The phenomenon of collective vis-à-vis individualistic approach has been broached in some of my earlier posts. In Dravuni – Rural Village Economy, for example, I mentioned that the pursuit of individual employment in Kokomo Resorts has reduced the amount of labour available for collective tasks in the village. In Recalling When Copra was King, I…
Category: Dravuni People
Livai Veilawa (Senior) joined Fiji Labour Corps – 1917-1919
On an earlier History page entitled: “The unstoppable march of Christianity”, I flagged the return of grandfather Livai Veilawa from France and Italy in September 1919, having joined and participated in Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna’s Fiji Labour Corps or Fiji Labour Detachment. Ratu Sukuna was a great Fijian chief and leader who died in 1958….
Identity of the Young Lad Learning the Ropes Revealed
A previous posting carried a picture of a Dravuni outrigger, and all its crew members were named except the young lad helping Captain Osea steer the canoe. I can now reveal his identity. He is Pauliasi Tuiviwa, son of Timoci, Vunivalu of Buliya, also in the picture. The Vunivalu and his family lived in Dravuni…
Dravuni men in Malayan Campaign, 1952-56
HM Queen Elizabeth’s coronation visit to Fiji was in December 1953 (see earlier posting). This came one year after the first contingent of Fiji soldiers (1 Bn FIR) left for the Malayan Campaign to fight the Communist insurrection. Kaidravuni Isimeli Vulatolu was a member of that contingent. He stayed for the full duration of the…
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