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THE late Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna once told a school teacher during the outbreak of World War II in 1939 that he could not join the army because he was already a member of another army and a very important one too.
The teacher, Viliame Tuivaga Baleilakeba, then aged 66, did not fully realise the importance of Ratu Sir Lala’s words until his retirement from teaching.
According to an article reported in the Fiji Times on February 20, 1976, Ratu Lala Sukuna successfully convinced Mr Baeilakeba from joining the military.
However, Mr Baleilakeba had not regretted clinging on to his profession after he unsuccessfully tried to join the army because of pay dissatisfaction.
That year the Education Department lost a number of teachers who were prepared to join the army because they were not happy with their pay. As recruiting officer, Ratu Sir Lala saw the rapid drift of teachers to the army.
He stepped in and tried to prevent them from joining, fearing that it would create an acute shortage of teachers.
Mr Baleilakeba might have been one of the many retired teachers he stopped before the situation had become critical. about 6000 tons of cane from the area. The two-mile long road, opened last week by the Minister for Fijian Affairs and Rural Development, Ratu William Toganivalu, was built by the Public Works Department.
March 22
A SHOWER of pellets from a shotgun hit a 15-year-old Tavua boy injuring his hand, thighs, abdomen and private arts, when he heard a gun being shot and went out to investigate, the Lautoka Supreme Court heard yesterday. Police have alleged that the shots were fired by three Tavua brothers at Malele, five miles from Tavua, in September last year. March 23
AN $18,400,000 project to boost cane production by up to 200,000 tons a year has had the Government’s final seal of approval. The project - at Seaqaqa, Vanua Levu - would be extended by 8000 acres of land, the Prime Minister said. Other work entailed would be the building of a railway, improvements to main roads, the building of more than 100 miles of farm roads and repairs to decaying sea walls.
March 24
THE United Nations secretary-general, Dr Kurt Waldheim, and Mrs Waldheim, were accorded traditional Fijian welcome ceremonies usually reserved only for high chiefs by the people of Viseisei Village, near Nadi, last night. Dr and Mrs Waldheim arrived at Nadi yesterday for a two-day visit at the Government’s invitation.
March 25
ELEVEN British volunteer workers have arrived in Fiji since the beginning of the year bringing the total in the country to 21. The British High Commission in Suva said seven of the new arrivals have taken teaching jobs outside Viti Levu and of the others one is a librarian, two are economists and one is an engineer.
Ratu Sir Lala told Mr Baleilakeba that Fiji’s education would regress 100 years if many teachers left the profession.
On his advice, Mr Baleilakeba decided to continue teaching with the aim of bringing up the young generation to become useful loyal and law-abiding citizens of Fiji. He said Ratu Sir Lala’s words echoed through the decades. So Mr Baleilakeba embarked on a mission he thought would go on forever.
In fact he was only too willing to continue when he was reappointed after retiring in 1973. He had eventually retired for good, but Mr Baleilakeba felt he still could work for another 10 years at least.
His early, years were ones that the modern day teachers would not have survived or tolerated.
In 1929, Mr Baleilakeba passed the then qualifying examination at Queen Victoria School when it was at Nasinu, the later site of the Teachers Training College. The following year he joined Natabua Teachers Training Institution and in 1931. He was given his first appointment to teach at the Toorak Methodist Mission School in Suva.
Two years later he was transferred to Sawani Provincial School. It was at Sawani, where Adi Cakobau School now stands, that Mr Baleilakeba got the first taste of what real teaching was like.
He recalled more time was spent on outdoor activities than on in-classroom work. He said for such a boarding school like Sawani, this was predominantly the basis of education. Students had to learn the hard way and as they saw it in those days, this was the only way to teach them discipline.
The widely accepted belief was that discipline was the basic element in a good citizen. He said teachers were looked down upon with respect from the people.
“We are supposed to set the example in practically everything we do - our behaviour in public, dress and other things.
“In the old days we can differentiate teachers easily from a crowd through their dress and appearance.
“But today you may meet a shaggy haired person with jeans in the street without knowing that he holds a degree and is a secondary school teacher.”
He said he still believed that some of the old practices and ideas were needed to shape present-day society into a peaceful and harmonious one.
March 26
THE whole of the Suva area is likely to continue to be affected by a water shortage caused by low water levels and a blocked pump in Suva Water Supply’s catchment area. A statement issued by the Secretary for Works, Berenado Vunibobo, yesterday afternoon said lack of rain in the catchment area on the Waimanu River in Sawani and a blocked intake pump had caused a drastic drop in output from the main pump at the pumping station on the river.
March 27
FORMAL Fijian welcoming ceremonies at Viseisei Village await the secretary-general of the United Nations, Dr Kurt Waldheim, after his arrival at Nadi Airport at 5.45pm tomorrow. Dr Waldheim, travelling with his wife and five UN officials, will be in Fiji until early on Sunday morning when he will leave for Sydney. March 28
NEW ZEALAND police officers feel that many Royal Fiji Police Force methods may have potential value to their own force, according to Fiji’s Police Commissioner, John Kelland. In a statement issued after a 10-day tour study of the New Zealand police force, Mr Kelland said interest had been expressed in a reciprocal visit by New Zealand police officers.
March 30
THE man who was the first Indian mayor in Fiji, Choy Gopal, 57, died at his home at Vitogo, Lautoka yesterday. Mr Gopal was elected to Lautoka Town Council in 1956 and became deputy mayor the same year. He was elected mayor the following year. After retiring from the council, Mr Gopal worked as secretary of the Lautoka Club for several years before joining Beachcomber Cruises Ltd where he was general manager until his passing.
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