Fiji History MuseumTravel to the past.

LESSON PLAN · 8 CHAPTERS

Modern Fiji

Print this page for the worksheet: the plan prints first, then one sheet per pupil pair.

A forty-minute lesson

5 min — Arrive. Open Rotuma on the projector and look around its 360° scene together.

15 min — Work from sources. Give each pair one chapter from the list below. They read its facts, open one source and fill in the worksheet.

10 min — Compare. Pairs with different chapters explain to each other what their chapter says and which source supports it.

10 min — Check. Each pair names one thing their source does not tell them, and who might know it — a family elder, a village, an archive.

Chapters in this era

  1. Rotuma · Pacific lives · 1 sources
  2. Banaba and Rabi · Pacific lives · 2 sources
  3. War service · Pacific lives · 2 sources
  4. Democracy and its tests · Pacific lives · 2 sources
  5. Independence, 1970 · Independence and living Fiji · 2 sources
  6. Suva, the capital · Independence and living Fiji · 2 sources
  7. Rugby and sport · Independence and living Fiji · 1 sources
  8. Living Fiji today · Independence and living Fiji · 1 sources

Worksheet: Rotuma

Name(s):

The museum says

  • Rotuma is a Polynesian island about 460 km north of Fiji, with its own language and culture.
  • It was ceded to Britain in 1881 and has been administered as part of Fiji ever since.

1. Which source supports one of these sentences? Write its name.

2. Who wrote or made that source, and when? Were they Fijian, or a visitor?

3. What does the source not tell us? Who could we ask?

Sources for this chapter: Wikipedia: Rotuma

Worksheet: Banaba and Rabi

Name(s):

The museum says

  • Phosphate mining stripped much of Banaba (Ocean Island) in present-day Kiribati.
  • Rabi Island in Fiji was bought for the Banabans, and many were resettled there in 1945.

1. Which source supports one of these sentences? Write its name.

2. Who wrote or made that source, and when? Were they Fijian, or a visitor?

3. What does the source not tell us? Who could we ask?

Sources for this chapter: Wikipedia: Rabi Island · Wikipedia: Banaba Island

Worksheet: War service

Name(s):

The museum says

  • In the First World War, the Fiji Labour Corps served on the Western Front in France.
  • Fijian soldiers fought in the Solomon Islands campaign in the Second World War.
  • Corporal Sefanaia Sukanaivalu was awarded the Victoria Cross after he was killed at Bougainville in 1944.

1. Which source supports one of these sentences? Write its name.

2. Who wrote or made that source, and when? Were they Fijian, or a visitor?

3. What does the source not tell us? Who could we ask?

Sources for this chapter: Wikipedia: Sefanaia Sukanaivalu · Wikipedia: Republic of Fiji Military Forces

Worksheet: Democracy and its tests

Name(s):

The museum says

  • Fiji became independent with an elected parliament.
  • Coups in 1987, 2000 and 2006 overturned governments.
  • A new constitution came in 2013 and elections were held in 2014.

1. Which source supports one of these sentences? Write its name.

2. Who wrote or made that source, and when? Were they Fijian, or a visitor?

3. What does the source not tell us? Who could we ask?

Sources for this chapter: Wikipedia: Parliament of Fiji · Wikipedia: Politics of Fiji

Worksheet: Independence, 1970

Name(s):

The museum says

  • Fiji became independent on 10 October 1970, 96 years to the day after the Deed of Cession.
  • Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was the first prime minister.
  • Fiji Day is celebrated every 10 October.

1. Which source supports one of these sentences? Write its name.

2. Who wrote or made that source, and when? Were they Fijian, or a visitor?

3. What does the source not tell us? Who could we ask?

Sources for this chapter: Wikipedia: Kamisese Mara · Wikipedia: History of Fiji

Worksheet: Suva, the capital

Name(s):

The museum says

  • Suva is Fiji’s capital and largest city, on the south-east coast of Viti Levu.
  • It is home to the University of the South Pacific and to the Fiji Museum in Thurston Gardens.

1. Which source supports one of these sentences? Write its name.

2. Who wrote or made that source, and when? Were they Fijian, or a visitor?

3. What does the source not tell us? Who could we ask?

Sources for this chapter: Wikipedia: Suva · Wikipedia: Fiji Museum

Worksheet: Rugby and sport

Name(s):

The museum says

  • Rugby sevens is one of Fiji’s great passions.
  • Fiji’s men’s sevens team won Olympic gold at Rio 2016 — Fiji’s first Olympic medal — and won gold again at Tokyo 2020.

1. Which source supports one of these sentences? Write its name.

2. Who wrote or made that source, and when? Were they Fijian, or a visitor?

3. What does the source not tell us? Who could we ask?

Sources for this chapter: Wikipedia: Fiji national rugby sevens team

Worksheet: Living Fiji today

Name(s):

The museum says

  • Markets, village gatherings, church, sport and festivals bring people together across the islands.
  • Dance forms such as the meke carry stories and history from one generation to the next.

1. Which source supports one of these sentences? Write its name.

2. Who wrote or made that source, and when? Were they Fijian, or a visitor?

3. What does the source not tell us? Who could we ask?

Sources for this chapter: Wikipedia: Culture of Fiji