Three official languages

Fiji has a population of about 900,000 spread over 300 islands, yet has three official languages: Fijian, Fijian Hindi and English. Most of the population speak two of these fairly fluently but only a minority have full command of all three lang...

Fiji ranks 9th in the World!

With the Rugby World Cup due to kick off in Japan in just two weeks, it's time I enlightened you about the sport that unites Fijians of all races and creeds and ignites their loyalty like nothing else. Since the first World Cup in 1987, Fiji...

DS Singh's favourite pudding!

Detective Sergeant Susie Singh, Horseman's invaluable partner in my Fiji Islands Mysteries, never misses a chance to eat Fijian vakalolo, or steamed pudding, her ultimate comfort food. Her boss Joe Horseman likes them too, but he would pass...

He laid down his life for his friends.

In 1969, Fiji issued a stamp to mark the 25 years since Corporal Sefanaia Sukanaivalu V.C. sacrificed his life to save his troops in the Bougainville campaign of World War II. Today, 23 June 2019, is the 75th anniversary of his dea...

I've told you a little about the fearsome Fijian warriors of pre-colonial times, but you might not know that their descendants punched well above their weight in the Pacific campaigns of World War 2. After their attack on Pearl Harbour, Japanese forces swept into parts...

Not many Fijians have seen a tagimaucia, beloved as the national flower of their island nation. This is not surprising as the tagimaucia (Medinilla waterhousei) is a creeper that races to the top of the rainforest canopy on mountain tops in Taveuni, Fiji's th...

I want to share with you the engraving below by Rev. Thomas Williams in his 1858 landmark work of anthropology, Fiji and the Fijians. 

I'm sure you'll agree the designs are very sharp, even though the resolution is not.

Williams wrote only a few...