Vinaina loved life in the force
ENSURING the security of a nation is serious business, but it can also be a profession that is enjoyed. Police Constable Vinaina Drauniniu, 19, said she loved life in the Royal Fiji Police Force.
In an interview reported by The Fiji Times on December 6, 1976, she said she chose to join the force because she felt it would be an interesting job.
When joining in January of that year, she described life as “fantastic”.
She said the women were very close, more or less like sisters.
“The men are very nice to us and help us a lot with our different problems – work wise and socially,” she said.
Vinaina, along with other January recruits, passed out in June of that year.
She said her duties in the force included patrolling in towns, mobile patrolling, being an orderly at headquarters, and working in the information room and barracks.
At the barracks, she had to see things were in order and see that no males entered the barracks without permission.
Vinaina said police training was quite tough, but she had adapted to it, and she would not dream of leaving the force.
She said her previous experience from athletics training helped in her career.
The Namuka, Bau, native was the fifth in a family of nine – with four boys and five girls.
Vinaina started her primary education at Lautoka Fijian School and completed her secondary education at Ba Provincial School.
She started training for athletics when she was young, but began competing at the secondary level.
Her main events were discus, javelin and shot put. She made her international debut in the first New Zealand Games held in January 1975 and she represented Fiji in the first South Pacific championships, in Noumea in August 1976. She took third place in discus and javelin.
She played volleyball for Women Police and her main hobbies were sports and dancing. Vinaina said she visited the Bali Hai and Trio nightclubs often to meet her friends and relax from work.