CHALLENGES TO A HOUSE OF TREASURES: A CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE FIJI MUSEUM ALLISON OLIVIA RAMSAY CHALLENGES TO A HOUSE OF TREASURES: A CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE FIJI MUSEUM By Allison Olivia Ramsay A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in History Copyright © 2013 by Allison Olivia Ramsay History Discipline School of Social Sciences Faculty of Arts, Law and Education The University of the South Pacific July, 2013 Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my parents, Arley and Sharant Ramsay. i Acknowledgements The moral support of family members was well appreciated. I make special mention of my parents Arley and Sharant Ramsay and my sister Astrid Ramsay for their love and support. I am indebted to the Caribbean-Pacific Island Mobility Scheme for this scholarship to allow me the opportunity to study at the University of the South Pacific (USP). I wish to thank the staff of the USP, particularly the Department of History of the School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Law and Education; the University Research and Graduate Affairs Committee and the International Office. I am especially grateful to Dr. Morgan Tuimalealiifano and Dr. Ryota Nishino for their guidance and support. I am also appreciative of the assistance given to me by Barbara Hau‘ofa. I am very thankful to the following institutions and staff for their courtesy and assistance: the Fiji Museum; the National Archives of Fiji; the main library of the USP Laucala Campus; the Pacific Heritage Hub; the Levuka Community Centre; the Department of Heritage of Culture, Ministry of Fijian Affairs, Culture, Heritage & Regional Development; the National Trust of Fiji; the Museum of Samoa and the Vanuatu Cultural Centre. I wish to especially extend my gratitude to the staff of the Fiji Museum, the Museum of Samoa, the Vanuatu Cultural Centre, the National Trust of Fiji, the Levuka Community Centre and the Pacific Heritage Hub for their participation in this study. Finally, I thank all who have contributed in any way to my completion of this thesis and I end with my greatest gratitude being extended to God. ii ABSTRACT Challenges to a House of Treasures: A Cultural History of the Fiji Museum Allison Olivia Ramsay A writing of the Fiji Museum can provide discourse on cultural identities and heritage in the South Pacific. This thesis examines the role, significance and contributions of museums in the Pacific Islands through the lens of one of the oldest of them, the Fiji Museum. The main focus is on the historical development of this museum from the early twentieth to the twenty-first century context but some reference is made to other museums/cultural centres in the selected Pacific Islands of Samoa and Vanuatu. In this historical study, the Fiji Museum is shown as initially an extension of the colonialist enterprise. The museum as a cultural practice was transported into Fiji, during the era of British colonial rule. The challenges it has faced are charted throughout its development in the colonial and postcolonial periods and make this museum a contested space. These struggles to preserve, conserve, document, promote and collect the cultural heritage of all of Fiji and protect the cultural identities of this set of islands are discussed. To unravel the complex layers of the cultural history of the Fiji Museum, empirical research strategies were employed in proposing an understanding of the fluidity of identities that were created, embraced, and contested throughout the history of this national institution. Key words: Fiji Museum, heritage, cultural identity. iii List of Abbreviations CUMAA Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology EIA Environmental Impact Assessment ICCROM International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property ICOM International Council of Museums NLTB National Land Trust Board PICTs Pacific Island Countries and Territories PIMA Pacific Islands Museum Association POAPI Preservation of Objects of Archaeological and Palaeontological Interest Act PREMO Preserving Museums Organisation SIDS Small Island Developing States SINM Solomon Islands National Museum SFU Simon Fraser University SPC Secretariat for the Pacific Community SPREP Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation VCC Vanuatu Cultural Centre iv Table of Contents CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Survey ................................................................................................................ 6 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 13 How the Thesis is Organised ............................................................................................ 16 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 18 CHAPTER TWO .............................................................................................................. 19 Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................................... 19 Pacific (Cultural) Identities ............................................................................................... 19 National Identities and Museums...................................................................................... 23 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 26 CHAPTER THREE .......................................................................................................... 28 The Nation’s Treasure House ............................................................................................ 28 The Early Years, 1904–1954 ............................................................................................. 28 Fijian Society during the World War One Era .................................................................. 33 The Fijian Society: A White Male–Dominant Space ........................................................ 36 1929 Ordinance: Museum Legislation Passed .................................................................. 40 1938, the Origins of the Fiji Society ................................................................................. 41 1940: Preservation of Objects of Archaeological and Palaeontological Significance ...... 44 Fiji Museum and the Second World War .......................................................................... 46 Museum Popular among All Races, Plan for a New Headquarters .................................. 48 Thurston Gardens, Fiji Museum’s Home: The 1955 to 1970 era ..................................... 50 Beyond Indigenous Fijians ............................................................................................... 59 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 62 CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................. 64 Destabilising the Ivory Tower ........................................................................................... 64 The Fiji Museum Expands ................................................................................................ 64 Oral Traditions Project ...................................................................................................... 65 The Absence of Indo-Fijians ............................................................................................. 70 A museum in western Viti Levu? ..................................................................................... 72 Beyond Suva: A museum for Levuka ............................................................................... 75 Keeping Fiji’s Cultural Material at ‘home’ ...................................................................... 77 Publications ....................................................................................................................... 79 Friends of the Fiji Museum ............................................................................................... 80 The 1987 Coups ................................................................................................................ 81 1991 Visitors Survey......................................................................................................... 82 v Galleries and Departments ................................................................................................ 85 Conserving Heritage Sites................................................................................................. 85 CHAPTER FIVE .............................................................................................................. 88 Community Engagement and Embracing Intangible Cultural Heritage ........................... 88 Pacific Islands Museum Association ................................................................................ 89 Venturing into the Community ........................................................................................ 92 Community