HIS Australian accent was what made this speaker of the Dogotuki dialect stand out during a special village gathering.
John Hope-Simpson, an Australian who has maternal links to Namukalau, Dogotuki in Macuata, sat among villagers and fluently conversed with them in the Dogotuki dialect but with a different accent.
A professional fisherman and boat master, John, who has been a frequent visitor to his koro ni vasu, was also part of the village function last month.
His mum Maria Elena moved to Australia in the 1970s, lived there for more than 40 years and returned to her island home of Namukalau about four years ago.
John considers himself a kai-Viti because he has had no problems adapting to a totally new community and lifestyle.
“I haven’t been back to Fiji for about nine years and only returned three years ago and have been visiting more often now and I just love my koro ni vasu, Namukalau,” he said.
“So when I came back three years ago to spend a few months, my relatives refused to speak to me in English and I had no choice but to speak in the Dogotuki dialect.
“I picked it up very fast and now I fluently speak it but with my Australian accent and people always stare at me when I proudly speak it.”
John lives in Cairns, Queensland and returned to visit his mum who has moved back home.
“Since mum returned to her village, I have been coming a lot of times and I love it here because it’s a totally different atmosphere from Australia,” he said.
“The people here are always smiling, happy and have a lot to share even when they have little to do so, they do so with a happy attitude.
“I never feel out of place but feel so at home because everyone treats me like a kai-Viti.”
John, while in Fiji also looks after his mum’s boat and has helped the villagers in many ways.
“I have been busy and there’s no time to relax here because villagers come all the time asking me to take them here and there,” he said with a laugh.
“I take them anyway and whether they pay mum or not, I don’t ask. I just help but I have often wondered how our Fijian families are rich in resources.
“There is no excuse of poverty in local communities because there’s a lot we can do with the natural resources.
“I have helped my mum with a yaqona farm and I have also planted the yaqona with my family and it’s just amazing how the farms generate such high income.”
He has also been surprised over the number of functions hosted and attended by villagers of Namukalau.
“Since coming in October last year, I have attended so many funerals, weddings and other functions and I wonder where they get their money from to host so many functions,” John said.
“This thought has challenged me and I believe it’s the love and caring attitude they all share in the village that has helped them organise functions together.
“It’s the backbone of a strong society and I admire them for working together as one big family.”