4The wooden Oregon flooring now disintegrating. Picture: JOHN KAMEA
The world wars, especially the one in which a Japanese invasion became a real threat to Fiji in the 1940s must have been a busy and historic time in terms of infrastructure development.
In the capital, the remnants of excavation works that made way for underground hospitals, air raid shelters and basements et cetera, can still be seen today
Forgotten and mostly invisible, they tell a story of how far the British went to protect their interests and loyal subjects. Constitution Day holiday 2022! 9.30am.
Blessed by uninterrupted sunshine and an adventure spirit, which in my department is a rarity, I teamed up with photographer, Sophia Ralulu.
Our assignment was to comb one of Suva’s peri-urban backyards in search of an underground hospital. We started off around the Nuffield Clinic in Tamavua.
But the closest we got to the underground hospital many had posted and re-posted on Facebook, was a sealed concrete hood with steel gauze and prying eyelets.
We knew the entry point would be on the periphery of the compound, hidden among bush and shrubs, at least 50 metres from the main road.
The entry as seen from inside. Picture: JOHN KAMEA
While the search for an entry point became tricky, considering we had to escape security surveillance every now and then, we ended up unearthing another underground tunnel story in a nearby settlement about a kilometre away.
It was through a chance encounter that we got introduced to Tamavua-i-cake, a village of sorts located at the intersection of Cunningham and Princes Road, on a parcel of land that belongs to the people of Tamavua Village.
Here we were kindly received by former headman, Pita Naleba, who kindly escorted us to see the Qara ni Kovana (loosely translated to Governor’s Cave), hidden on the side of an overgrown soapstone knoll about 100m downhill from his home.
Two concrete posts still stand erect at the entrance, signifying the place was heavily fenced, perhaps by barbed wire, and guarded or had a special “no trespassing” signboard to keep nosy beings out.
According to Mr Naleba the underground tunnel had been in his family backyard before he was born.
“I became aware of the place when I was a little boy. In those days there were only a few houses around and this place was unheard off.”
“All we know is people referred to the place as Qara ni Kovana. Our elders said it was built as a secret hideout for the Governor during WWII.”
As the name suggests, the rectangular basement may have been a highly classified area back then. In the 1940s it would have been located on a ridge, at one of the highest spots in the peninsula, overlooking the layout of army hospital facilities.
Checking out the depth of the water. Picture: JOHN KAMEA
“I was told that one day in the 1940s, people here were shocked when soldiers arrived in their vehicles, apparently during a mock exercise.”
“They were even more shocked when they saw the Governor himself. He had accompanied soldiers to Qara ni Kovana.”
Mr Naleba said after the war, the Qara ni Kovana was used a dynamite storage site. It used to be heavily guarded by soldiers.
“We were told that dynamite used to be stored inside.”
“Many men in the village were soldiers. My dad was one and I would hear stories about Qara ni Kovana from him.”
According to The Fiji Times records, in 1941, the British Colonial Government braced for any impending invasion of Fiji by imperial Japan.
Under Proclamation No. 1 dated January 8, 1942, the Governor, Sir Harry Luke, called the Fiji Defence Force (predecessor of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces) to action.
When Japanese forces eventually landed in the Solomon Islands, war was literally on Fiji’s doorsteps.
The Civil Defence Committee was set up and it decided to divide the capital into sections, supervised by wardens.
Construction of air raid shelters or tunnels started, to act as a place of refuge for Suva’s population in case there was an aerial bombing.
Mr Naleba exits Qara ni Kovana. Picture: JOHN KAMEA
Therefore, bomb shelters and tunnels were constructed at strategic locations within the town’s vicinity — such as Robertson Rd, Holland St, Ratu Sukuna Rd, Flagstaff and various parts of Toorak, among other places.
Colonial Officer, George Kingsley, the chairman of the then Suva Town Board which later became the Suva City Council, was one of those behind this massive project.
Therefore, in January 1942, an estimated 3900 feet ( or three quarter miles) of tunnels were constructed in the greater Suva area.
The Waimanu Rd air raid shelter was one of the biggest in town. It was well equipped with wooden seats and had enough space for some level of comfort and movement.
It is said the Robertson Rd air raid shelter was the largest. It could be accessed from Struan St and the Pacific Biscuit Company along Rodwell Rd.
Another set of tunnels was dug out in soapstone along Cunningham, at the lower parts of the hospital area in Tamavua.
During the war, British experts had estimated that five feet of soapstone overhead was enough to give Suva residents immunity from ordinary bombs.
Atomic tests carried out in Australia also confirmed this – that underground soapstone shelters could “completely escape an explosion”.
As I found out, the Qara ni Kovana opening led to a flight of descending stairway whose base marked the start and end of a rectangular tunnel.
It would have been a highly classified place during the colonial days, well maintained and installed with water and electricity.
The rectangular floor had a platform of Oregon wood. Now the floor is submerged in water that has been seeping into the basement over the past two decades.
Mr Naleba shows how the entry area splits into a left and right wing. Picture: JOHN KAMEA
Various parts of the tunnel had special short tunnels, probably for hiding or storage.
One had a flight of ascending stairs that rose to a dead end. One side led to a heavily bolted steel vault that looked like it had been closed for ages.
A groove ran throughout the ceiling, probably where pipelines ran. There were specific spots that had remains of electrical wires.
“The place was installed with water and electricity,” Mr Naleba told me.
“It was well protected and very secure. People hardly known that this ‘cave’ exists although it has been in our backyard for around 60 years.
To enter Qara ni Kovana, you’d require a torch to find your way through its blanket of darkness. You’d also need a pair of gumboots because you would have to wade through cold water and walk on unstable wooden planks that breaks very easily at certain places and have jutting rusty nails at some places.
The smell of enclosed, damp and dark spaces may put you off but if you have a nose for adventure, you’d take in all you see, smell, feel and hear.
Copyright © 2022 Fiji Times Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2022 Fiji Times Limited. All Rights Reserved.