Tungane Broadbent was born on the island of Mangaia in the Cook Islands in 1940. She was introduced to the technique of sewing tivaevae as a young child, assisting her mother with completing pieces for the annual 'tutaka' or health inspection/exhibition of skill organised by the district nurses. In 1970 she migrated to New Zealand where she learnt the more complex tasks of how to design and cut from senior members of the diaspora Cook Island community. Broadbent moved back and forth between Rarotonga and Auckland for many years, returning permanently in 2001. She is currently (at time of writing, in 2019) resident in Rarotonga where she combines her creative work with part-time school teaching. Her work was included in 'tivaevae: an exhibition of traditional Cook Islands textile art' at the Garden Art Fest, Tauranga, NZ in 2004, in exhibitions at the Art Studio Gallery, Rarotonga throughout 2004 and 2005, 'The 5th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art', Brisbane, 2006–07, 'Today, Tomorrow and Yesterday' (with Reuben Patterson), Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga, 2017 and 'MPA#1', Bergman Gallery, Rarotonga, 2018. Her work is held in the QAGOMA Collection.