The report of a mother and son being hacked to death made headline in this newspaper on Wednesday, October 18, 1972.
The Fiji Times reported about the incident after visiting the scene at Moto, Ba.
The mother and son were hacked while two other family members were critically injured in a five-minute orgy of violence.
According to The Fiji Times, ten canecutters stood watching the carnage while only one tried to restrain the assailant.
Those killed were Parwati, 40, wife of Saga Dewan and her son Mun Samy, 21.
The report highlighted the younger daughter of Parwati, Pushpa Wati, and a cousin, Krishna Murthy Goundar, were admitted to Lautoka Hospital after sustaining multiple injuries in the incident.
Mr Gounder, a teacher at Ba Sangam Primary School, suffered cuts to his head while Ms Wati suffered deep cuts on her thigh.
A canecutter at the scene of the killing said he grappled with the assailant after he struck the first blow, but he escaped.
Mr Changal Rajan said seven canecutters and three linesmen were nearby but nobody came to help me restrain the man.
He said the two women were washing clothes near a well and as they screamed and ran to help Mun Samy and Mr Gounder, they in turn were attacked.
The Fiji Times reporter who visited the scene soon after the killing found blood splattered all over the grass and cane stalks.
The officer in charge of the Western Division police, Senior Superintendent Wallace Caldwell, visited the scene and took charge of the investigation.
Police later charged a farmer, Shilva Nadan, with murder.
