Ulamila Kurai Wragg

Personal life

A Fijian citizen, Wragg is the daughter of the late Fijian Chief Ratu Tevita Vakalalabure (the Vunivalu of Natewa) and is the younger sister of former politician Ratu Rakuita Vakalalabure. Her mother was born in Aitutaki (of the Tearetoa Strickland families) in the Cook Islands. She is married to Dr Graham Wragg. The couple have four children - Adi Tara Chloe, Henry, Jean and Tevita. The family resides in Vaima'anga, Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

Career

Wragg's career as a journalist in the Pacific region spans over twenty years as of 2008. Her first job was as a writer with Rubine Public Relations Company, in Suva, Fiji. She next took a position as a reporter for Communications Fiji, Ltd., which is Fiji’s largest commercial radio company.

Wragg was hired by publisher Floyd Takeuchi as a senior reporter for The Daily Post. Following a stint at The Daily Post, Wragg took posts as a sub-editor at both the Fiji Times and the Fiji Sun. Additionally, Wragg led a team which developed the Fiji Sun's Sunday Magazine.

Wragg relocated to the Cook Islands in 2003 to take a position as a writer with the Pitt Media Group. She also joined the Cook Islands News as a reporter. Wragg was later promoted to deputy editorof the Cook Islands News, a position she held until her departure from the newspaper in May 2008. Wragg has also worked as a correspondent for Radio Australia in the Cook Islands.

On October 1, 2008, Floyd Takeuchi, the publisher of Pacific Magazine, appointed Wragg as the Managing Editor of Pacific Magazine. She replaced editor Giff Johnson, who had supervised Pacific Magazine's transition from a print publication to a strictly online magazine. Takeuchi had previously hired Wragg as a reporter The Daily Post earlier in her career. Wragg had also worked as Pacific Magazine's Cook Islands correspondent before her appointment as its editor. Takeuchi praised Wragg, saying, "I’m extremely pleased that Ulamila Wragg is joining us as Managing Editor...she’s one of the finest journalists working in the region."

Pacific Magazine suspended its operations on January 1, 2009, citing the ongoing financial crisis of 2007–2010 and a decline in advertising revenue.

In December 2008, Wragg co-founded the Pacific NGO "WAVE" (Woman Advancing a Vision of Empowerment) with the Cook Islands-born journalist Lisa Williams. WAVE is a not-for-profit Pacific network with three thematic areas: climate change, HIV/Aids and Violence Against Women.