Eri, Vincent (1936-1993), a leading public servant in Papua New Guinea, became the first Papua New Guinean to publish a novel in the English language. The novel, The Crocodile, appeared in 1970. The Crocodile tells the partly autobiographical story of Hoiri Sevese, a Papua New Guinean who struggles throughout his life to adjust to the contradictions between his traditional background and modern Western life.
Vincent Serei Eri was born on Sept. 12, 1936, in Moveave in the eastern part of the Gulf Province. He trained as a teacher and later attended the University of Papua New Guinea. After Papua New Guinea gained its independence in 1975, Eri served as the country’s consul general to Australia. He returned to Papua New Guinea in 1980. Eri cofounded the People’s Action Party in 1986 and held office as the party’s president from 1986 to 1990. He served as governor general, the queen’s representative in Papua New Guinea, in 1990 and 1991. He was knighted in 1990 and became known as Sir Serei Eri. He died on May 25, 1993.
