the BP COPRA SHED in SAVUSAVU?

THEN:

A building to house copra as it awaited shipment was built along Nakama Creek by the Burns, Philp & Co. Limited in 1952.

It was to house copra storage awaiting shipment to the mill on Viti Levu. A trolley was used to roll the copra bags to the jetty for loading onto the cutters for transport to the mill on Viti Levu.

Burns, Philp & Co, Limited was once a major Australian shipping line and merchant that operated in the South Pacific. The building and jetty were purchased from the Government in 1996.

NOW:

The BP copra storage shed was converted to Waitui Kelekele Marina after it was sold.

The rustic Waitui Kelekele Marina adds a quaint charm to the Savusavu foreshore.

Waitui Kelekele Marina services yacht traffic and houses a bar, cafe, laundry, fish and meat shop, and offices for several other businesses.

There is a Chaulin’s Restaurant at the Waitui Marina which offers a great local Fijian menu. It is packed for lunch almost everyday.

There is also a laundry, a fish and meat market with the freshest goods available, a business office for Namena Island Resort and an office for DHL with a certified agent. Waitui Kelekele Marina caters to the yachting community with 22 Helix tm moorings which have not moved an inch through numerous cyclones. The Marina is popular with knowledgeable yachtsmen. The management also facilitates customs clearance, biosecurity, travel permits within Fiji, etc. A green light was recently given to Savusavu Bay to operate as the nation’s second Blue Lane Yacht Port since COVID-19.

About Mike Crowfoot

Mike Crowfoot is one of the three directors of the Waitui Kelekele Marina along with Satish Gulabdas and Leo Smith.

He arrived with his wife, Carol, to Fiji on October 10, 1970, on independence day. The Crowfoots spent two years at Nasau on Koro Island as Peace Corps Volunteers.

They taught and helped establish the Junior Secondary School while on Koro Island. The Crowfoot family then bought a property in Savusavu and spent the next 50 years between Alaska and Savusavu where they built and operated a seasonal summer business.

Photos: Mike Crowfoot THEN... 1. The Burns Philip Copra Shed at Nakama Creek, Savusavu. 2. Mike Crowfoot’s wife, Carol, on the trolley that was used to roll copra bags to the jetty for loading onto the cutters for transport to the mill. NOW... 3. The Waitui Kelekele Marina.