The First Secretary of the Indian High Commission Mr. J. Varma was full of praise for the National Archives of Fiji at the Ministry of Education’s Girmit celebrations at Syria Park Nausori on May 14th.
“I from the High Commission of India would like to congratulate the National Archives of Fiji for preserving the records of people who came from India because it’s based and proven with the records that the National Archives of Fiji is preserving. And I find it very comprehensive with the details being put there and the mode of preserving records is excellent and the records are clear and it has a story to tell the people. I would like to congratulate and motivate the Department of National Archives to continue working in this manner. The Girmit story has a lot of lessons and I’m grateful that the National Archives of Fiji is preserving them and wish you all the best. Vinaka”
His Excellency the President Major General (Ret’d) Jioji Konousi Konrote was also very impressed with our Girmit exhibition, and expressed his surprise that the National Archives had so much to offer. “Thank you very much. This is Very impressive, very impressive. This information is so important for our nation to know. Please keep up this very good work you are doing” he said.
Part of our services on the day was to help descendants of Girmityas to trace their heritage by using the Girmit records. This was very well received with numerous individuals successfully finding the details they were after.
On display were:
– Indenture records (Immigration pass, shipping records, plantation records)
– Photo’s of Girmityas
– Audio Visual footage
– Deed of Cession (and Fijian translation)
Genealogy search, Archivist Elenoa Delailakeba assisting a person to find information on of his Girmitya forebears. The National Archives of Fiji has all these records on site at Kimberley Street. This gentleman was one of many satisfied visitors on the day.
