Tag: History

A passion project taking the Rotuman diaspora by storm By Donna Hoerder What started as a passion project for two cousins is creating a flurry of interest for many other Rotumans. Especially the Rotuman diaspora who can relate to the challenges and expense of visiting Rotuma, an island 400 miles northwest of the capital Suva, […]

Levuka makes a memorable first impression. Arriving by sea,  colourful storefronts and historic buildings are framed by the forested slopes of an extinct volcano rising sharply behind the township. Levuka, as Fiji’s first capital (1874-1882), is a town of many firsts. It is a significant cultural world heritage site under the United Nations Educational, Scientific […]

By Ben Wheeler For many, the name Martin Scorsese is synonymous with American cinema. His films Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, and Goodfellas are considered by many to be among the greatest Hollywood has ever produced. Others like After Hours and The King of Comedy have a distinctly cult following and have inspired art as varied […]

By Samantha Magick A new detective novel set in Fiji brings to life a time rarely discussed beyond academic texts; the experiences of Indian labourers under Girmit. A Disappearance in Fiji follows Akal Singh, a 25-year-old Sikh police officer, sent to Fiji in disgrace after an indiscretion in his previous posting of Hong Kong. He […]

By Elizabeth Kolivuso and Samantha Magick Suva painter Jane Ricketts’ Memories exhibition at the Oceania Art Centre is a window into Fiji’s history and history-makers, iTaukei and Indo-Fijian culture, cityscapes and intimate depictions of her family. Ricketts’ elegant use of watercolours, oil paints and paper collage bring her subjects, and their stories, to vivid life. […]

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti It was a beautiful morning in the capital, a perfect day for a walk, and I’m heading off to one of Peter Sipeli’s guided walks of Suva. I thought I might be about to relive the tedium of my childhood history lessons, however, the two hours with Sipeli have made me question […]

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti The Fiji Times at 150 is a book that is really a kaleidoscope of stories with a vivid, witty, funny, and remarkable history of Fiji through the Fiji Times’ lens. The author, historian and writer Anurag Subramani, described it as a ‘scrapbook of Fiji’s history’ at the book’s launch last week. He […]

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti Fiji is this week hosting the 10th International Lapita Conference, an event that brings together experts in the field of archaeology from the Pacific and beyond. The Lapita conference occurs every three to four years. This year it is being held at the University of the South Pacific and will end with […]

The Fiji Museum reopens By Samantha Magick For more than two years, the Fiji Museum’s doors were closed to the public. Now, with the opening of its flagship exhibition, Voyages: Stories of an Ocean People, we can see what the team has been busy working on. It’s a place transformed. “The necessity to change the […]

By Kite Pareti What are some of the lessons we can learn from the late Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna’s legacy? Fijian political sociologist and Vice-Chancellor Pacific at the University of Canterbury, Prof. Steven Ratuva reflected on the former statesman’s character and contributions at a well-attended seminar held at the University of the South Pacific in […]

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti Yesterday marked a special day for the descendants of the Girmityas in Fiji as they commemorated not only the shared pain of their history, but also the deep friendship that they share with indigenous Fijians. In a moving traditional ceremony in Naivilaca village in Noco, Rewa, home of the people who rescued […]

By Leila Parina It’s Wednesday afternoon in the old capital of Fiji, and I am waiting for the clock to strike 2 before I can prepare to depart for the next boat to Suva. I have been in Levuka for less than 24 hours and I am already in awe of its rich history, old […]

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti Fiji’s newly re-opened museum is focusing on bringing young people closer to its collection through a pioneering workshop programme called museums, objects, and culture. The Fiji Museum’s Head of Special Projects, Dr. Katrina Iggleston, says the workshop looks into how youth can be more empowered and engaged in a museum setting, in […]