LAST week, we took a walk down memory lane with former government minister Manu Korovulavula about life growing up in Toorak as a young boy during WWII and the special meanings behind some areas in Suva. Today, we continue on that journey — a typical day in the life of a “Gone ni Turaki”.
Mt Korobaba
IT was a nice, sunny day in Toorak, Amy St to be exact, where Manu Korovulavula grew up.
He and his friends were standing at the corner of Amy and Brewster streets, taking in the sights of the Suva Harbour when they noticed Mt Korobaba. It was a sight to behold for three lads — Manu, Sakiasi Waqanivavalagi and Semi.
Mt Korobaba peering from a distance. How could they not visit this wonderful landmark?
“It was a very nice morning. We looked and saw Mt Korobaba, it was beautiful in the sunshine. So I said, ‘hey, what about we go and have lunch at Korobaba’? It was a great plan but nobody said it was far and that time, the road from the bus station to Walu Bay was all gravel. So we walked there, climbed Mt Korobaba and had a wonderful lunch on top,” Manu recalled.
Boys’ play
His book of memories “Gone ni Turaki”, which he markets and sells from his home at Whippy St, Nabua, was written in Fijian with work in progress on the same book translated in English.
He shares fond memories of Nukulau Island, once used as a quarantine area for indentured labourers from India who were later sent to planters. As a young boy and student of Suva Methodist Boys’ School, Manu said they would visit the island whenever there was a scouts jamboree.
Those were fun times. A lot like the days he spent at Marks Park in Suva. It’s the huge playground at Davey Avenue, just off Waimanu Rd and opposite the YMCA gym.
Now back in the day, or the 1940s era when WWII was raging, American soldiers camped at Marks Park.
“At one end of the ground where the shortcut to Toorak is located, a boxing ring was erected. We used to go and fight there on Saturday morning — all the Toorak boys,” he said.
“When the Americans wanted some entertainment, they would pick the boys to fight. It didn’t matter how old you were or your weight — you can spar against one thin person and the next thing you know you’re up against a bigger person.
“During those spars, there were no rounds as they say. They only stop you when one cries. We went there because that’s where we knew we could get some money.”
Back then, Manu said, there was a famous boxer by the name of John Valentine. As young boys, he said they would follow Valentine wherever he went — running on the road for training or during his sparring sessions.
“As soon as Valentine comes to a place, he usually turns around to see if there were people around. He wanted people to watch him spar and if there was nobody around, and because we were always following him, he would chase after us, and you would see us take off,” he said with a giggle.
He said back then most of the houses in Suva except “European houses” had a special kind of toilet.
“The town board used to supply tins for the toilet and these were removable tins you use to do your business. When it’s full, the council staff would take it away and replace it with another empty tin, so you can imagine when you’re still sitting down there doing your business and suddenly the staff come around to change the tins. My my, those were the days,” he said with a chuckle, reflecting on about the rather embarrassing moment in his book’s chapter 29 “Topasi ni Valenivo Sova”.
Holiday jobs
During the school holidays, Manu and his friends would do odd jobs just to earn a few shillings. This would include delivering newspapers, washing soft drink bottles for recycling and cutting grass.
Life was tough then but those odd jobs helped their families get through the rough patches.
“We would deliver newspapers and this is not on bicycles or by car, this was old school running. We would leave home at 3.30am. My friend would deliver The Fiji Times and I would deliver Oceania.
“I’ve been chased by dogs several times because most houses in Suva were owned by Europeans and they had dogs but I was fast in running so I managed to get away from those dogs,” he said.
“My other holiday job was at the Ajanta threatre in Samabula. I worked in construction mixing cement and because it was by the roadside, whenever one of my friends noticed me and called out to me, I would put my head down, feeling a bit ashamed. I also worked at the MH garage as a tool boy so whatever they needed like a spanner I would go and fetch it for them.
“There was a time I would cut grass and clean yards for five shillings. That time, the machine to cut grass was manually operated, so you had to push the roller to turn the blade to cut the grass.
“At Phuman Singh, I washed dirty bottles from morning until the afternoon. I’d be in wet clothes all day. At the end of the week, we would get 15 shillings and two bottles of soft drink of our choice to take home free.
“Back then, 15 shillings was very little but my grandmother was very happy. I would give her all my earnings for the week and it was up to her how much I would get. I didn’t mind.”
The octogenarian remembers some of his favourite meals including gunu wai ni ika or drinking fish soup.
He used to catch kaikai from Nubukalou Creek in Suva, a small-sized fish they would catch and fry until the flesh was strong like pancake.
When Manu left school, he first worked as an apprentice at Government Printing in the machines section. This area, he said, was where the Archives building is located.
He worked there for about a year before joining the army with his brother and father for the Malayan campaign from 1952-1956.
Nubukalou Creek
Manu Korovulavula has vast experience in the transport system, having served as the minister for works, transport and public utilities in two separate periods as well as establishing the Road Transport Department in 1974 and Land Transport Authority in 2000.
He sees things from a different perspective. For instance, the unseen mistake at Nubukalou Creek in the Capital City, the flat bridges along this creek that seem like any other normal bridge one would find over a creek.
But according to Mr Korovulavula, when these flat bridges were constructed, the rising sea level and tidal range seemed to not have been taken into consideration, thus leaving a dilemma in terms of passenger safety head clearance.
* Next week: Read about the road and waterways over Nubukalou Creek in our final part of the Gone Ni Turaki series on discovering parts of Suva.
