Scotch College

Vanuatu President visits Scotch

The School was delighted to welcome Old Boy His Excellency Kalkot Mattao Kelle Kelle (’68) for a visit on Wednesday 3 November. Kalkot was born in New Hebrides (now known as Vanuatu) and was the son of a road engineer. In 1980 he obtained a law degree from the University of Papua New Guinea and was one of the leaders in that nation’s push for independence in the 1970s. He was elected as Vanuatu’s head of state on 16 August 2004. He is married to Hansen Mataskelekele, who is a school teacher, and is the father of three boys and three girls. Kalkot and his wife enjoyed a tour of the School and morning assembly with his private secretary Rave Nikahi, his aide de camp 2nd Lt Morris Manmelin and Andrew Jamieson (‘63) and his wife Lyn (photo right). Andrew’s father, Dr Jamieson, was the guardian of Kal while he was in Australia.

Contemporaries would not recognize the surname above. At school he was known as Kal Matas, a lad who loved his rugby.

Dick Briggs
Archivist