Tui Turagavou,28, who worked as a driver for the Papua New Guinea High Commission in Suva, was on cloud nine while celebrated his success as the first main prizewinner in The Fiji Times-organised Timesball competition of 1978.
He won a UTA (Union de Transports Aériens) jet flight to Tahiti, with free stay for one week at the exotic Club Mediterranee (also called Club Med) resort there. Tui also won a whooping $2500 in cash.
Tui’s win was reported in The Fiji Times on Thursday, November 23, 1978. At the time, he was preparing to go to New Zealand for a holiday and was supposed to claim his Tahiti prize when he returned from NZ.
He was married to a schoolteacher, and the couple had a daughter and a son.
Timesball earnings was The Fiji Times competition held in aid of the South Pacific Games fund and sportsmen all over the country supported it. It was promoted as: “By playing Timesball you are playing the 1979 Games.”
After Tui’s win, the next Timesball Game had a first prize money of at least $500 plus another stay at the Club Mediterranee with a return flight by UTA.
