Bruce Tizard-Varcoe (24 March 2003)

Fiji Museum - No Rotuma Gallery

I was in Suva back in January and decided to spend some time one afternoon in the Fiji Museum. My last visit to the museum was in 1997 and I was now pleasantly surprised to see new exhibits as well as familiar ones I had seen previously.

I noted that as well as the usual Fijian artifacts, there were now displays of other races, including Indian, European, Chinese and other Pacific Islanders, which is good to see. I wandered around expecting to see something, anything to do with Rotuma, but alas there was nothing. On my return home to the U.K., I decided to contact the Museum Director, Sagale Buadromo, through email. I received a prompt reply and below are two excerpts from the correspondence:

"...we do have some nice Rotuman artifacts in our collection which we do display from time to time, not only in Suva but also in Nadi, Lautoka, Sigatoka and recently at the Sheraton Hotel, Denarau, when we had a subsidiary display there, the last one at the museum itself was that of the Pandora's expedition (the display focusing on the Rotuman leg of the voyage). You may be interested to know that we actually do artefact exchanges with other museums worldwide, and a piece from Rotuma was sent on loan to Germany."

"...a Rotuman gallery. The other galleries, e.g. Indo-Fijian and Chinese galleries etc. were set up with the help of these respective communities, who either donated funds or helped fundraise for these galleries/and or cases. I was wondering if you with your Rotuman friends could give us a few Rotuman contacts that could donate funds to us in order to set up a Rotuman case (exhibition) or even a gallery."

I would be interested to hear of other views on this subject with some ideas on how individuals/the Rotuman community can be brought together to set up a permanent Rotuman display or gallery in the museum.

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My name is Denis Mckenna and I am the Director of the Kalevu South Pacific Cultural Centre at Sigatoka in Fiji. This is a commercial business which is set among gardens. At the Centre we encompass the different inlands of the South Pacific, namely Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Rotuma, Kiribati, and New Zealand. Each island group has a bure built in the style of that island and a person from that island employed to display the culture and handicrafts particular to that area. Tourists enjoy asking questions of the different islands. Dances from Rotuma are performed along with a enactment of one of the legends. Next time you are in Fiji you may be interested in having a look. Any help you could give us would be welcomed as we find it hard to get artefacts that are not the commercial run of the mill.