A life of service
LOLOHEA Waqairawai was the first Fijian woman to have an education abroad and may have been the first Fijian woman to earn a teaching credential.
In an article published by The Fiji Times on February 21, 1967, it was reported that Lolohea had spent years quietly and unobtrusively working in Fijian communities, teaching the women how to care for and raise their children using contemporary ideas of nutrition and cleanliness while also setting an example of a clean, wellkept home.
She was born at Natuatuacoko in Navosa where her late father Reverend Maikeli Ratu of Narewa, Nadi, was the resident minister there.
After completing her primary education in Fiji, she moved to Australia where she studied at the Manly Public School, Sydney Girls High School, and Sydney Teachers Training College.
She returned to Fiji in 1914 and taught in various Methodist Mission schools.
Lolohea started working as a child welfare officer when she retired in 1950 and spent most of her time in the interior of Viti Levu, where she organised mother craft courses and child welfare work.
She wrote two guides for Fijian mothers on these subjects.
In 1924, Lolohea was appointed vice-president of the Soqosoqo Vakamarama, the largest women’s group in Fiji at that time.
She held this position for 36 years.
The Nausori branch of the association held its annual conference in 1947 and under her leadership the Great Council of Chiefs was prompted to urge the Government to establish a Government school for girls. Adi Cakobau School was formed in 1948 as a result of that being allowed.
Lolohea was awarded the British
Empire Medal in 1948 in recognition of outstanding public service, and in 1953 she received the Queen’s Award for meritorious service to the community.
When she retired from the teaching profession she was asked by the Soqosoqo Vakamarama to look after its affairs and for this, she received $10 every month.
In a tribute to Lolohea, the secretary for Fijian Affairs and Local Government Ratu Penaia Ganilau said Fiji had lost one of the most notable women of modern times.
“Lolohea’s monument will be found in the closelyknit and effective societies she built up in the remote parts of Viti Levu.
“In these areas she was probably the most frequent visitor from outside.
“She will be remembered by her many friends of all races.”
Also lauding Lolohea’s work, the president of the Soqosoqo Vakamarama Adi Litia Tavavanua said her death removed a stalwart supporter of the association.
“I have always recognised Lolohea as the adviser of the Soqosoqo Vakamarama and she made my work as president easy because of her advice,” Adi Litia said.
“When I last spoke to her she told me she was very pleased to know that the work of the association which she had set out to do had been accomplished.
“Lolohea carried out her work with sincerity, and it was of benefit to the whole colony. We will try to follow in her footsteps.”
Lolohea was also a member of the Pan Pacific and South-East Asia Women’s Association and attended the association’s conferences in Tokyo in 1958 and in Canberra in 1961.
She was consistently cited as the conference’s standout participant in all reports that came back to Fiji.
Lolohea died at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital on February 18, 1967. She was 74 years old.