Deve Toganivalu Explained

Deve Toganivalu
Office1:Roko Tui of Bua
Termstart1:1909
Termend1:1928
Successor1:George Toganivalu
Office2:Nominated Member of the Legislative Council
Term Start2:1926
Term End2:1938
Birth Date:1864
Death Date:21 February 1939 (age 75)

Ratu Deve Toganivalu (1864 – 21 February 1939) was a Fijian chief and politician. He was Roko Tui of Bua from 1909 until 1928 and a member of the Legislative Council between 1926 and 1938.

Biography

Born in 1864,[1] Toganivalu started his career in 1880 as a clerk in Levuka.[2] In 1888 he joined the civil service as a Native Tax Inspector.[3] He later became the Governor's Matanivanua and a Native Stipendiary Magistrate.[3] He resigned from the civil service in 1927.[3]

On 1 January 1909 Toganivalu became Roko Tui of Bua,[4] a role he held until being succeeded by his son George Toganivalu in 1928. During his tenure, Bua gained a reputation as being the best-run and most traditional province of the territory.[2] He became a nominated member of the Legislative Council in 1926,[5] and was awarded an Imperial Service Order in the 1928 Birthday Honours.[3] He resigned from the Legislative Council in 1938 and was replaced by G.W. Lalabalavu.[6] He died in February 1939.[3]

Notes and References

  1. T. J. MacNaught (1974) "Chiefly Civil Servants? Ambiguity in District Administration and the Preservation of a Fijian Way of Life 1896-1940", The Journal of Pacific History, Vol. 9, pp3–20
  2. Timothy J. Macnaught (1982) The Fijian Colonial Experience The Australian National University, p55
  3. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-315023709/view?partId=nla.obj-315058258#page/n7/mode/1up Ratu Deve Toganivalu, I.S.O.
  4. https://books.google.com/books?id=Q1wvAQAAMAAJ Fiji Blue Book for the Year 1914
  5. Ahmed Ali Fiji and the Franchise: A History of Political Representation, 1900–1937
  6. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-314392462/view?partId=nla.obj-314411604#page/n59/mode/1up/ Ratu G.W. Lalabalavy