Ravuama Vunivalu Explained

Ravuama Vunivalu
Office1:Member of the Legislative Council
Constituency1:Eastern (Fijian)
Term Start1:1963
Term End1:1964
Successor1:Josua Rabukawaqa
Office2:Nominated Member of the Legislative Council
Term2:1950–1954, 1959–1963
Death Date:7 April 1964 (aged 42)
Death Place:London, United Kingdom
Profession:Civil servant

Ravuama Vunivalu (died 7 April 1964) was a Fijian civil servant and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Council in two spells between 1950 and his death in 1964.

Biography

After excelling at school, Vunivalu won a scholarship from the Morris Hedstrom fund to study at the University of Auckland,[1] and was only the second Fijian to earn a Bachelor of the Arts after Lala Sukuna.[2] He won a second scholarship in 1948 to attend a postgraduate course in economics at St John's College, Cambridge.[3] He returned to work for the civil service, which he had originally joined in 1938.[2]

In 1950 Vunivalu was appointed as one of the five Fijian members of the Legislative Council. However, he resigned in 1954 in order to join the First Battalion of the Fiji Infantry Regiment to fight communist forces in Malaya.[4] He returned to Fiji in 1956 and rejoined the civil service, becoming secretary of the Education Department.[2]

Vunivalu was appointed to the Legislative Council again in 1959. Fijians were given the vote for the first time in the 1963 elections, with Vunivalu returned unopposed in the Eastern Fijian constituency.[2]

He died during a trip to London in April 1964 at the age of 42.[2] He was married twice, first to Faranisese Baboboa and later to Asilina Davila.[2]

Notes and References

  1. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-315194580/view?sectionId=nla.obj-329346163&partId=nla.obj-315218392#page/n47/mode/1up Morris Hedstrom Scholarship Winner Now in NZ
  2. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-370528117/view?partId=nla.obj-370639750#page/n130/mode/1up Ravuama Vunivalu
  3. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-316652217/view?sectionId=nla.obj-329935897&searchTerm=%22Ravuama+Vunivalu%22&partId=nla.obj-316677679#page/n23/mode/1up Second Scholarship For Brilliant Fijian
  4. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-333436519/view?sectionId=nla.obj-338639982&partId=nla.obj-333487012#page/n72/mode/1up Yesterday