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LEVUKA - THEN & NOW |
Once
upon a time.....
Settlement on Ovalau Island dates back some 4000 years.
Levuka first came to prominence in Fiji and indeed in the
whole of the South Pacific from the early 1800s. It
became a place of early settlement for numerous and
diverse people - foreign traders, merchants,
missionaries, shipwrights, vagabonds, shipwrecked
sailors, respected businessmen and speculators alike.
1871 saw Ratu Seru Cakobau, the paramount warrior chief,
proclaimed "king" of Fiji and a national
government was formed in Levuka. His government faced
many problems and was far from well received. These,
combined with questionable financial claims from the
American Consul and attempts by the Tongan chief Ma'afu
to take over the eastern islands of Fiji, led to Cakobau
and twelve other prominent chiefs to cede Fiji to the
United Kingdom on 10 October, 1874. Sir Hercules
Robinson, Governor of New South Wales, acting as personal
representative of Queen Victoria, received Fiji as a
Protectorate and Colony in a ceremony which is still re-enacted
in October each year, on the same site at Nasova, at the
southern end of town.
Naturally, because
Levuka was the first colonial settlement, there are many
'firsts' here - the first bank, post office, public
school, private members club, masonic lodge,
municipality, hospital, town hall, Wesleyan, Methodist,
and Anglican churches, to name a few. Levuka was also the
place where the first public electricity system was begun
in Fiji in 1927 - the electricity was switched on three
days before that of the modern capital, Suva.
The traditional village of Levuka can be found at the
northern end of town. The current chief is a direct
ancestor of the chief who first befriended early European
settlers. Even to this day, the "Tui Levuka" is
still referred to as "Tamana na vavalagi" (father
of Europeans).
Levuka in the 21st century.....
Even today the town retains many of its pre-colonial and
immediately post-colonial buildings, and is considered
the most intact remaining example of colonial influence
and life-style in the South Pacific. It is this, together
with the very relaxed life-style and friendliness of the
locals that now attracts people from all over the world
to visit this interesting and very photogenic town.
For more information:
levukahomestay@connect.com.fj
(+679) 3440777,
Box 50, Levuka, Ovalau, Fiji Islands
