 Facts at a Glance
Full country name: Republic of Fiji
Area: 18,333 sq km (7150 sq mi)
Population: 772,000
Capital city: Suva (population 141,000)
People: Indigenous Fijian 50%, Indian 45%
Languages: English is the official language, Fijian dialects are spoken by the indigenous Fijians (Bauan is the most spoken) and the Indian community speak Fiji-Hindi
Religion: 53% Christian, 38% Hindus, 8% Muslims, and 1% Sikhs
Government: Republic
Prime Minister: Mahendra Chaudhry
The Fiji islands are situated in the South Pacific, midway between Melanesia (Solomons, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea) and Polynesia (Tonga, Samoa, the Cooks and French Polynesia). They are south of the equator, just north of the Tropic of Capricorn and west of the International Dateline. The territorial limits enclose an area of 1.3 million sq km (half a million sq mi), but only 1.5% of this is dry land. About 300 islands make up the nation.
Viti Levu at 10,390 sq km (4052 sq mi), and Vanua Levu at 5538 sq km (2160 sq mi) are the biggest islands. Suva, the country's capital is on the south-western coast of Viti Levu, and the island also has the country's highest peak - Mt Tomanivi (Mt Victoria) at 1323m (4339ft). Taveuni and Kadavu are also substantial islands, but the rest of the country is made up of small islands divided into the Lomaiviti, Lau, Moala, Yasawa, Mamanuca and Rotuma groups. Many of these islands are relatively untouched and there are many beautiful reefs, lagoons, harbours, as well as natural vegetation.
Since the 1960s, around 15% of the country's forests have been cleared and erosion is a problem. Management of the environment has been poor, and pollution and waste continue to sully the waterways and lands around the urban areas, particularly around Suva. In some areas, fish consumption is a health hazard.
 Mana Island, Mamanuca Group (21K)
Of the 3000-odd plant species identified on the Fiji islands, around one-third are endemic. Fijians developed uses for much of the native flora for food, medicine, dyes, implements and building materials. Around 3500 years ago the first settlers brought poultry, dogs and pigs, and this coincided with the extinction of at least three of the indigenous bird species - two megapodes and a giant fruit pigeon. Bats are the only remaining indigenous land mammals but introduced animal species have taken to the local habitats with relish. Happy and established interlopers include the Indian mongoose (introduced to control rats in the sugar-cane plantations), feral dogs, cats, pigs, goats and rats. The 20 species of land-dwelling reptiles include turtles and sea-snakes, but the migration of the crested iguana from South America is a bit of a mystery. There are about 100 bird species, 23 of which are native. Sea life is abundant and varied, and many species of coral, sponges, tropical reef fish, rays, sharks, dolphins and whales call the Fijian waters home (or call in on their way home).
Fiji enjoys a mild and stable climate most of the year, due to the large expanses of open water that surround its islands. The prevailing winds are easterly and south-easterly; the mountainous spines of the larger islands produce clouds and greater rainfall on their windward sides. The wet season extends from November to April, but rain falls throughout the year. Daytime temperatures average around 25°C (77°F), and humidity is generally high. Tropical cyclones can blow up between November and April, although they are rarely dangerous.
The first Lapita settlers settled in Fiji around 1500 BC, mostly from other parts of Melanesia. Initially they were coastal fishing people, but a shift in emphasis towards agriculture around 500 BC spurred a dramatic increase in population and tribal feudalism.
Around 1000 AD Polynesians invaded from Tonga and Samoa, engaging the Melanesians in large scale wars. Cannibalism was common and people lived in mataqali (extended family groups) in fortified villages presided over by polygamous hereditary chiefs (turaga-ni-koro). Intertribal marriages were an important way of binding communities together, but rivalries and disputes were common and inter-clan warfare often pitted family members against one another.
The first known European to sight the Fijian islands was Abel Tasman who passed by on his way to Indonesia in 1643. He negotiated the treacherous reefs north-west of Vanua Levu and Taveuni, but his accounts of the dangers kept other sailors away from Fijian waters for another 130 years. James Cook was next to visit when he stopped at Vatoa in the Lau group in 1774. Fifteen years later William Bligh dropped in under some duress after the mutineers of the HMS Bounty set him and 18 crew adrift in a tiny open boat. They passed through the Lau group and between the big islands of Vanua Levu and Viti Levu (this body of water is still called Bligh Water).
In the early part of the next century, traders came seeking sandalwood and bêche-de-mer (succulent sea cucumbers prized in Asia), and suddenly Fijians had access to metal tools, tobacco, cloth and guns. The impact of this was enormous: violent clan warfare broke out and Fijian society began to change rapidly. Shipwreck survivors, deserting sailors and escaped convicts from the British penal settlements in Australia also began to play an important part in Fijian societies. Most didn't survive too long before they were eaten, but a few, most notably Swede Charles Savage, came to be well integrated into the upper echelons of the feuding Fijian clans, serving chiefs as interpreters, go-betweens, carpenters and armsmen.
The Tongan military and English missionaries were other prominent invaders of the mid-1800s. The missionaries sought to convert the tribal chiefs, but they had notable failures - the Reverend Thomas Baker was eaten in 1867 and his shoe is exhibited in the Fiji Museum. Levuka, on Ovalau island, became an important South Pacific trading post where American, French and British interests nervously squabbled and suspected one another of imperialist intentions. Levuka became a lawless place and relations with the local people reached a nadir in 1847 when the settlement was razed by fires.
Meke performance, Wayasewa, Yasawa Group (20K)
Cakobau, the self-proclaimed King of Fiji, attempted to form a western-style government in 1871, but it collapsed after just two years. In 1873 the acting British consul JB Thurston sought British annexation of Fiji, and on 10 October 1874 it was pronounced a British colony and a capital established at Suva. Governor Sir Arthur Gordon sought economic self-sufficiency for the colony through plantation crops, such as cotton, copra and sugar cane, and productivity was boosted when Gordon began importing indentured labour from India. Hopeful Indians saw Fiji as an escape from poverty but plantation life was a predictable melange of human rights abuses, crime, suicide, rape and disease. By the time indentured labour was abolished in 1919 there were more than 60,000 Indians in Fiji. The Indian community, which had been prevented from owning land, moved into small business holdings, trade and bureaucracy, or took out long-term leases on farms. Australians came to dominate the local economy through sugar production and gold mining, while Europeans manipulated the racial tensions between the Fijians and the Indians in an effort to maintain a stranglehold on economic and political power.
After WWII (to which Fiji committed 8000 troops to fight the Japanese in the Solomons), a greater political awareness permeated the Fijian and Indian people, but racial segregation continued. Fiji became independent on 10 October 1970 and introduced a Westminster political system. The political parties were organised along racial lines. The 1987 elections were won by a shaky coalition, and while there was a Fijian prime minister and a cabinet with a Fijian majority, the new government was seen as Indian dominated. Demonstrations followed and the extremist Taukei movement set about destabilising the new government. Indian-owned businesses were petrol-bombed and there were violent attacks on Indian communities. One month later, on 14 May 1987, Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka invaded the parliament and seized power in a bloodless coup. In October Fiji was dismissed from the Commonwealth. The coup was something of a surprise and theories abound about what brought it on. Some say that the CIA sought to protect US interests in the South Pacific nuclear-testing grounds, and others claim that the Methodist Church was behind it. Although Fiji's government continues to suffer from internal strife, Rabuka was re-elected in 1991, and has given up his military career to pursue politics full time. He has tried to soften his hardline image by making concessions to labour groups and trade unions. In 1999, Fiji elected its first prime minister of Indian descent, Mahendra Chaudhry.
GDP: US$4.3 billion
GDP per head: US$5,700
Inflation: 1%
Major industries: Sugar, tourism, gold, fish, lumber and clothing
Major trading partners: Australia, Japan and New Zealand
Fijians still practise many traditional arts and crafts, some of which have endured the destructive impact of western influences and the relentless campaigning of the Christian missionaries, and some which have been modified and embellished to satisfy the demands of tourism.
Dance is still strong in Fiji and the narrative meke performances rest on strong oral traditions. Dances are passed down from generation to generation, and in their strict forms the dancers' bodies are said to take on spirits of the netherworld. Mekes accompanied special events like births, deaths, calls to war, marriages and property exchanges. At times of war men would perform cibis with spears and clubs, while women performed deles or wates - dances which sexually humiliated enemy captives. Traditional Indian dances are still taught in Indian communities.
Hindu Women at the Savusavu market, Vanua Levu (26K)
The missionaries brought hymns and choir singing to Fiji, and local church singing is truly divine. Popular local musical artists include Seru Serevi, Danny Costello, Michelle Rounds, Karuna Gopalan, Laisa Vulakoro, the Freelancers and the Black Roses. Cassettes of local music are available in Fijian stores. Music from `Bollywood' films (Indian melodramas) is popular amongst Fiji Indians and local bands play covers of Indian songs. At Indian cultural centres performances and lessons are given in traditional Indian music featuring vocal, harmonium, tabla and sitar ensembles.
Fiji has been famous for pottery since the Lapita people began trading their wares deep into the South Pacific thousands of years ago. The most famous of the contemporary potters are Dian Tugea and Taraivini Wati, both of whom are featured in the Fiji Museum. Wood carving is still important, but perhaps mostly so because of the steady tourist demand for souvenirs to take home. Fijian carvers make war clubs, spears and cannibal forks. Drinking bowls, or tanoas, are still in daily use in Fijian households. Carvings in areas that have a Polynesian influence (from Tongan and Samoan settlers) feature inlays of shell and bone. Bark cloth, known in Fiji as masi, was traditionally made throughout the Pacific and was usually known as tapa. Ceremonial robes, waistbands, trains and turbans were once made from masi and the cloth was decorated with symbolic motifs in ochre-rusts and charcoal-blacks. The cloth is made from the bark of the mulberry tree and its production is very labourious. Traditionally, large and highly decorated masi cloths were used as ceremonial gifts and there was much prestige associated with their ownership. The weaving of pandanus leaves into mats and baskets has a long tradition, too. Most village girls still learn the craft, and there are all sorts of variations in style and colour (achieved by scraping the leaves, burying them in mud and boiling them with other plants, for example). The borders of pandanus mats used to be decorated with parrot feathers, but these days brightly coloured wool and yarns are used.
Fiji has a small but strong writers' community. Notable figures include Joseph Veramu, who has published a short-story collection called The Black Messiah and a novel called Moving Through the Streets about teenagers in Suva. Playwrights Jo Nacola, whose works include the play I Native No More, and Vilsoni Hereniko, and short-story writer Marjorie Crocombe are also worthy of mention. Fiji Indians, including Subramani, Satendra Nandan, Raymond Pillai and Prem Banfal write in both Hindi and English, and a central thread in their work is the unjust plight of indentured labourers.
Fijians celebrate New Year's Day with gusto and the festivities can last a week (or even a month!) in some villages. In February or March Hindu Holi (Festival of Colours) sees people squirt each other with coloured water. Ram Naumi (Birth of Lord Rama) is a Hindu festival held in March or April and includes a religious festival and party on the shores of Suva Bay.
Ganesa - Hindu god of prophesy, Vanua Levu (13K)
During May the nation honours Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna with a public holiday. He is considered Fiji's greatest statesman, soldier, high chief and scholar, and the day is celebrated with regional cultural shows and games. The Constitution Day holiday and Prophet Mohammed's Birthday holiday fall in July. The Sugar Festival is celebrated in September at Lautoka, and Fiji Day (Independence Day) falls in early October. During October or November Hindus celebrate the Diwali Festival (Festival of Lights). They worship Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, decorate their houses and settle up their business affairs.
Visas: Most travellers will automatically be issued a four week tourist visa upon arrival. This includes travellers from most Commonwealth countries, most North, South and Central American countries, Western Europe, Israel and Japan. The visa is issued free of charge and you won't have to pay for any subsequent extensions.
Health risks: Dengue fever - no prophylactic is available for this mosquito-spread disease. Avoid mosquito bites (especially during epidemics).
Time: GMT/UTC plus 12 hours
Electricity: 240V, 50 Hz
Weights & measures: Metric (see conversion table)
Tourism: 300,000 visitors per year
 Money & Costs
Currency: Fiji dollar
Relative costs:
- Budget meal: US$3-5
- Moderate restaurant meal: US$10-15
- Top-end restaurant meal: US$20 and up
- Budget bed: US$5-10
- Mid-range hotel: US$40-60 (double)
- Top-end hotel: US$100-$500
It's quite possible to travel around the Fiji islands relatively cheaply, however because the country is so heavily geared for tourism it's also easy to spend loads of money. If you stick to backpacker beds, eat cheaply (and include some self-catering), do some hitch-hiking and plan your inter-island travel well you'll get by on around US$30-40 a day or less. You can save money by coming to Fiji as a package tourist (especially if you have particular interests such as diving or kayaking), but organised tours are arranged around mid to upper-end accommodation-and-meal packages.
Although Fiji is now a republic, the notes and coins still bear the face of the Queen of England on one side. Travellers' cheques can be exchanged at banks and exchange houses as well as most larger hotels and duty-free shops. The most useful currencies in Fiji are Australian, New Zealand and US dollars. Visa, American Express, Diners Club and MasterCard will be honoured in most restaurants, shops, middle and upper-end hotels, and tour and travel agents. Some resorts will levy a five percent charge if you pay by credit card.
The Telcom man and his happy customers, Mamanuca Islands (21K)
You won't be expected to leave a tip when paying for goods or services, and, as in most South Pacific cultures, bargaining is not considered polite. The exception to this rule is with the Fiji Indians, with whom you can be quite comfortable haggling the price of almost anything. They consider it bad luck to lose the first customer of the day, so if there's something you really want to buy arrive first thing in the morning and bargain hard. You'll find that a good supply of small notes will come in very handy at the markets and for small purchases. A favourite trick with taxi drivers is to have no change at all and you'll be expected to forfeit any change from the fare.
 When to Go
Its mild tropical climate means that Fiji can be enjoyed all year round and it is a popular escape from the winters in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Perhaps the best time to go, however, is in the dry season or `Fiji winter', from May to October. This time of year has cooler temperatures, less rainfall and humidity, and less risk of tropical cyclones.
Suva
Suva, Fiji's capital, is on the south-eastern coast of the big island of Viti Levu. While Nadi, in the west of this island, is the tourism centre of the country, Suva is interesting as the country's political and administrative centre as well as the major port. Suva and its urban surrounds are home to half of Fiji's urban population, and it is one of the South Pacific's largest and most sophisticated cities, housing the University of the South Pacific, the fascinating Fiji Museum and many interesting colonial-era buildings. It's a multicultural city with many mosques, temples, churches and cultural centres. The Roman Catholic Cathedral (1902) is one of the city's most prominent landmarks.
The waterfront area is very interesting, and the Suva Municipal Market is a must-see for visitors for its exotic fruits and vegetables, kava, fish and seafood, and spices. It has an exciting multicultural flavour, with vendors selling brightly coloured Indian sweets and savouries, and fruit drinks from glass tanks.
Temple doors Orchid Island, Viti Levu (24K)
Fiji's third-biggest town is set against a mountainous backdrop on the west coast of Viti Levu. The local economy of Nadi relies almost totally on tourism, and although it's not the most attractive part of the country it is a good place to organise your travels around the Viti Levu island. There is a plethora of tourist services from dirt-cheap accommodation and places to eat to luxury resorts like the Sheraton and the Regent. There's a high proportion of Fiji Indians in Nadi, mostly fourth-generation descendants of the indentured labourers brought to Fiji to work in the canefields.
The Sri Siva Subramaniya Swami Temple at the southern end of the main street is interesting and visitors are welcome (but asked not to have consumed either alcohol or non-vegetarian food that day). There's a good market offering the usual eclectic mix of Melanesian, Chinese and Indian produce. The main strip is littered with restaurants and shops selling clothes, souvenirs and duty-free goods. Nadi is also a good place to organise activities - anything from diving, golf, horse riding and rafting to joy-riding in a jet-boat or light plane.
The Mamanucas are a bunch of tiny islands just off the western coast of Viti Levu, and they are easily accessible by boat from Nadi, either as a day trip or to stay in one of the many flashy resorts or backpacker spots. The islands are popular with divers, snorkellers, surfers and people who just want to lay about on open stretches of white-sand beach. The lovely reefs and colourful fish make snorkelling around these islands a highlight for many travellers. Only a few of the islands, like Monu and Monuriki, have significant areas of native forest left. These places are home to many birds and reptiles.
Sigatoka is a small town on the southern coast of Viti Levu, 61km (38mi) south of Nadi and 127km (79mi) west of Suva on the banks of Fiji's second-largest river. It's principally a farming community, but acts also as a service town for the Coral Coast resorts. There's a produce market, a large mosque and a few cheap places to stay and eat. The most striking thing about the town is the sight of the weird fantasy-style mansion on the hill behind the town. Sigatoka is a good base for exploring the the huge Sigatoka sand dunes nearby, the southern coast, and the Sigatoka Valley. The Sigatoka Valley is a highly fertile strip containing almost 200 cultural and archaeological sites, including the Tavuni Hill Fort, a series of defensive earth works built by the Tongan cheif Maile Latemai in the 18th century. The valley is also home to some of Fiji's best potters.
Due east from Nadi, in the interior of the Viti Levu island, are the fantastic landscapes and remote villages of the Nausori Highlands. The village of Navala is perhaps the most picturesque in all Fiji. While most Fijian villages now have a preference for prefab concrete and corrugated iron, almost all of Navala's homes and buildings are traditional bures arranged around avenues with a central promenade leading down to a river.
Navalla village, Nausori Higthlands, Viti Levu (24K)
They don't get too many visitors here, and it's polite to ask to see the village chief, and then ask him if it's OK to hang around and take some photos. Sunday is not a good time to come as it's the day of worship and for spending time with the family. Bukuya village is further west and it too is a worthwhile excursion. There's simple accommodation available in the villages, but you have to mind your manners.
Levuka
Levuka, on the island of Ovalau west of Viti Levu, was the capital of the country during the first period of British colonial rule, but due to the town's limited space (squeezed between the mountains and the sea) the capital was shifted to Suva in 1882. The town was the first European settlement in Fiji, with sandalwood traders settling there as early as 1806, and throughout the 1800s the town boomed as sailors and whalers called in, planters came and colonial administrators established themselves there. At its height there were 52 hotels along Beach St and it became a wild and lawless place.
Today Levuka has slowed down an awful lot, but its colonial buildings are in remarkably good condition and it has the feeling of a Wild West tumbleweed town. The population is mostly of mixed Fijian and European descent. The PAFCO (Pacific Fishing Company) fishery employs 1000 people (about a third of the local working population). There are three large stones at the southern end of Beach St that mark the Cession Site where the dreaded deed with Britain was signed back in 1874, and along this waterfront promenade you come upon the Sacred Heart Church (1858), Marist Convent School (1891), the town hall (1898), and the Romanesque Masonic Lodge (1924), just to name a few. There's good diving and snorkelling in the area and bicycles are available for hire.
Lovoni village, west of Levuka in the centre of Ovalau, is nestled within a spectacular extinct volcanic crater. Guided walks to the village from Levuka explore rainforest, a chief's burial site and the Korolevu Hill Fort.
Halfway between the main islands of Fiji to the west and Kingdom of Tonga is the Lau group, comprised mostly of small flecks in the sea. Due to their proximity to Tonga there is a strong Polynesian flavour to the islands. The south-east trade winds made it easy to sail from Tonga to Fiji, but much harder to return. Tongan influence is expressed in names, language, food, decoration, architecture and facial features.
Vanuabalavu is the largest of the northern Lau islands and has an upmarket resort and an airstrip, and the nearest thing to a town is the village of Lomaloma which has a budget guesthouse. However, you can't just turn up to Vanuabalavu - you need permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Suva. The diving is excellent and package deals are available. There's also an upmarket resort on Kiabu island which shares a fringing reef with neighbouring Yacata island. Kiabu is a private island that caters for a maximum of six guests, and the activities it offers include wind surfing, sailing, trekking and caving.
The southern Lau islands are dominated by Lakeba. This was a traditional meeting place between Tongans and Fijians, and it was frequently visited by Europeans before the trading settlement was established at Levuka. The island has several caves, including Oso Nabukete which translates as `too narrow for pregnant women'. The provincial headquarters for the Lau group is in Tubou at the southern end of the island. There's a post office there, a hospital, telephone exchange and an inexpensive government guesthouse. The powerful Tongan chief Elene Ma'afu is buried here as is Fiji's favourite son Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, the first Fijian to receive a university degree from overseas.
Vanua Levu
Vanua Levu ('big land') is the second largest island of the Fijian archipelago and has the second largest population. It is relatively undeveloped and, except for around Savusava, has limited infrastructure and services. This is a good place to get an insight into the traditional Fijian way of life. Although this is a volcanic island, which means you'll be pushing it to find a beach to laze on, Vanua Levu has some excellent snorkelling and diving, kayaking and bird-watching. The island's remote, wild and rugged interior and indented coastline also make for some great hiking. There are interesting archaeological sites at Nabouwalu near Savusava and at Wasavula near Labasa.
The Tunuloa Peninsula, also known as the Natewa or Cakaudrove Peninsula, is connected to the rest of Vanua Levu by a narrow isthmus which forms Natewa Bay to its west. It's a good area for bird-watching, hiking or exploring by local bus or 4WD. A gravel road extends along the peninsula until it terminates at Darigala at the north-eastern end, passing copra plantations, old villages and tracts of forest. Buca Bay, on the peninsula's eastern flank, is a popular ferry stop for travellers moving to and from nearby Taveuni island, but the rest of the peninsula gets relatively few visitors.
South of Buca Bay is the village of Dakuniba where there are some petroglyphs inscribed in rocks close by. No-one really knows who made the inscriptions or what they mean. The small island of Rabi, past the peninsula's north-eastern point, is populated by Micronesians originally from Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati. The reefs and beaches around here offer wonderful swimming and snorkelling opportunities.
Fiji caters for most outdoorsy activities, but some visitors prefer to be inert on a beach and practise hand-to-mouth skills with a tropical cocktail. Most travellers, however, go with plans to do some swimming, snorkelling or diving, and Fiji offers these as well as some excellent surfing, river rafting, wind surfing and sailing. There are fringing reefs all over the islands for splendid diving and snorkelling, but good surf breaks are fewer and farther between. The Mamanucas have some dedicated surfing resorts and good waves but you need a boat to get to the offshore reefs where they break. There are a few good breaks off Viti Levu including those near Sigatoka and the Suva lighthouse, and off Yanuca island.
On dry land you can go cycling, trekking and horse riding, or engage in the more cerebral `activities' of bird-watching and exploring archaeological sites. Fiji is well set up for tourists and there are facilities everywhere offering equipment for hire, day tours and courses.
Centrally located in the mid-South Pacific, Fiji (along with Hawaii) is one of the main airline hubs of the region, and it's well serviced by international carriers. From Fiji you can fly direct to anywhere around the Pacific Rim. Many people come on a round-the-world ticket or as a stopover between Australia or New Zealand and North America.
Although Suva is the capital, Nadi International Airport is where most travellers arrive and it is 9km (6mi) from the Nadi city centre. Nausori International Airport is Fiji's second international airport, 23km (14mi) north-east of Suva and accessible by taxi. A F$20 departure tax is levied on all international departees over the age of 12 years.
Getting to Fiji by sea nowadays is very difficult unless you're on a cruise boat or a private yacht. Fiji is a popular destination for yachties sailing around the South Pacific. Fiji's designated ports of entry are Suva, Lautoka and Levuka, and other marinas include Vuda Point Marina (between Nadi and Lautoka), Savusavu Yacht Club on Vanua Levu and Musket Cove Marina on Plantation Island in the Mamanucas.
There are good transport connections in Fiji making internal travel easy and relatively inexpensive. Clearly, the most expensive way to travel between islands is by plane, and there are many domestic operators servicing all of the island groups, but unless you've got no time and heaps of money you're probably better off looking at ferries and small local boats.
Ferries are inexpensive, frequent, reliable and very seaworthy, and rubbing shoulders with the local people while travelling between islands is a pleasant and interesting part of the Fiji travel experience. Ferry routes connect most major coastal areas of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu with all the major islands. You can charter boats as well, or catch one of the smaller unscheduled local boats between islands (although the latter are best avoided in heavy seas).
The larger islands have good bus networks, and outside the towns you can often just hail down a bus wherever you see one. Express buses travel between major centres and local buses seem to stop at every village they pass, but by either means bus travel in Fiji is a pleasant way to meet local people and an effective way to get around.
- My Twenty-One Years in the Fiji Islands, by Totaram Sanadhya, is an interesting first-hand account of the indenture system that brought so many Indians to the Fiji islands and changed the country for ever after. It was first written in 1910, but has had several new editions since - it's out of print at the moment, so it's a bit hard to get hold of.
- More general historical works include Fiji in the Pacific - A History and Geography of Fiji by Donnelly, Quanchi & Kerr (which is more of a school text than anything), Fiji Times - A History of Fiji by Kim Gravelle, and an interesting work called Beyond the Politics of Race, An Alternative History of Fiji to 1992 by William Sutherland.
- For some discussions about the military coup and the post-coup era look for Power and Prejudice - The Making of the Fiji Crisis by Brij V Lal, More Letters from Fiji, 1990-1994, First Years Under a Post-Coup Constitution by Len Usher, and Rabuka - No Other Way by Eddie Dean and Stan Ritova.
- A Lady (Mary Davis Wallis) penned Life in Feejee, or, Five Years Among the Cannibals way back in 1851 - it's the memoirs of an American trading captain.
- Fiji, by Daryl Tarte, is a trashy novel that is an easy read and covers a wide range of historical topics. The book covers over 100 years of Fijian history and looks at the experiences of a plantation family - it's out of print at the moment.
- Works by Fijian writers include Joseph Veramu's short-story collection The Black Messiah and his novel about Suva teenagers called Moving Through the Streets, and Jo Nacola's play I Native No More.
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