Nasonini Gun Battery
IT was through a casual chat last month when the conversation that included the “vale ni dakai” at Ratu Sukuna Rd caught my attention and the probe started immediately.
I believe that very few people know the existence of the second World War relics which is within the Suva City boundary.
There were two massive size state-ofthe-art weaponry of that time installed at Nasonini, Suva, similar to that in other parts of Fiji in preparedness for the Japanese invasion.
The two huge guns at Nasonini had a metal base of about 20 feet in diameter that could rotate about 180 degrees.
At the rear of the guns was a concrete semicircular platform from which the American soldiers could rotate the directions of the guns that also had the height
Whose fault?
BARKING and howling dogs all night is a major problem in Fiji.
Just like grog dopeys, barking and howling dogs at night have become an accepted and normal part of the Fiji landscape.
Our children have grown up with both these nuisances and they have become so adjustment lever.
The two guns were about a hundred meters apart located at a pinnacle point with an excellent aerial view of the Suva Harbour.
The gun battery now nestled within the Pacific Islands
Forum Secretariat’s main premises has deteriorated like its sister structure in Veiuto, with it also existing in less-than-ideal conditions.
However, only one of its guns remains in it (broken up into pieces, unfortunately) and one of its three emplacements has been demolished so a residence for the High Commissioner of New Zealand could be built there. normal that they know no better.
And whose fault are these nuisances? People I speak to blame the councils and the Agriculture Department for the dogs.
It is never their fault or the fault of the dog owners.
It is always someone else’s fault in Fiji as we all know.
As for the grog dopeys – whose fault? It must be the government, I think. It is not the grog dopeys’ fault as we all know,
The battery was built in 1942 by the American and the Fijian armed forces after the Empire of Japan’s concerted attacks during World War II on Pearl Harbour, Guam, and other Pacific island locales.
It is a visible improvement on the Fijian batteries that included the most cutting-edge military apparatus guarding Fijian coastlines at that time due to its three 6-inch guns and complementary radar detection system for focusing those guns on specific targets.
At the rear of the operation area there are tunnels and bunkers that were intended to provide protection in an attack which is still there. is it?
JAN NISSAR NSW, Australia
Mental health
WHEN a new government comes into power, I would suggest a compulsory mental health therapy for all Fijians in addition to the 462 medical staff frontliners
The tunnels give an indication on what life was like during that time in Fiji and showed excellent planning and engineering craftsmanship that took place in the construction of the bunkers.
The concrete tunnels had steps leading underground.
The clear movement of World War II activity in the Pacific away from Fiji prompts the deactivation of all of Fiji’s coastal gun constructions in 1944.
Apart from the vandalism and graffiti, the structure at Nasonini is in good condition and I believe that the Fiji Museum must promote this as a tourist site and encourage history student visitation.
SATISH NAKCHED Suva because all suffered mentally in any form pre and post COVID-19 (F/T 30/11).
The amount of politically motivated hate speech by our so called leaders and negative comments in our social media is evidence enough to show that majority of Fijians are affected mentally one way or another. There is no harm or stigma to seek out mental health treatment.
JIOJI MASIVESI CAKACAKA
Tadra, Votualevu, Nadi