We are currently updating information in this guide to reflect changes made in our refreshed catalogue.
The Library is actively looking for stories from the Fijian Australian community to add to our collection. If you have books or newsletters from the community you’d be happy to donate, you can donate them here.
Get in touch with us today to contribute to our oral history collection and tell your story and experiences.
Australia’s connection with Fiji
Australia has a very strong connection with Fiji. Australia has more expatriate Fijians than any other country. Migrants from Fiji have played a big part in Australian society, from sports, music and entertainment to academia and business.
We are reaching out to Fijian communities around Australia and asking them to add their oral histories, pictures, manuscripts and published materials to the national collection.
Who makes up the Fijian Australian community?
The Fijian Australian community is very diverse. The Library wants to gather stories that tell the experiences of Fijian Australians from all backgrounds. The Fijian Constitution defines Fijians to include people who are:
- iTaukei (Indigenous Fijian)
- Indian
- Rotuman
- European
- Chinese
- or other Pacific Islander background.
What is the Library looking for?
- Oral histories
- Books
- Newspapers or newsletters
- Manuscripts
- Pictures
- Photographs
- Posters
- Electronic publications
- Websites
- Ephemera
We are looking for items by and about Fijian Australian people and communities.
What sort of things has the Library collected in the past?
The Library has collected some amazing and rare items. These include:
- Photographs of Fijian Australian communities. For instance, one photo was taken at the first meeting of the Fiji-South Australia Association in Adelaide in October 1972. It shows members of the association enjoying the traditional drink of Kava, with a Fijian Masi cloth hanging in the background
- A tabua, a whale tooth, which Fiji presented to Lord Casey after the disappearance of Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt at sea in 1967. It was a special gift that would encapsulate the links between the two countries.
- Oral histories, such as this wonderful recording of Radike Qereqeretabua from 1965, and interviews such as Selwyn Speight's which describes memories of Fiji at the start of the 20th century.
- Books, such as a copy of Fiji-Baat, a children’s book published in 2020 about an 8-year-old boy from Australia who travels to Fiji with his Fijian mother for Christmas and connects with his origins.