FIJI A Place Called Home FIJI A Place Called Home Daryl Tarte Published by ANU Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email:
[email protected] This title is also available online at http://press.anu.edu.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Tarte, Daryl, author. Title: Fiji : A Place Called Home / Daryl Tarte. ISBN: 9781925022049 (paperback) 9781925022056 (ebook) Subjects: Tarte, Daryl. Fijian Australians--Biography. Fiji--Politics and government--History. Fiji--Social life and customs. Dewey Number: 996.11 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design and layout by ANU Press Cover photo: Wyndham Resort, Denarau Island, Fiji. Courtesy of Wyndham Resort, Denarau, and Meralyn Tarte. Printed by Griffin Press This edition © 2014 ANU Press Contents Epigraph . vii Dedication . ix Preface . xi Introduction . xiii Stewart Firth Prologue: The Early Days . xvii Part One: Taveuni: The Colonial Period 1 . People Along the Road . 3 2 . The Old Home . 17 3 . The Plantation . 23 4 . The Young Overseer . 35 5 . Island Life . 43 6 . Marriage . 55 7 . An Array of Characters . 65 8 . Sale of the Plantation . 73 9 . Farewell Taveuni . 79 Part Two: Greater Fiji: Life In The Nation 10 . Sugar . 85 11 . Tourism . 103 12 . Commerce and Industry . 111 Interlude: A Fijian Delicacy—Balolo . 121 13 . Diplomacy . 125 14 . Politics and Leadership . 131 Interlude: A Conversation of Spirits . 141 15 . Sports .