Good Bye to a true Vanuatu icon
OK so going to jump away from banging on about kava.. although it was through kava that I met this legend.
Marc Neil Jones, came to Vanuatu sometime in the 90's. He had a peculiar past having spent time in PNG, Oz and various other parts of the world. None of his previous jobs had in any way aligned with journalism. He had worked in advertising, DJ'ing and even as a male escort when times were tough!
When he got to Vanuatu he DJ'd for a bit then bought the Trading Post, a classified Ads type publication. With an old Mac and basic understanding of desktop publishing he got permission to start the first independent newspaper in the country.
This kicked off what would be 3+ decades of fearless investigative journalism with the Daily Post, funny and unique takes on life in Vanuatu. The Daily Post published well over 5000 times and without a doubt was the leader in the Pacific media for investigative journalism.
The Daily Post continues to be at the forefront of Vanuatu political commentary, analysis and critique. This is ALL due to Marc.
All of this didn't come easy. He got beaten up numerous times, Shanghai'd out of the country penniless after upsetting the PM at the time and a litany of physical and legal threats. Bloke was as stubborn as they come.
I first met him at a kava bar that I ambled into the first year I started drinking kava. I ended up building a friendship with him and the exact same crew he was drinking with that last to this day. It was through Marc that I met James Armitage and ended up working in kava. It was through MNJ that I met my wife - shit he even MC'd my wedding. There are countless stories of him that are hilarious, libelous and down right crazy. I won't go into them here as this blog would be too long.
Marc ended up buying and living at the Secret Garden. A anthological Vanuatu exhibition/zoo/Vivarium all wrapped into one. He dedicated his life to this, his long suffering legendary wife Jenny and of course the Daily Post.
He ended up reshaping how Vanuatu looked at itself through his investigative journalism. I'm a little too emotional now to get into how much of a hero he was to me, but a mate of mine wrote this about him this morning:
"A unique combination of complete arsehole and loyal mate all wrapped up in a British accent and long hair"
Truer words were never said. Thanks for the good times, the inspiration, the laughs and for what you did for Vanuatu. Hope you are enjoying a few shells in heaven you legend.