Fijian with N.Z. ties heads top hotel

Press, 28 June 1983, Page 30

Fijian with N.Z. ties heads top hotel

New Zealanders planning to stay at the revamped Mocambo Hotel in Nandi can count on a warm welcome. Popular Fijian identity, Radike Qereqeretabua, who has had close ties with New Zealand and was formerly a well-known executive at The Fijian resort, has just been appointed the Mocambo’s general manager. He is the first Fijian to hold such a senior position in a top international hotel. The Mocambo, which sits snugly on a rise only a coconut’s throw from Nandi Airport, has received a major facelift in the wake of Cyclone Oscar. While a small number of rooms have been available, the hotel will be fully operational from the beginning of August. One of the first tasks to be tackled by Mr Qereqeretabua will be to increase visitors’ average length of stay, presently 1.5 nights. To achieve this he intends to add to the already generous sporting facilities offered at the Mocambo. He has in mind squash courts and additional tennis courts. Mr Qereqeretabua regards his new appointment as “very exciting and challenging.” He has been “flattered” by the number of congratulatory telegrams and letters from all over the world, particularly New Zealand, where he is highly respected and has many friends. In the early 1960 s Radike Qereqeretabua received his tertiary education at Auckland and Victoria Universities and Auckland Teachers’ Training College. He also played first-class rugby until an attempt to stop 17-stone “Tiny” White put an abrupt stop to his rugby career. “I woke up next day in Middlemore Hospital with a dislocated shoulder,” Radike recalled. After returning to Fiji in 1964 Mr

Qereqeretabua joined the Library Service, which resulted in a further year spent in Wellington attached to New Zealand’s library service. In 1970 he was appointed secretary of Fiji’s Art Council, a position he enjoyed for “three beautiful years.” He then became manager of the western office of the Fiji Visitors’ Bureau and, a year later, joined the executive of The Fijian resort hotel until taking up his new post at the Mocambo earlier this month.