A gathering to reminisce the old stories and remember the strong tie that bonds family together.
The Koi family hosted their first-ever reunion with a motto ‘reunited the past and shaping our future’ that ran for four days in Suva.
Family members from around the country and abroad which include members travelling down from the US, New Zealand, Ovalau, Solomons and Sigatoka gathered at the Seafarers Centre to celebrate a family legacy that has stood the test of time for seven generations since the arrival of Reginald Koi in 1883.
The four-day reunion began with a service at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church.
The first church — in which Koi, originally from Buka Island, autonomous region, eastern Papua New Guinea, and Satina Emily Griffiths, who was adopted by the Griffiths family in the colonial era — were baptised.
Satina came onboard the Boyne from Demara, West in April 26, 1884.
According to family records. The story of Reginald Koi according o Dr Anurag Subramani’s book The Fiji Times at 150: In 1883 over 2000 kilometres away from Ovalau, on the island of Buka in Bougainville.
A 16-year-old boy’s life was about to change forever. Reginald was the name given but it is believed he was also called ‘Gaji’ or Koi. Dr Subramani’s book explains these were the recollection of Arthur Griffiths who compiled a book titled ‘Memories of Fiji’.
Arthur was the son of the late George Littleton Griffiths. Dr Subramani’s book was recently launched and is available on sale. The Koi family also has a copy Arthur Griffiths notes about Koi.
He lived in Ombi Village comprising of about sixty thatched houses with his father, mother, a twoyearold sister and an uncle named Tumultai with greying temples and cadaverous in appearance.
“Koi was fast-growing youth of promising physique and good looking — with eyes of kindly expression and long eyelashes.
His skin, a black a deep coal-black. As a boy he spent his time, hunting, fishing, he was skillful in a game called ‘speardodging’, or aiming at selected things with old oranges completing against other youths and doing chores such as fetching drinking water in bamboo containers .
One evening as the family sat around the glowing of a burning log, Tumultai said he had been told about a labour-recruiting vessel expected the next day.
The vessel that failed to make the Buka passage that morning and would arrive the next day.
It was a familiar vessel in the region the Megmelilies, this one had an experience recruiter named Old Paddy Meogh, the boatswain.
He was part of the notorious South Sea blackbirder commanded by ‘Bully’ Hayes.
“For more than 150 years the groups of islands of the Pacific have been the ‘hunting grounds’ of blackbirders,” Arthur writes Paddy had learnt some sentences in Bougainville language and his remarks had a friendly and encouraging ring.
When he arrived in a little boat the villagers were in knee-deep in water gathered along the passage and on the beach.
Paddy promised them with lots of tobacco, presents and good food, coloured blankets for cold weather, sulu and skirts and knives (just like this as he held up an 18-inch knife with a shiny blade).
He promised they would be paid 30 pounds in sterling money for a short period of three years. Some biscuits and canned corned beef were opened given out to be eaten. Paddy ate first and soon the audience too.
Paddy invited then to come and see the big ship, Koi and Tumultai also took up the offer and within an hour some 20 recruits for Fiji was secured. The little boat pushed off to the recruiting Megmelilies awaiting in the distance.
The next day Koi looked landward for his home but could see only a faint blue outline of land. He started to cry and suggested to his uncle that they tried to swim jump to land far as it was away.
The old man said ‘you might manage to swim if the sharks are not about but I am old and cannot swim like you’.
So he stayed back with his uncle. Captain Petre continued on its journey to Fiji, stopping at Malaita in the Solomon Islands to recruit more labourers anchored at Levuka, two weeks later.
Arthur writes that in the early periods of recruiting for labourers the natives were disposed of for cash in Mexico, Central America and South America as far as Chile — not to mention Cuba and other parts of the West Indies.
“At a small but thriving Levuka wharf merchants and traders dwelled and it was the pioneer of The Fiji Times George Littleton Griffiths who plucked the young Regi into his employment.
“Koi and his uncle were taken to a cotton gin shed at the back of W. Hennings’ general store on Beach Street.
“When G.L Griffiths received word two boys were reserved for him he notified his family who were all happy to hear the news, Arthur got up to accompany his father to the location .
“When we entered the big yard at the back of the Hennings store outside the cotton gin the recruits were standing in line for inspection. In the line was about a hundred natives and an albino who seemed dazed with the brightness of the sun and did not understand words of commands that were being called out — standing about two feet back from the frontline. Some gruff man in-charge walked along the line and took the unfortunate albino by the hair and pulled him forward. The unfortunate man did not seem to know what was happening at all.”
“Apparently coloured blankets were far from his mind at the time,” writes Arthur He writes
“Everybody was pleased with the appearance of Koi, who was a big fellow at 17 years and Tumultai was an old man with a hacking cough which soon took him to the hospital where he died within a month “Koi had a very pleasing smile that won everyone’s heart. He was more than willing to do little things that he was told to do.
“Koi won my heart too because he was a favourite servant in our household. He learned very fast and mother in time relied on him to do some important cooking. In time, he became very useful in the kitchen and the household.
“In 1886 Koi’s time had expired and he was paid off. At the time men of his race who had been recruited at the same time as Koi were also free to do and work as they wanted. Soon several boys from Buka who also took that journey met at the Griffiths servants bure for discussion.
“Arthur’s mother Mrs Griffiths was sadden that Koi would be left behind in Levuka with the others as the family prepared to leave for Suva.
“To her surprise Koi and the rest of the men opted to follow the family too.
Tomorrow the story continues with the sad goodbye by Mr Griffith
