LONG before digital cameras and smartphones became part of everyday life, the Meridian Store in Wairiki, Taveuni, became a place where people preserved important moments through photographs.
For many people on the island, the small dark room created by Ambaram Dayaram was where their first official photographs were taken.
Meridian Store managing director Champak Lal Dayaram said his father, Ambaram, had a passion for photography and played an important role in documenting the history of Taveuni.
“He loved his photographs. He even created a dark room in the cinema and developed his own pictures,” he said.
“He was doing passport photos, which nobody else was doing at that time.”
Mr Dayaram said the photographs taken by his father became an important record of families, events and the changing face of the island.
Many of the photographs date back to the 1930s and have been carefully preserved.
To continue sharing this history, Mr Dayaram created a Facebook page called Ambaram Dayaram Archives featuring thousands of photographs captured by his father.
“There are over 5000 pictures. Anybody can access them.”
“I have had people send me messages saying they found a picture of their parents, which they never had before.”
For Mr Dayaram, the photographs are more than just images.
They are memories of people, families and a time when life on Taveuni was very different.
The collection has allowed many families to reconnect with their past and rediscover photographs of loved ones.
As the Meridian Store celebrated 100 years, the photographs taken by Ambaram Dayaram remain a reminder of the important role the business has played beyond trade.
It became a place where stories were recorded and memories were preserved for future generations.
