Hugh Hastings Romilly was once a British colonial administrator, explorer, and an author of three books, where he highlighted his observations during his time in the Rotuma .
Romilly was born on March 15, 1856, in London and was the son of Colonel Frederick Romilly and Elizabeth Elliot. The Australian Dictionary of Biography writes that Romilly was educated at a private school at Winchester and Repton College.
Although he had entered Christ Church, Oxford in 1874 to pursue his degree, he left without completing it to join a company called Melly & Co in Liverpool. In 1879 Romilly was encouraged by Lady Gordon to join the staff of the governor of Fiji, Sir Arthur Gordon and was the high commissioner for the ‘.
In 1880 he was a magistrate and private secretary to Sir Arthur Gordon in Fiji and following Britain’s decision to annex Rotuma, Romilly served as the deputy commissioner on the island in September of that year.
His first book, A True Story of the ‘, consisted of his voyage to the Pacific and time spent in Rotuma. On Rotuma, he wrote: “Few people know anything of its history, or of the people who dwell there and yet for more than a year the island has belonged to England and the government has been administered by an English magistrate.
“The chiefs found themselves unequal to the task of selecting one from their own ranks to enjoy the supreme power and decided to present a humble petition to the ‘Great Queen’ to send a white chief to govern their people and to secure the religious freedom for which at heart they were all anxious.”
Romilly explained how three powerful chiefs on the island at the time, presented this petition to Sir Gordon on October 25, 1879. Many of the high i-Taukei chiefs were also present.
“Sir Arthur sympathised with their difficulties and promised to forward their petition to Her Majesty,” Romilly wrote.
The islanders of Rotuma were told to wait around six to eight months for an answer and the chiefs departed with gratitude. Romilly stated that Gordon had an interpreter, a halfcaste Australian named Thomas Simpson who went by the name Tom; he had followed them to Rotuma a month after their departure.
“When I arrived in Rotuma I found Gordon showing great friendship and consideration for Simpson. Shooting, boating or fishing, they were always together and, in the evenings, Gordon gave him reading and writing lessons.
“The house we were then living in was situated at a place called Noatau, the capital of a district of one of the rival chiefs.
“We were in the habit of living alternately with the two most powerful chiefs, changing almost every week from one end of the island to the other.”
The chief that they were closer with was Alipati and although he did not have a magnificent house for them to live in, they preferred it to the house at Noatau.
“Alipati’s town, Motusa, was situated in a most lovely bay and was surrounded by a magnificent grove of forest trees, a great relief from the eternal sameness of the cocoanut.”
It was there that they decided to spend their Christmas and were sure to have a good feast of pork which to the native was the most delicious food. “Our Christmas, however, was not destined to be a very merry one.
“In the morning, while were dressing, Alipati came in to us evidently much excited about something.”
He said a young fellow, Kimueli had been cut over the head with an eighteen-inch knife when he was asleep. However, while his head was nearly cut in half, he was strangely not dead yet.
Alipati, with hesitation, stated that Tom was the one who killed him. Romilly and Gordon were taken back and sought to gather evidence before arresting him.
“In the course of these investigations our faith in Tom, originally so strong was growing less and less till at last it became evident that he must be arrested, a formal investigation made and that, if necessary, he must be committed to take his trial for murder in Fiji.”
When Tom was told that he was suspected of murder, he remained perfectly calm but also indignant at how he was treated after all that he had done for them.
“Months afterwards a very sufficient motive was found, as it was ascertained that Tom had stolen thirty pounds in gold belonging to Gordon and this money was found hidden in the ground in the corner of the murdered man’s house.”
It was assumed that Kimueli had found out about this hiding place and became an unfortunate victim
. When it was time to question the witnesses, they had the greatest difficulty sharing an example of how one woman who was told to kiss the Bible on which she was sworn had instead blowed kisses to them with a vacant smile on her face. On various occasions Tom had attempted to escape on the island, onboard the ‘Thistle’ and at Wallis Island. It was on February 1 that they boarded the small cutter which was on its way to Wallis and Futuna and then to Fiji.
“We at once decided to send Tom in the cutter under Evans’s charge, and I decided to accompany him as I was anxious to return to Fiji.
“When we had been a day at sea, I found that Evans, who had appeared a respectable man on shore, and who had impressed Gordon and myself rather favourably, was one of the most notorious characters in Fiji.
“After a rather long trip again, the result of Evans’ uncertain navigation, we made one of the outlying islands, and in the morning of the next day we sailed into Levuka Harbour.”
On Ovalau, it became impossible to try Tom as all the witnesses remained in Rotuma. However, it was accomplished and Romilly stated that he worked on the roads in Fiji serving his 21 years penal sentence.
During the next six months of Romilly’s life, he engaged in colonial occupations; Gordon had left Rotuma and returned to England and an officer was appointed to relieve him.
“But it was the intention of the Governor to send me there as deputy commissioner on the completion of my work in Fiji.
“An answer had been received from England agreeing to the annexation of the island, in compliance with the wishes expressed by the natives.”
Therefore, Romilly went onboard the Louisiana, a schooner and returned to Rotuma.
“I had plenty of work to do arranging for the Governor’s arrival and introducing by degrees the more important native regulations of the Fijian code.
“The six weeks had nearly elapsed, a huge flagstaff had been erected, the largest tree in the island had been sacrificed to furnish…”
Great preparations were then done by the natives, from war dance rehearsals, feasts, and old native ceremonies that were long not used.
However, these plans were put on hold when they were informed of the measles outbreak in Levuka.
“For five months I stayed in Rotuma without any news from the outer world including the infected country of Fiji.”
Romilly stated that he left Fiji in 1881 as his health was in a terrible state and had to move to a cooler climate.
He also served in New Guinea and was responsible over the Solomon Islands and the New Hebrides (Vanuatu). Romilly died at the age of 36 in London.
