Olive Virginia Malienafau Nelson (17 August 1911 – 18 March 1970)[1] was the first Pacific Island graduate of the University of Auckland.
[5] In 1931 Nelson received the Butterworth Prize for the highest law exam results in the university.
In 1933 she travelled to Samoa with her sisters and father, and then returned to Auckland to continue her studies.
[6] Nelson completed her law degree in 1936 and was admitted to the bar the same year.
[8][9][10] In 1939 she won the Western Samoan mixed doubles tennis championship with future Minister of Finance Fred Betham,[11] who she went on to marry in 1942.