37 SiteS is licensed CC BY 4.0 unless otherwise specifed. :   ·     ·  : http://dx.doi.org/./sites-id –  – UNDERSTANDING PACIFIC ISLAND WELL-BEING PERSPECTIVES THROUGH SAMOAN AND TONGAN MATERIAL CULTURAL ADAPTATIONS AND SPATIAL BEHAVIOUR IN AUCKLAND AND BRISBANE Ruth Faleolo1 ABstrACt Te aim of this paper is to discuss the tangible links that exist between Pacifc Island well-being perspectives and their material culture. We can gain a better understanding of Pacifc Island well-being perspectives through the analysis of Samoan and Tongan material cultural adaptations and how people interact with these via spatial behaviour, as observed in Auckland and Brisbane. Tis paper analyses a collection of images that capture evidence of six diferent types of material cultural adaptations that infer on, and reference spatial be- haviours. Preliminary fndings have been drawn from a wider-scale research project conducted during 2015–2018, that has explored Pacifc Island Trans- Tasman migrants’ perspectives of well-being. Tis inquiry process has revealed signifcant links between Pacifc Island traditions and adaptations in Pacifc diaspora contexts. Keywords: diaspora; material culture; Pacifc Island; Samoan; Tongan. INtrODUCtION Te Pacifc diaspora are dispersed peoples and communities from the Pacifc Islands that are now living in signifcant collective populations in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States (Ka‘ili 2017, 21, 52–53, 94; Scull 2004, 53–56). Tis paper is focused on the Pacifc Island migrants from the island nations of Samoa and Tonga, who reside in Australia and New Zealand. More specifcally, this paper aims to discuss the links between Samoan and Tongan diasporas’ sense of well-being as it relates to Samoan and Tongan diasporic material culture in Auckland and Brisbane.