A REBEL FIJIAN.
TTTE STORY OF AVALOSI. SUVA, June 27.—A rebel Fijian is somewhat of a rarity, but the colony has not been without its political extremist. The most prominent rebel of recent years was Avalosi, who was convicted of inciting the natives and causing much unrest. It was not that Avalosi was * very had' villian, but lie had independent ideas; he dreamed of Fijian independence. Avalosi was a,, clever, levelheaded and businesslike native. He was so smart that he created a reputation that caused the Government of the day some qualms of jealousy. So Avalosi suffered the fate of all who are a threatening offence to those in power. He was deported. The Government feared to take any more severe step, for tear of stirring up “a little war.” Avalosi went to Itotumah. He stayed there for five years. But he was not idle. Jle organised a system of export trade, and acted ats stevedore for Itotumah’, which had never suffered from such an offence before, but Avalosi had seen for himself, and knew that there was money in loading ships. He was ruler of a number of self-deported followers, who had, in cases, come after the man they so much admired. Avolosi thrived, and kept in close touch with his many friends in Fiji. Now he has served his allotted time of exile, and has come back. Naturally ho is a iiero. Everywhere he has been hailed with every mark of welcome by his countrymen. Ho is still a power in the land. The Government have a silent but solid respect for his power, although it sneers at any pretensions of influence. However, it has been discovered that ere allowing Avalosi to return he was forced' to give an assurance that he would .not indulge any more in politics, but—we shall see! Now the latest news is that his countrymen have raised the large sum of over £4OCO for him, and. that he is starting Business as an agent and exporter. The amount is asserted! to be an exaggeration, but he is very popular, sic! — Auckland Star correspondent.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/PBH19250714.2.60
Bibliographic details
Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LI, Issue 16781, 14 July 1925, Page 7
Word Count
350A REBEL FIJIAN. Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LI, Issue 16781, 14 July 1925, Page 7
Using This Item
The Gisborne Herald Company is the copyright owner for the Poverty Bay Herald. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of the Gisborne Herald Company. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Log in