Fijian national day celebrated in Nambucca Heads Nambucca Valley Nambucca Valley - popup ad Nambucca Valley News by News Of The Area - Modern Media - October 18, 2024 Two of the organisers of Fijian Independence Day celebrations in Nambucca Heads on Saturday: Waisea Maravu and Alisi Voromusu. NAMBUCCA Valley’s lively Fijian expat community celebrated the island nation’s 54th anniversary of independence on Saturday, 10 October, hosting a public event at the Nambucca Heads Community Hall to mark the occasion. The day was free and included a short video presentation, dances, songs, and traditional food and drink. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au After advertising a ‘lunchtime’ start, in what attendees described as “Fijian time”, the event was in full swing by 5pm. The food and entertainment was immensely popular with the contingent of attending locals, many of whom told NOTA they had made multiple visits to the tropical nation in the South Pacific Ocean. “I’ve been 18 times in the last 20 years,” one attendee told NOTA proudly. “I love it!” Others said they had stayed several months at a time and loved the Fijian people for their generosity and sense of fun. Alisi Varomusu, one of the organisers, told NOTA this was an opportunity to showcase the culture of her nation to Nambucca Valley locals. “We cooked ‘most of’ the food in a traditional underground oven called a ‘lovo’,” fellow organiser Waisea Maravu explained. Traditional dances were performed by locally residing Fijian nationals and ex-patriots, many of whom are employed in aged-care centres in the Nambucca Valley and Kempsey. Most are employed under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme which allows Australian businesses to employ workers from nine Pacific islands and Timor Leste. Two highlights of the evening were serenades performed by Fijian men on their guitars, Alisi told NOTA. “There must be 100-plus Fijians locally and we work shift work so a lot of Fijians arrived after five pm,” she said. The evening’s entertainment concluded by 8.45pm with the army of volunteers working until 10.45pm to tidy up the public space. By Ned COWIE Cutting of the cake to celebrate the special occasion: (L-R) Iliseva, David, Alisi, Moira and Marchel. Community members at the Fijian Independence Day celebrations in Nambucca Heads. An assortment of traditional food was prepared for attendees.
