"Our Home in Fiji " (Frontispiece)

The picture is of the Government House location at Nasova, Levuka. The Cyclopedia of Fiji recorded, "To see Levuka properly - and half an hour would be sufficient to do it completely - it was necessary to start from the extreme south end, that is from Government House, Nasova where Sir Arthur Gordon resided. It was a wooden, veradahed building, with thached roof. The main part of the building looked seaward, and two wings, one at each end, jutted out at right angles toward the sea. There were no other hoses - with the exception of the "vales" [vale (vah-leh) = Fijian house] in which the native soldiers lived, in proximity to it. It thus stood isolated as regards Levuka, and, though different to most Government Houses, it was an eligible residence in appearance and dimensions" (p.126)

"On the Upper Rewa [River: Na Wailevu]. Foreground of Tree-Ferns"  (p.86)

"Isles of Ovalau, Moturiki, Bau and Viwa. From Viti Levu"  (p.110).

This is a very foreshortened impression, which makes the islands appear close inshore. In fact, Ovalau is a considerable distance from the mainland.

"Hot Springs, Isle Gau" (p.180)

The springs are still in use in Gau for bathing, as illustrated here. They are warm rather than hot, unlike the springs in SavuSavu, Vanualevu, which are hot enough to cook yams and taro in.

 

"A Chief's kitchen"  (p.208)

The illustration actually shows the interior of the chief's large dwelling. It is unlikely there would be quite this assemblage of objects in one home, but it allowed the artist to display a tour-de-force of material culture illustration, as elaborated in the full picture. The cooking hearth was traditionally in one end of this, as shown here.The rack over the hearth was a useful place for storage, not only of pots, as here, but also (wrapped in a protective old mat, or placed out of the direct path of the smoke) mats and bark-cloth (as here), which the smoke proofed against insect and vermin attack. (Apropos vermin, note the rats eating scraps in the foreground). The smoke also protected the rafters and thatch from insect attack - a fatal problem ever since the colonial government insisted on the removal of kitchens to a separate building, which has contributed greatly to traditional thatched buildings being abandoned throughout Fiji in favour of ugly and uncomfortable wood, concrete and corrugated iron buildings.

 

"The Kauvandra Mountains" (p.252)

The mountain area called Nakauvadra (meaning literally, the "screw-pine" or "pandanus" tree) in north-central Vitilevu is a rugged and inhospitable region with the highest mountains in Fiji. The Scot Gordon Cumming was very impressed with this rugged place, writing, "Another day filled with impressions of beauty. Few bits of Scotland can compare with the mountain scenery of these isles. I only wish it were possible to make expeditions inland, and explore the dark ravines and corries which seam the great mountain-range of the Kauvandra, along the base of which we have been riding all day" (At Home in Fiji p.251-2)

It was a beauty and mystery not lost on the Fijians, who believed this to be home to the principal god in their pantheon, Degei, adopting the form of a giant python [Pacific boa] living in a cave. His children were believed to have spread out through Fiji and many oral traditions trace lineages back through them to this region. When asking a Fijian where their clan's utimate origin-place (yavutu) is, the most common answer in Fiji is "Nakauvadra".

"The White Terraces, New Zealand" (p.294)

The extraordinary geological features of the Pink and White Terraces near Rororua were New Zealand's premier tourist attraction, together claimed as the eighth wonder of the world. The White Terraces fell 30 metres from a geyser that produced the white silica of the terraces. However on 10th June 1886, at 3:00 am, it was obliterated by New Zealand's most violent recorded volcanic eruption, that of Mount Tarawera, which covered it in lava. A second eruption several hours later, through the bed of Lake Rotomahana, buried the Maori villages of Moura and Te Ariki under a mud, stones and ash. Some excavation of the villages has occurred in recent years and the site may be visited, but the terraces have been lost forever.