Lealailepule Edward Cowley is of Samoan descent. His Chiefly title Lealailepule comes from the proverb 'o le ala i le pule o le tautua' which translates to ‘the path to leadership is through service’. As drag artiste Buckwheat, Edward is a high-profile and much loved entertainer. Interacting with diverse audiences, Edward/Buckwheat has opened minds and positively changed perceptions about the rainbow community. As a health educator and advocate, Edward has served the community in many ways, including being at the forefront of tobacco control and cessation support programmes, and through wellbeing campaigns for the Pasifika community. Edward previously spent nearly a decade working for New Zealand Aids Foundation, now known as the Burnett Foundation Aotearoa.

Edward lives in Tāmaki Makaurau with his husband Peter and is father to three beautiful daughters, aged 33, 8 and 6 years.

At the heart of Edward’s words is the Samoan proverb - ‘O le i’o i mata o le tama o le teine – The pupil of the brother’s eye is his sister.’ This proverb refers to the centrality of women within aiga Samoa (Samoan families). It refers to the inherent strength and wisdom of the many women surrounding you in a Samoan family, and the importance of honouring and protecting their role.

For Edward, growing up in a family with strong matriarchal lines has created the foundation of his approach to life and the way he navigates within both Samoan and Palagi (European) culture. To elevate, honour and respect the role of women has been hard-wired into his being from a young age and continues through the generations. 

“Those seeds were planted a long time ago” Edward says, “and they become more important as you get older and as your children get older. Thinking about what sort of world I want my daughters to live in and how I can help shape the way they navigate through life, firstly I want them to be strong within themselves as young women and then, being born and growing up in Aotearoa, I want them to understand the meaning of aiga Samoa – to have a powerful sense of the intergenerational strength of women being passed on.”