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Wednesday, November 18, 2009
President aims to unite chiefs
www.fijitimes.com - Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Ratu Epeli
THE President, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, intends to reconcile all chiefs within Fiji.
He said it was the will of the people that all chiefs unite.
Ratu Epeli is optimistic that despite the differences, dialogue could be maintained among the chiefly.
"Reconciling the chiefs is an ongoing process," he said.
"We have our differences.
"I have differences even with my close friends who happen to be chiefs but it is not the end of the world because there is always a way out of a sticky situation.
"As the representative of the people I have to be open, listen to people and hear what they have to say.
"We might have our differences but it doesn't stop me from trying to work things out."
To carry out the reconciliation process, Ratu Epeli said he would need to visit the 14 provinces in the country.
"It's a matter of making the arrangements and planning them."
He made the comment during his tour of Macuata, the first province he visited after he became President.
Ratu Epeli is expected to visit the Western Division next week.
"I've been meeting the people and seen positive signs of what they want to achieve and the way the community has rallied behind their developments especially in schools.
"That is the basis of all this.
"If we can get it right at the beginning, it will augur well for the future."
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Fijian Courage and Valour in Battle
Unique type of valour
Lord Ashcroft
www.fijitimes.com - Sunday, November 15, 2009
There are, I have always believed, two types of valour: spur-of-the-moment bravery and what I call cold courage, which involves planning.
I've nothing but admiration for those decorated for impulsive bravery: a serviceman who, in the heat of battle, risks his life to save a wounded comrade.
Many such men have rightly been awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain's top military bravery medal.
But my new book, Special Forces Heroes, deals with those awarded medals for acts of premeditated courage.
It takes a special kind of valour to go undercover behind enemy lines or to be part of a small, elite unit on a hit-and-run mission against a far larger force.
If it goes wrong, he knows that, at best, he might be captured and kept as a prisoner of war for months, even years.
At worst, he might be seized, tortured, mutilated and killed.
Not everyone mentioned in my book was a member of the Special Forces, but one account chosen here relates to the SAS.
The first - the Battle of Mirbat in Oman in 1972, which saw a handful of SAS men fight off 250 heavily armed, rebel fighters - is not well-known, but is considered by a growing number of military historians to be the regiment's finest hour.
The second involves what must surely be the most celebrated moment in the regiment's history - the storming of the Iranian Embassy in 1980.
Battle of Mirbat
(JULY 19, 1972)
Trooper Sekonaia Takavesi
Distinguished Conduct Medal
Oman, a long-standing ally of Britain, is a forgotten war - not least because the SAS's involvement in protecting the country's sultan from the Communist rebels of the People's Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arab Gulf (PFLOAG) was top secret.
Not even the families of those fighting knew where they were.
But by July 1972, the regiment had been training and advising local troops in the small Gulf state for a year.
Operation Jaguar, designed to consolidate their positions, establish new ones and disrupt rebels lines of communications and resupply was going well.
Then, at dawn on the morning of July 19, the rebels hit back, with 250 of their elite fighters attacking the small town of Mirbat on the Arabian Sea.
They were heavily armed and their aim was to overrun the town and slaughter everyone in their path.
In the town's garrison were just nine SAS soldiers, equipped with one 25-pounder field gun from World War II, one mortar, a 0.50mm machine gun and a few general purpose machine guns.
When the adoo (Arabic for enemy forces) attacked, all the SAS men were in the British Army Training Team (BATT) house, 500 yards from the gun pit containing the 25-pounder.
But when they heard mortar rounds and machine gun fire from an outlying observation point, they moved swiftly.
A Fijian trooper called Talaiasi Labalaba ran to the gun pit and, though it normally took a three-man team to operate it, managed to open fire by himself, sighting the gun down the barrel and firing into the advancing rebels at near point-blank range.
Mirbat castle: Scene of a ferocious battle in Oman which is considered to be the regiment's finest hour
But when Labalaba was wounded, hit in the chin by a 7.62 mm round from a Kalashnikov rifle, it seemed only a matter of time before first the gun and then the garrison were over-run.
But for the decisive action of his fellow Fijian, Sekonaia Takavesi, it probably would have been.
Known as 'Sek' or 'Tak' to his friends, he became - in the words of his Army superiors - 'a legend in his own time within the SAS'. Grabbing his rifle and a few magazines, he sprinted to the gun pit and found his friend badly injured, his jaw smashed, but still continuing to fire the gun. Realising they needed more support, Takavesi left the gun pit, running to a nearby building to persuade an Omani gunner, Walid Khamis, to join them. Now there were three: Labalaba and Khamis operating the 25-pounder, while Takavesi used a self-loading rifle (SLR). But as enemy fire pounded the gun pit, Khamis slumped backwards. He had been shot in the stomach and was writhing in agony. The two Fijians were on their own again, with Takavesi helping his friend, time and again, to remove the hot shell case, ram in a new one, close the breech and fire.
Soon it was Takavesi's turn to take a bullet, which threw him backwards on to the sandbags. He was in great pain and losing a lot of blood, but he remained conscious.
Labalaba propped him up and handed him his SLR. Labalaba, who was peering down his rifle sights picking off the advancing enemy, realised he was almost out of ammunition for the 25-pounder.
As he tried to reach a 60mm mortar positioned nearby, he was shot fatally in the neck.
In the BATT house, Captain Mike Kealy heard the 25-pounder fall silent and became worried the position had been taken. With a volunteer, Tommy Tobin, a trained medic, the commanding officer dodged bullets and ran to the gun pit, where they witnessed a gruesome scene. The dead body of Labalaba lay face down on the ground, Khamis was lying on his back, bleeding profusely.
The only one still able to fire was Takavesi, who, still propped on the sandbags, was also seriously wounded. Every time he fired his SLR, he grimaced with pain as the rifle kicked back into his body.
As Tobin turned to get his medical pack, he was shot in the face and fell to the floor mortally wounded.
Pete Scholey, a former SAS man and author of SAS Heroes: Remarkable Soldiers provides an account of what happened next. 'Tak called to Captain Kealy for more ammunition and the two men began to battle for their lives. An adoo popped up at the edge of the gun emplacement, ready to shoot Tak, and Kealy blasted him with his SLR.
'Another appeared from a ditch close to their position and Kealy cut him down, too. Kealy took out adoo gunmen as they slunk round the walls of the fort and Tak concentrated on those coming from the direction of the perimeter wire. The adoo were close enough to sling grenades, which were bouncing and exploding close to the walls of the gun pit. Kealy froze for an instant as a grenade landed inside the bunker right in front of him. Mercifully, it failed to explode.'
Just as the situation appeared hopeless, the two men and their comrades had two strokes of luck.
First, the low cloud lifted high enough for two jets from the Sultan of Oman's air force to fly over the scene, strafing the adoo with cannon fire and, at one point, dropping a 500lb bomb on the by now retreating rebels.
Takavesi, who was later involved in the storming of the Iranian Embassy, would later describe the scream of those jets as 'the best sound I ever heard'.
Kealy was unaware of the second stroke of luck, which resulted from his early radio message to SAS headquarters that Mirbat was under attack. His men, B Squadron, had been due to go home on the very day of the attack.
This meant their replacements from G Squadron were at Um al Quarif, just 65km west of Mirbat. G Squadron was ordered into action.
Twenty-two men, along with their equipment, were taken by trucks to the airstrip at Salalah. Once the mist had lifted, they were airlifted in helicopters to the beach on the edge of Mirbat.
As Kealy used a lull in the fighting to tend to his men, G Squadron, led by Captain Alastair Morrison - another SAS hero who would go on to play a vital role in the successful storming of a hijacked Lufthansa jet at Mogadishu airport in 1977 - fought its way through the town.
The adoo were in full retreat, leaving 40 dead and ten wounded.
It had been an incredibly close run thing, but thanks to the bravery of men such as Takavesi, Labalaba and Kealy, it proved to be a decisive turning point in the sultan's battle with the rebels.
The Battle of Mirbat is an extraordinary story and I share the sense of anger among SAS men that the bravery of the solders involved has never been properly recognised.
As a result, I have sponsored the Battle of Mirbat Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
The valour of men such as Takavesi, Labalaba (who many believe deserves a posthumous Victoria Cross) and Kealy - three of the great Special Forces heroes - should never be forgotten
Man of the people - If Only he was Properly Appointed
A man of the people
www.fijitimes.com - Sunday, November 15, 2009
THE President's tour of the Northern Division only a week after his inauguration must be applauded.
For too long the Head of State has been confined to Government House, trundled out only when the need arose.
In Ratu Epeli Nailatikau we have a President who is fit, eager to work and has a natural way with the people.
This newspaper has carried letters from our readers commenting on how Ratu Epeli lines up with regular customers to pay his bills.
He takes lunch with the throngs who eat in the food courts of the capital city.
Early in the mornings or in the evening he can be found pounding the pavement on his daily walk.
In the evenings he will enjoy a drink with friends at the Defence, United or Union clubs in Suva.
On none of these occasions is he accompanied by guards.
A naturally charming person, Ratu Epeli will have a word of greeting or a joke for those he meets.
In the Northern Division this week it was obvious that he had the ability to reach out to people of all races and engage with them on a personal level.
Rice farmers in Dreketi were quick to tell the President of their frustrations with the declining market and ask for help.
Ratu Epeli joked with these farmers, shared their kava and in the manner typical of the leaders of the United States, he pressed the flesh and spoke their language.
In Fijian villages, accorded traditional ceremonies of welcome, the President carried himself with the dignity demanded of the occasion.
His previous service as a diplomat and an army officer means that Ratu Epeli can be friendly but polite and firm.
Those who had the honour to know his late father, Ratu Sir Edward Cakobau, will see in the son some of the traits of this country's first Deputy Prime Minister.
A charming man, natural singer, accomplished dancer, Ratu Sir Edward was the centre of every event - not because he chose to but because he had the ability to draw people of all races to himself.
This is the legacy he has left our current head of state.
So far Ratu Epeli has shown he has the ability to be a man of the people.
If he continues with visits to every part of the country regardless of distance and terrain, the people will believe that he truly cares for the country.
And if he can use his charm to help mend broken bridges, people of all ethnicities will respond.
If Ratu Epeli lives up to his father's legacy, Fiji will be a better place.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Vunivalu Decision Next Year
| Decision on the title to be made next year | |
| 13/11/2009 The Native Lands Commission Tribunal is expected to decide on the vacant Vunivalu title soon. The holder of the Vunivalu title will also be the Head of the Kubuna confederacy. It has been confirmed that the Tribunal is expected to sit in January next year and will be chaired by Macuata chief, Ratu Peni Vukinavanua, Ratu Isikeli Tasere and Ratu Talemo Ratakele. Ratu Vukinavanua confirms that the Tribunal's decision will be final. Last week Vunivalu Herald, Ratu Veiwili Komaitai told Fijivillage that the family from Mataiwelagi and Naisogolaca are expected to sit and discuss the matter. However Ratu Peni Vukinavanua has been informed by the NLC that it is the call of the Tribunal to decide on the chiefly title of the Vunivalu. The current President, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, Adi Samanunu Talakuli and Ratu Epenisa Cakobau are the direct descendants of Ratu Seru Cakobau. |
Macuate Host Interim President
Macuata hosts Ratu Epeli
www.fijitimes.com - Friday, November 13, 2009
PROVINCIAL councils have been challenged to work diligently and honestly and not confuse members of their province about their purpose.
President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau said over the years, indigenous people have become confused about the purpose of their provincial council.
He warned councillors not to abuse the council as a means through which they could pursue their personal agendas.
He called on provincial councils to be accountable to their people through the provision of annual reports and financial transparency.
He made the remarks while opening the Macuata Provincial Council at Naduri Village in Macuata yesterday where he was traditionally welcomed by the chiefs of the province.
It was Ratu Epeli's first traditional engagement outside Suva since he was sworn-in as President last Thursday.
He said the main purpose of a provincial council was to serve the people and not the other way around.
According to Ratu Epeli, in many provinces many villagers were no longer concerned about the affairs of the council because the council did not have any real value to them anymore.
He said there needed to be less bickering and consensus must be reached through dialogue.
District representatives, he said, should all concur before decisions were made so as not to marginalise a certain group of people in their province.
Ratu Epeli said he would make similar visits to the other provinces in the country in his capacity as President and also as a chief
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Sukanaivalu VC - The Extraordinary Birth of a Fijian War Hero
by Samisoni Pareti
www.fijitimes.com - Wednesday, November 11, 2009
+ Enlarge this image
Sai's Comments:
- It brings tears to my eyes every time I read the story of my grandfather and the overwhelming sense of pride at his courageous deed.
- Tua Suka's mother, Fane Kuva, lived with us till she died, as my mother cared for her in her old age. Her stories about Tua Suka used to keep me up long into the night as she recounted his young days on Yacata to the day my great grandmother and her husband, Lote Vulakoro, were honoured in a ceremony at Albert Part in Suva to mark the award of the VC.
- What is equally humbling is the act of ultimate sacrifice and selflessness displayed by Tua Suka and his comrades in looking after each other and fighting for the honour and glory of their country and people. These were the hallmark of Fijian soldiers at the time and I pray Fiji's current military regime will be able to recapture these lost qualities.
The story below is a wonderful recollection of a war hero's life from his humble beginnings to his death fighting a foreign power that had designs on subjugating his people and others in the Pacific.
ONE of the greatest ironies of life is found in war cemeteries. Though most soldiers die a violent death in mainly chaotic and terrifying circumstances, their final resting places are serene and peaceful.
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ONE of the greatest ironies of life is found in war cemeteries. Though most soldiers die a violent death in mainly chaotic and terrifying circumstances, their final resting places are serene and peaceful.
This is so true for the Rabaul War Cemetery in Bita Paka in Papua New Guinea's East New Britain province.
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| Rabaul War Cemetery, Bita Paka, PNG |
Among the 1,111 men and women who rest there in peace is 4469 Corporal Sefanaia Sukanaivalu, Fiji's most decorated war hero.
When he was killed on June 23, 1944, during an intense and fiery battle with the Japanese forces in the jungle of Mawaraka in neighbouring Bougainville Island now part of PNG, Sukanaivalu became the first and only Fijian recipient of the Commonwealth's highest and most prestigious award for gallantry, the Victoria Cross.
The VC medal was awarded posthumously and received on behalf of their heroic son at a special ceremony in Suva's Albert Park at the conclusion of World War II by Lote Vulakoro and Fane Kuva, parents of Sukanaivalu.
The citation according to World War II Victory Cross records reads:
"On 23 June 1944 Corporal Sukanaivalu managed to distinguish himself heroically at Bougainville, Solomon Islands. In the heat of the battle he managed to drag two wounded allied soldiers back to their own lines. During his attempt to evacuate another allied soldier he was hit in his groin and thigh, and was unable to move the lower part of his body. Several attempts were made to evacuate him, but these attempts only resulted in more casualties. Because his comrades kept on trying to save him, and Corporal Sukanaivalu knew that this would result in even more casualties, he deliberately raised himself with his last strength and was killed by the enemy."
Military records showed Sukanaivalu joined the 3rd battalion of Fiji's Infantry Regiment on April 23rd, 1942 when he was 24. He was killed 23 months later.
The Anzac's Ode of Remembrance would have been so true of him, and the millions of men and women who have had their lives snuffed out during the two world wars. For making the ultimate sacrifice, Sukanaivalu is the country's war hero.
To this day, a large and colourful mural of him adorns the main stairway of Suva's city hall. A main thoroughfare in the country's second city - Lautoka - carries his name and the Republic of the Fiji Military Forces honoured their brave by naming its northern base camp after him.
Beside the RFMF's Queen Elizabeth Barracks at Delainabua is the huge residential suburb of Nabua. Sukanaivalu Road is its main thoroughfare with Mawaraka a side street.
Growing up in eastern Lau Group not far from Sukanaivalu's home island of Yacata, I remembered sitting wide-eyed as our class one teacher related the corporal's heroic deeds. It was that very image that flashed through my mind when I came face to face with his tomb at Bita Paka.
When head of the tourism bureau at East New Britain Nelson Paulias offered to take me to Bita Paka War Cemetery whilst on assignment in the province in July 2008, I had no inkling of what I was going to see. "Some Fijian soldiers are buried there," was all he told me.
From Kokopo town, created after the destructive volcanic eruption that buried half of the province's deep harbour capital Rabaul in 1994, it was a 20 minutes drive to Bita Paka. Fenced off by a brick wall with flowering trees, tropical shrubs and well manicured lawn, the war cemetery was a picture of serene quietness. Through the main entrance, sheltered in a platform like structure where the visitor's book lay perched on a lectern, I went on, passing through the wall-like honours list of the brave. At the centre lay a plaque with the inscription Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam. It is Latin meaning For the Greater Glory of God. The Supreme Being and peace seem to go together in places like this, complimentary of one another. Past the plaque, the walls of honour, the Cross of Sacrifice stands tall.
Research taught me that headstones are not used in this war cemetery because of the threats of earthquakes, linked I guess to the Rabaul active volcano. It is the trademark of all Commonwealth war cemeteries that in disaster-prone regions, stone-faced pedestals are used instead.
To see the tombs of Fijian soldiers, Paulias told me to take a left. There was a bronze pedestal for 4919 Private Semi Bilo. He died on 3rd June 1944. He was 20.
There was another for 1111 Private Manoa Nakara who died on 21st December 1943. He was 22. Mere names these were to me. But knowing that these soldiers were buried so far across the big ocean from their families, I felt so heavy with sadness. Some of their family members I know had not been as fortunate as I to see the final resting place of their brave.
I saw the pedestal of 811 Keny McPherson who was killed on 26 March 1944 and wondered about his family back in Fiji. He was only 22 when he died.
I was quite emotional by the time I came to the pedestal of Fiji's war hero. It looks no different from that of his 33 other fellow soldiers buried here. Saved for the initials VC emblazoned next to his surname, the tomb could pass for any other. It reads simply:
4469 CORPORAL SEFANAIA SUKANAIVALU, VC.
FIJI MILITARY FORCES. 23RD JUNE 1944 AGE 26
Only 70 characters inscribed on a piece of metal.
Such a small portion of earth for a young man who had a heart of a giant.
The pedestal to his left belonged to 4602 Private Taniela Siko who was killed on March 30th 1944. He was 24.
To Sukanaivalu's right is the grave belonging to 619 Corporal Jesoni Tale who died aged 22 on March 23rd 1944.
If only the dead could talk, Corporal Suka, as he was affectionately called, could have felt at home at Bita Paka. The commonality between this and his home island of Yacata would have been the quietness, the peaceful atmosphere. I have never been to Yacata, although the pictures I have seen of it tell the story of a paradise yet to be discovered. Soft white sand on turquoise clear waters, young Suka left all that behind when he answered the call to protect his island nation as a colony in the vast British Empire.
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| Yacata Island - Home of Fiji's VC Hero Sefanaia Sukanaivalu |
In his biography of Sukanaivalu called Cabobula (Ultimate Sacrifice), Fiji army historian the late Tevita Nawadra traced the extraordinary life of this young soldier.
Sefanaia Sukanaivalu was actually named after Ratu Paula Raikaki, who was Tui Yacata, the chief of his island, when his return in 1918 from fighting in France during World War I coincided with Sukanaivalu's birth. Sukanaivalu means return from war in the Fijian language.
Nawadra collated most information on his book when he interviewed Eroni Vulakoro, Sefanaia's younger brother in 1990. Suka was actually born on Yacata Island a lutudra, a premature born infant.
His mother gave birth seven months into her pregnancy, and because Suka's skin, his fingers, toes and face had not properly developed, his parents reared him in the next two months in a home-made incubator; a coconut basket stuffed with old tapa pieces to keep the infant warm. In fact baby Suka was wrapped in a banana leaf because of his sensitive and under-developed skin. Since his mouth was yet to be developed in full, he was fed with crushed coconut flesh which has been smoked. The semi-liquid crushed smoked coconut flesh was then left on a small saucer and from it to the tiny opening in infant Suka's mouth, his mother left a thin strip of tapa from which the baby sucks.
Growing up, Suka was known to be a fearless and unusually strong boy. Eroni was close to him because as he told Nawadra, Suka spoiled him. Suka was also known as a loner, someone who felt comfortable living by himself on empty stretches of a beach on the island. He used to do this often and his parents didn't mind, said Eroni, preferring to go spear fishing or hunting for wild yams deep into the jungle. The skills of catching coconut crabs, the ugavule, with razor sharp claws, young Suka also mastered. On the island, the young man quickly developed a reputation for being a master fisherman, also a very good rugby player, ferocious boxer, a good voice and someone who loves to sing along with a guitar.
When he was a teenager, Suka was sent to attend school at Niusawa Methodist in the island of Taveuni - lying 80 kilometres to the north of Yacata - before he moved to the main island of Viti Levu in 1935 to learn carpentry at the Methodist Church's technical school in Davuilevu, near Nausori Airport.
He became a carpenter at the gold mine in Vatukoula in western Fiji when he graduated from Davuilevu in 1938.
Sometime later according to Nawadra, Suka learnt that his older brother Aisea and younger brother Eroni have found work at Mount Kasi mine near Savusavu, so Suka left Vatukoula to join his siblings.
World War II broke when he was in Mount Kasi and when the call for enlistment started in 1942, the brothers made a pact that the two older siblings would enlist whilst young Eroni should return to the island to look after their parents.
The more I read about Cabobula, the more I realised how little I knew of Fiji's war hero. I didn't even know that he was a skilful canoe builder.
Nawadra wrote that from Mount Kasi, Suka had to return to Yacata in order to enlist with men from his home island. But by the time he finally reached home, Suka had missed the enlisting boat.
Most of his friends had gone to Taveuni to await their journey onto the capital. Undeterred and determined still to join the war, young Suka logged two huge hardwood vesi (Intisia Bijuga) trees in Yacata, cut them into shape to build a sea-faring drua (catamaran) and set sail on his own 80 kilometres (approximately 43 nautical miles) away for Taveuni where he caught up with the rest of his friends.
Unbeknown to many too is the fact that Suka, though unmarried when he died, actually had a son. He befriended a young Yacata maiden on one of his visits home when working at the Vatukoula gold mine in Viti Levu before the war. The boy was named Taniela Mafi although his mother was not named in Nawadra's book.
Another remarkable story of Suka was related by a fellow soldier by the name of Corporal Sailasa Cakau who is from Natila village in Tailevu. He was in the Second Battalion and saw active service in the Solomon Island campaign.
For his heroic acts in the many skirmishes with the enemy on Guadalcanal, the Americans awarded him the Silver Star. Corporal Cakau was only able to recall this story when news broke of Suka's VC achievement. He said that when he returned from the campaign and was on leave at his home in Suva one evening, he had an unexpected visitor.
"There was this handsome young man at the door," Cakau told Captain Nawadra. When the stranger presented his gift of kava, Cakau could tell straight away that the man was from Cakaudrove province (because of the dialect he was using), and that he was from the island of Yacata.
Cakau said the young man had heard of his achievement in Guadalcanal and he wanted to come personally to congratulate him for winning the Silver Cross. The young man was full of questions about the war in the Solomon Islands, Cakau remembered. Unforgettable to this Tailevu war hero was the last question this young lad from Yacata posed; "What would you say would be the greatest act a soldier could do for his legacy?"
Cakau said he was struck by the intensity of the question and he initially was dumbfounded as he really had no clue as to the answer.
"Sukanaivalu, all that is required of you is to stay true to the calling you had answered," was all Cakau could offer as a response.
The fourth interesting bit of information on Suka was offered by another war historian. It is said that Suka's bullet riddled body was not retrieved for burial until four months later. His E company were in retreat when Suka was gunned down and his body and that of two other comrades - identified by Nawadra as Corporal Emori Cabenalevu and Private Viliame Nailati - were not buried until Australian soldiers flushed out the Japanese and took control of the Mawaraka region on Bougainville's west coast in October, 1944.
Suka and all those who died in that battle were accorded a full military funeral at the American War Cemetery near Cape Moltke in Bougainville before their bodies were exhumed years later for transfer to Bita Paka in East New Britain.
Eroni - Suka's younger brother and main story teller in Nawadra's book - provided another fascinating gem; As Suka and members of the Third Battalion were leaving Suva for the war in Bougainville, Yacata had two very important visitors.
One was Fiji's highly respected chief and the highest ranking local in the then colonial administration Ratu Sukuna, and the other was Apolosi R. Nawai. It was actually a warden with a prisoner on tow.
Ratu Sukuna informed his WWI comrade, Ratu Paula, chief of Yacata that the Governor of Fiji has decreed that Nawai be exiled to Yacata. The prisoner was described by Australian National University historian Dr Brij Lal as "one sceptical commoner ... who led a movement that was eventually regarded as a threat to the government." (Twentieth Century Fiji - People Who Shaped This Nation, page 29, 2001.)
Apolosi R. Nawai's desire was the formation of a solely indigenous owned company and the British rulers were beginning to worry about the growing influence of this charismatic and very popular leader.
"It is the decree of the colony that for his entire exile here on the island, it is forbidden, I will say that again, it is forbidden for Apolosi to speak to a woman, neither it is permissible for a woman to be his keeper," Eroni remembered Ratu Sukuna's words to the islanders that day. "I would strongly suggest that you appoint one of your young men to look after the prisoner."
As it turned out, Eroni was the young man selected to be Apolosi's house-keeper. Eroni said he was shivering with fright when he met Apolosi for the first time because of what Ratu Sukuna had said of the man, and also from what others have said about the prisoner. Eroni told Nawadra that when they met, Apolosi promised that if he loyally and faithfully looked after him, Eroni's family and his island of Yacata would find fame and honour in the whole world!
Eroni never thought of that remark until news broke of Suka's death and the Victoria Cross that was accorded posthumously to him. That promise it seems is death-defying, as the Vulakoro name is still a household name more than six decades later, thanks to Fiji's vude queen, Laisa. Eroni Vulakoro is her father.
When writing of Sefanaia Sukanaivalu in the book 20th Century Fiji - People Who Shaped This Nation, university political scientist Dr Morgan Tuimaleali'ifano wrote: "The Second World War was a defining moment in the history of the Pacific Islands. It exposed Islanders to the global theatre of war and brought home to them the many disparate worlds of westerners.
"Over 11,000 men passed through the Fiji military forces which peaked in size in August 1943 at 8,513 men. Of these, 6,371 were Fijians, 1,878 were Europeans and 264 were Indians. "In this bloody episode of human conflict, unprecedented in the Pacific Islands, Corporal Sefanaia Sukanaivalu demonstrated one of the finest qualities of the human spirit by making the ultimate sacrifice in Bougainville."
Dr Tuimaleali'ifano is a direct descendant of one of the most powerful chiefly families in Samoa, which is the adopted home and final resting place of the famous writer Robert Louis Stevenson. The epitaph on Stevenson's tomb rang true for the author as it could also be true of Sukanaivalu.
"Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill."
Cabobula can be read at the National Archives of Fiji
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