Pupils of Ratu Kadavulevu School at Albert Park demonstrated a remarkable knowledge of Fijian traditional ceremonial when they performed a full-scale welcome at the opening of the inter-secondary school’s rugby.
Flanked on both sides by boys of other schools wearing rugby uniforms, the pupils in traditional costume went through the proceedings without a hitch.
This was published in this newspaper on Friday August 24, 1962.
The deputy director of Education, M. McGrath later thanked the pupils in Fijian.
The ceremony began with the qaloqalovi – the presentation of a tabua to welcome the guests by Apenisa Seduadua, followed by the sevusevu, the presentation of a yaqona root by Samu Lakokinaivalu.
The yaqona ceremony followed with George Takape, as cupbearer.
The matanivanua was an NTC teacher, Buli Buadromo.
Pupils in costume armed with clubs formed a guard where the ceremony took place.
The official party included McGrath, Ratu George Cakobau, the president of the Fiji Rugby Union, Maurice Scott, the principal of the Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Memorial School, W. E. Donnelly, and the president of the Fiji Schools Rugby Union, G.Solomon.
Mr Solomon welcomed the guests and said the tournament was the 25th since the formation of the Schools Union.
Speaking to the teams, he said he was pleased to see that they had been able to play their way through the preliminaries and to be at Suva for the semifinals and finals.
Mr Donnelly said that 25 years ago he was one of the foundation members of the Schools Rugby Union.
“When I first came to Fiji a few schools were playing” he said.
They were Queen Victoria, which was then at Nasinu, the Suva Methodist Boys’ School in Toorak and the Provincial School Southern, which was then at Sawani in the place now occupied by the Adi Cakobau School.
“Those schools met occasionally for games,” Mr Donnelly said.
Various teachers got together in June 1938, and a Schools Rugby Union was formed.
The first tournament was held two months later.
The Methodist School at Davuilevu later joined the competition and it was followed by Cawaci, Lodoni and Bucalevu and then by other schools.
“The junior competition was started,” he said.
He said he believed, from information given by Mr Scott, that schools rugby had been responsible for the good standard of the game today.
Teams going overseas contained men who had first played rugby at school.