946, 4, 5.↩

  6. Ibid.; Rose-Marie Radley, Captain Jack Radley and the Heyday of the Fleet (Warburton, VIC: Signs Publishing Company, 2018), 315.↩

  7. “New Guinea Boys Speak in the Sydney Domain,” Australasian Record, January 5, 1947, 8.↩

  8. “After some delay, owing to complying with . . .” Australasian Record, March 3, 1947, 8.↩

  9. “A cable has reached us . . .” Australasian Record, April 7, 1947, 8.↩

  10. Kemo, 12.↩

  11. Aaron Lopa, “The Isolated Western Islands of Papua New Guinea,” Journal of Pacific Adventist History, December 2010, 27-32.↩

  12. J[ohn] K.L. Fletcher, “First Camp-meeting of the North-west New Guinea Mission,” Australasian Record, September 15, 1952, 3; S[tanley] H. Gander, “National Leaders in the North-West New Guinea Mission,” Australasian Record, November 24, 1952, 4.↩

  13. E.g., “Bismarck-Solomons Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1954), 83.↩

  14. Kemo, 12.↩

  15. E.g., “New Britain Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1962), 76.↩

  16. E.g., “East New Britain Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1964), 84.↩

  17. “Delegates to the 1962 Session,” ARH, July 26, 1962, 9-12.↩

  18. E.g., “Coral Sea Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1967), 93.↩

  19. Tony Kemo, “Pastor Mave Retires,” Australasian Record and Advent World Survey, February 5, 1983, 12.↩

  20. “Madang-Manus Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1975), 112.↩

  21. E.g., “Papua New Guinea Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1976), 121, 122.↩

  22. Ken Boehm, “Joseph Mave,” Adventist World [Record], March 2010, 31.↩

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Hook, Milton. "Mave, Joseph (1922–2009)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. January 28, 2020. Accessed March 19, 2025. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=G7ZV.

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Hook, Milton. "Mave, Joseph (1922–2009)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. January 28, 2020. Date of access March 19, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=G7ZV.

Copy to clipboard Download Word File

Hook, Milton (2020, January 28). Mave, Joseph (1922–2009). Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved March 19, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=G7ZV.

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