World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe British Colony of Fiji was established on 10 Oct 1874. The British governors assigned to rule Fiji were generally benevolent, setting forth policies to prevent the exploitation of native Fijians, for example, restricting the amount of land that a non-native could own and disallowing Fijians from being sent abroad as laborers (although more than 61,000 Indians were ironically transported to Fiji as laborers). During WW1, similar protective sentiments let to the fact that no Fijians fought with the British military. In WW2, however, this was reversed, leading to the formation of the Fiji Infantry Regiment whose strength numbered in the thousands. The regiment was attached to New Zealand and Australian army units during WW2 and saw action in the Solomon Islands against Japanese troops. The islands themselves hosted barracks, training fields, and an airfield for the Allies. With British mediation, the various Fijian tribes and non-Fijian ethnic groups (including Indians) successfully established a constitution, and shortly after, in 1970, the Republic of Fiji was declared.

Weather

WW2-Era Weather Data for Fiji

Photographs

Fiji in World War II Interactive Map

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