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Nukulau Island is a small islet belonging to Fiji. It is close to Suva, Fiji's capital, which lies about ten kilometers to the west. It is an island rich in history, which has played a pivotal role in Fiji's demographic and political development over the past 160 years.
Nukulau played a role in the ceding of Fiji to the British Crown in 1874. In 1846, John Brown Williams, the American consul, had purchased the island for a mere thirty dollars. He subsequently lived there, in the wooden two-story house he built, until 1849. On 4 July of that year, during American Independence Day celebrations, a store belonging to Williams was destroyed in a fire which started from a cannon burst, and his belongings that he had salvaged from the fire were subsequently looted by Fiji natives. A second fire in 1855 destroyed Williams' house. Williams held Cakobau, the Vunivalu (Paramount Chief) of Bau and self-proclaimed Tui Viti (King of Fiji) responsible for the looting, and, supported by the United States Navy in the First Fiji Expedition, demanded US$43,531 in compensation, to cover Williams' losses, valued at US$5000, and claims by other settlers. This was followed up by a second American expedition in 1858, in which hostages were seized. Cakobau's inability to pay the debt, coupled with fear of a U.S. invasion and annexation, led to a series of negotiations with the United Kingdom. After a failed attempt to establish a stable constitutional monarchy under the effective tutelage of the Australian Polynesia Company, the negotiations culminated in a decision to cede the islands to the United Kingdom in 1874, ushering in almost a century of British rule.
Historians now believe that the U.S. compensation claim was greatly exaggerated and largely fabricated (see Robson, A.E, Prelude to Empire, 2004, p. 84 (citing Calvert 1856 and Freemantle 1856)).
The colourful history of Nukulau Island did not end with the advent of British rule. From 1879 to 1916, the island served as a quarantine centre for thousands of Indian indentured labourers brought in by the British colonial rulers. After health checks, they were subsequently employed on Fiji's sugar plantations, or else repatriated to the Indian subcontinent.
In 2000, a prison was opened on Nukulau, to house George Speight and other perpetrators of the 2000 coup that deposed Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry's government. On 18 December 2006, Fiji's military ruler, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, announced that the prison would be closed and its inmates transferred to other prisons. [1] The land would be returned to a public park, as it was before 2000. The prison was closed on 20 December and its occupants moved to jails on the Viti Levu mainland. [2]
On December 26, the first people were able to visit the island. Visitors are charged a fee of $2 per person to help with the upkeep of the island. Barbecues are available and camping is possible - a permit must first be obtained. [3]
Boat fares are usually $15/return for adults and half price for children. [3]
There is a shed on the island but visitors can also bring their tents to camp out. For the shed, they need to take their own sleeping items. Bathroom and toilet facilities are available on the island but visitors are advised to bring their own drinking water, whether they are on the island for a day trip or overnight stay. There are about nine BBQ stands and the hotplate is always with the island caretaker. Lovo facilities are also available but you will need to provide the hands and some firewood. [3]
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about 1,100 nautical miles north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The most outlying island group is Ono-i-Lau. About 87% of the total population live on the two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in the capital city of Suva, or in smaller urban centres such as Nadi or Lautoka. The interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited because of its terrain.
George Speight, also known by his pseudonym Ilikimi Naitini, is a Fijian businessman and politician who was the leader of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état, in which he and rebel soldiers from Fiji's Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit seized the Fijian Parliament and held Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and 35 other MP's hostage from 19 May 2000 to 13 July 2000. He was convicted of treason in February 2002 and served a sentence of life imprisonment until receiving a presidential pardon on 18 September 2024.
RatuSeru Epenisa Cakobau was a Fijian chief, monarch, and warlord (Vunivalu) who united part of Fiji's warring tribes under his leadership, establishing a united Fijian kingdom. He was born on Natauloa, Nairai Island in Lomaiviti but spent his youth on Vanuaso, Gau, Lomaiviti, later returning to Bau to re-establish his Father's Ratu Tanoa Visawaqa reign. Ratu Epenisa Seru Visawaqa was given the name "Cakobau" meaning destroyer of Bau, in reference to his grandfathers' (Nailatikau) effort to first claim the tile from the people of Butoni and Lovoni, returned with most of his warriors from Vanuaso, Gau, Lomaiviti to coup the leadership in Bau then and later takeover his father's title; known after his father as the 6th "Vunivalu" or Warlord of Bau.
Ratu is an Austronesian title used by male Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, adi, is used by females of chiefly rank. In the Malay language, the title ratu is also the traditional honorific title to refer to the ruling king or queen in Javanese culture. Thus in Java, a royal palace is called "keraton", constructed from the circumfix ke- -an and Ratu, to describe the residence of the ratu.
The Conservative Alliance was a right-wing political party in Fiji, and a member of the ruling coalition government. It was commonly known as the CAMV, a combination of the initials of its English and Fijian names. At its annual general meeting on 17 February 2006, the party voted to dissolve itself and merge with its coalition partner, the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL). The President of the party at the time of its dissolution was Ratu Tanoa Cakobau, a Bauan chief, while Ratu Josefa Dimuri served as General Secretary. For legal reasons, Parliamentary members of the disbanded party maintained a separate caucus in the House of Representatives, under the leadership of Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, until the end of the parliamentary term, on 27 March 2006.
The Fiji coup d'état of 2000 was a civilian coup d'état by hardline i-Taukei nationalists against the elected government of an Indo-Fijian Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry on 19 May 2000. This was followed by an attempt on 27 May by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority, and then by a military coup on 29 May by Republic of Fiji Military Forces Commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama.
The first three-quarters of the 19th century were marked by tribal warfare, incursions from neighbouring Tonga, and the increasing encroachment of foreign powers. This period also saw the rise of a warlord by the name of Seru Epenisa Cakobau, who forged the first nation-state covering all of modern Fiji in 1871, before ceding it to the United Kingdom in 1874.
The Colony of Fiji was a Crown colony that existed from 1874 to 1970 in the territory of the present-day nation of Fiji. London declined its first opportunity to annex the Kingdom of Fiji in 1852. Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau had offered to cede the islands, subject to being allowed to retain his Tui Viti title. His demand was unacceptable to both the British and to many of his fellow chiefs, who regarded him only as first among equals, if that. Mounting debts and threats from the United States Navy had led Cakobau to establish a constitutional monarchy with a government dominated by European settlers in 1871, following an agreement with the Australian Polynesia Company to pay his debts. The collapse of the new regime drove him to make another offer of cession in 1872, which the British accepted. On 10 October 1874, Britain began its rule of Fiji, which lasted until 10 October 1970.
Adi Asenaca Coboiverata Caucau, generally known simply as Adi Asenaca Caucau, is a Fijian politician. She served as Minister For Women and Minister for Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation from 2001 to 2006, when she became Minister of State for Housing. She held this post, and continued to represent the Tailevu South Lomaiviti Open Constituency in the House of Representatives until 5 December 2006, when the Military of Fiji staged a coup d'état and removed her government from office. She had first won the seat for the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua Party (SDL) in the parliamentary election of September 2001.
Samisoni Tikoinasau Speight, also known as Sam Speight Jr is a Fijian politician, who held Cabinet office as Minister of State for Public Utilities and Reforms, to which he was appointed after the 2006 election. Previously, he was Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources from 2005 to 2006. Like many ethnic Fijians, he rarely uses his surname.
Bau is a small island in Fiji, off the east coast of the main island of Viti Levu. Bau rose to prominence in the mid-1800s and became Fiji's dominant power; until its cession to Britain, it has maintained its influence in politics and leadership right through to modern Fiji. Due to its sacred nature, foreigners have to apply for a permit to visit.
Naitasiri is one of the 14 provinces of Fiji and one of eight located on Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. It is located in Central Division.
Tailevu is one of the 14 provinces of Fiji. Its main town is Nausori, which lies along the banks of the Rewa River.
The monarchy of Fiji arose in the 19th century, when native ruler Seru Epenisa Cakobau consolidated control of the Fijian Islands in 1871 and declared himself king, or paramount chief, of Fiji. Three years later, he voluntarily ceded sovereignty of the islands to Britain, making Fiji a crown colony within the British Empire.
Sir John Bates Thurston was a British colonial official who served Fiji in a variety of capacities, including Premier of the Kingdom of Viti and later as colonial Governor.
RatuTanoa Visawaqa was a Fijian Chieftain who held the title 5th Vunivalu of Bau. With Adi Savusavu, one of his nine wives, he was the father of Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau, who succeeded in unifying Fiji with the help from British missionaries and the crown into forming the contemporary Fiji today.
Adi Cakobau School in Fiji was founded in 1948 by the Fijian government as a boarding school to provide an intermediate education for Fijian girls. It was named after the granddaughter of Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the King of Fiji who united the islands under his authority in 1871 and ceded the nation to the United Kingdom three years later. It became a full-fledged secondary school in 1954. Its English language curriculum included traditional academic subjects, traditional dance, music and crafts. Since a goal was to provide wives for leaders of the nation, the curriculum included "chiefly protocol." The school moved to its present location in Sawani, Viti Levu in 1956. It is located at Ro Camaisala Road, next to Sawani Village, in the province of Naitasiri. The counterpart school for boys is Queen Victoria School. Most of the Fijian elite by 2001 had been students at one of these schools. Adi Cakobau School won the Coca-Cola Lite Games for the unprecedented twelfth time in a row on 28 April 2012.
RatuRakuita Saurara Vakalalabure is a Fijian lawyer and former politician who served as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of Fiji from 2001 to 2004. In August 2004 he was convicted of participation in the 2000 Fijian coup d'état and sentenced to six years' imprisonment. He was the son of Ratu Tevita Vakalalabure, who served in both houses of Parliament from the 1970s to the 1990s.
The first Fiji expedition by the United States was in October 1855 during the civil war on the islands. In response to the alleged arson attacks on the American commercial agent in Lautoka, Viti Levu, the navy sent a warship to demand compensation for the attack from Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the Vunivalu of Bau and self-proclaimed Tui Viti.
The majority of Fiji's islands were formed through volcanic activity starting around 150 million years ago. Today, some geothermic activity still occurs on the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Fiji was settled first by the Lapita culture, around 1,500–1,000 years BC, followed by a large influx of people with predominantly Melanesian genetics about the time of the beginning of the Common Era. Europeans visited Fiji from the 17th century, and, after a brief period as an independent kingdom, the British established the Colony of Fiji in 1874. Fiji was a Crown colony until 1970, when it gained independence as the Dominion of Fiji. A republic was declared in 1987, following a series of coups d'état.
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