Page 40 - Fiji Traveller Issue 1
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Levuka Community Centre:
A tale of old times
By Leila Parina Lomaiviti Division and that while some books are purchased
from book centers, most are donated.
It’s Wednesday afternoon in the old capital of Fiji, and I am The museum artefacts include objects from pre-colonial days.
waiting for the clock to strike 2 before I can prepare to depart for In the 1820s, Levuka town was founded on Ovalau’s shoreline
the next boat to Suva. by early European traders. It became a small and vibrant place,
I have been in Levuka for less than 24 hours and I am already full of life and activity as one of the South Pacific’s main ports
in awe of its rich history, old architecture, fascinating stories, and which attracted trading ships and whalers. It also gained a
its charming scenery. reputation for being a “rough and disorderly” town during its early
My companions and I decide to stroll into the community years. Levuka was the capital of Fiji for about eight years before
center housed in the Morris Hedstrom building, the company’s the colonial government moved the capital to Suva in 1881.
first and the original premises. It’s a huge change from the Morris As I walk through the small section of the center that has been
Hedstrom I know, the modern three-story mall in Suva. partitioned off as a museum, I am in wonderment of the stories
The MH building in Levuka is now managed by the National that each piece tells.
Trust of Fiji and houses the Levuka Public Library, Levuka Artefacts are encased behind glass cabinets around the room
Museum and a tourist information booth – all in a one-level and include an old newspaper printing press and a small war
space. A plaque in the entrance states that the community cannon. Photographs and portraits, buttons, an old boxing belt,
center was opened on September 12, 1981. memorabilia from war times, plates, baskets, an old-style guitar,
I adore the smell of old books so the dusty scent, as I enter, and ship models can also be found displayed.
does not throw me off, rather it excites me. We’re welcomed by Through each item, you can almost feel the hustle and bustle
the only other person in the library, Lydia Bower. She is a long- of the old capital. The Levuka Museum is a treasure of time and
time resident of Levuka and manages the Levuka Community should be experienced by locals and long-time residents of Fiji to
Centre, where she worked for 18 years. truly appreciate the Old Capital.
Bower says the Levuka library is the only public library in the
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