Last week, we left Delanasau at a turning point, where the warmth of family life and the comforts of home still lingered, even as harder times began closing in.
Under LNA and Hilda, the plantation had known years of music, laughter and stability, but the collapse in copra demand, ageing infrastructure, labour difficulties and LNA’s failing health were already weakening its future.
Then, as World War II moved closer to the Pacific, Fiji itself was transformed by military preparations, the arrival of New Zealand troops and later the Americans.
And somewhere beneath all that noise and movement, one question remained quietly over Delanasau: what would become of the old plantation when the war finally passed?
In this next part of The View from Delanasau: The Life and Times of Leslie Norman Anderson (LNA) James Norman Stevenson writes that at the beginning of the conflict, the island group faced a real threat of invasion.
That threat later receded as the US Navy and Marines regained control of parts of the Pacific and pushed back Japanese forces from occupied islands.
The Australian Army had become the first Allied force to defeat the Japanese on land after successful battles in Papua New Guinea, while the Third New Zealand Division landed on Choiseul and Rendova Islands and began reoccupying enemy-held territory.
The Americans also established a radar station along the Bua coast, on a hill known locally as Nia Vaka, or “pig” in Fijian, because from a distance it resembled a reclining pig.
From Delanasau, the landmark could be seen clearly through the coconut trees from an incline behind the house.
Yet, in many ways, the plantation remained insulated from the war.
The price of copra rose during the conflict, bringing some relief, but this was offset by low productivity as field workers became increasingly unavailable.
Many villagers had either enlisted or moved to the main island in search of war-related employment.
The isolation eased slightly when LNA bought a generator, allowing longer use of the wireless and giving the Andersons a better sense of what was happening beyond Delanasau, with the BBC being their most frequently sought source of news.
The inter-island ship *Adi Rewa* continued its regular calls, although passenger numbers travelling from Suva to Labasa had dropped because of wartime restrictions.
Often, the only callers were first mate, Keenie McPherson, and crew members.
Delanasau, though contained by the years, continued to survive on its past.
Fruit trees became difficult to access because of overgrowth, mangoes ripened unpicked, and at night flying foxes swarmed in to feed on the fruit. What remained fell to the ground and rotted.
The vegetable gardens were no longer replanted.
By then, full ownership of Delanasau had, by agreement, passed to the Hedstrom Estate, with LNA appointed as manager. Hilda Anderson’s inherited Wilson property at Bogi Vatu was also sold.
In late 1942, while LNA remained on the plantation, Hilda travelled to Viti Levu to visit family members.
When she returned, she brought her two eldest grandchildren back to spend Christmas at Delanasau, their first visit home in several years.
There was a moment of poignancy that year as the small gathering sat around the large dining table for Christmas dinner.
LNA raised his glass to toast absent members of the immediate family.
His mind, Stevenson writes, must have returned to earlier years, when the room was filled with festive decorations, everyone wore party hats, and the table groaned under the weight of Christmas fare.
Back then, LNA would have stood at the head of the table, his special chair pushed back, ready to carve the chickens and the traditional leg of ham.
There would have been happy chatter moving through the room, including talk of the next major Delanasau event, the New Year’s Day picnic on Galoa Island in Bua Bay, and the excitement of travelling there by launch.
But now, the launch Adi Savuri sat unused on the slip, and the second tractor, Bill, had broken down.
Copra had to be transferred to the wharf by bullock cart once again.
In early 1943, events in Nadi led to the Kennedys vacating their home. With Martin Kennedy serving in the New Zealand Air Force, it was decided that the family should move to Auckland until the end of the war.
The Andersons were also persuaded to take a holiday in New Zealand.
Before leaving, LNA asked his old acquaintance and former shopkeeper, Mah Yoh, who was living in Mr Jack’s home at Vatu Colo, to oversee the plantation.
Around October 1943, the Andersons set sail for Auckland via the New Hebrides, now Vanuatu, aboard the United States troopship Talamanca.
