Victoria welcomes Tu'inukuafe triplets

Identical triplets Cale, Jackson and Max Tu’inukuafe celebrated their eighteenth birthday by moving into their new home-away-from-home in Victoria University of Wellington’s halls of residence.

Cale, Jackson and Max Tu'inukuafe in front of Victoria's Hunter Building
Triplets Cale, Jackson and Max Tu'inukuafe on campus.

Cale, Jackson and Max hail from Auckland’s North Shore and Westlake Boys High School. They are each studying towards a Bachelor of Laws alongside another degree, and each received a Victoria school leaver scholarship worth $5,000.

Despite their commonalities, the Tu’inukuafes have found ways to express their individuality.

They picked their own subjects regardless of each other's choices—in addition to Law, Cale is studying Psychology and Film, Jackson is enrolled in Development Studies, and Max is exploring Finance and Economics. The trio have been going to law lectures together but expect to be in different classes at times in the future.

The brothers have also chosen to live in separate halls—Cale at Katharine Jermyn Hall, Jackson at Weir House and Max at Capital Hall.

“It’s early days yet, but we have found our experience in each of the halls has been quite different,” says Max.

When asked who had a better room, the siblings couldn’t pick. Jackson’s room was the biggest, they thought, and Max probably had the best view.

“We’re enjoying everything so far,” says Cale. “It’s nice to have the freedom to manage our time when we want.”

As well as trips to the Wellington waterfront and Te Papa, the keen rugby players have enjoyed attending a Hurricanes match at Westpac Stadium and participating in the inter-hall rugby tens tournament (with Max in the victorious Capital Hall team).

“Living in Wellington so far has been a nice change from Auckland,” says Jackson. “Everything is quite accessible and mostly in walking distance. I am quite happy with my decision to live in a hall and get the full university experience.”