Fiji

Republic of the Fiji Islands, Viti

Last modified: 2000-01-14 by santiago dotor
Keywords: fiji | viti | commonwealth | union jack | coat of arms | lion | coconut | palm tree | dove | olive | bananas | sugar cane | cross: red | crown | rotuma | whalebone | blue ensign | red ensign | white ensign | south pacific commission |
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• Description and history of the flag
• Civil Ensign
• Government Ensign
• Naval Ensign
• Civil Air Ensign
• Coat-of-Arms
• Governor-General's Flag (the tabua or whalebone)
• Rotuma
• History of Fijian flags

See also:

• Colonies of the United Kingdom
• United Kingdom
• South Pacific Commission

Chris wrote: "Fiji got kicked out of the Commonwealth as a result of the coup d'etat in (I think) 1987. Didn't change its flag, which is a defaced pale blue British ensign." Apparently (according to The Flag Bulletin) a public design competition was held in Fiji in 1990 for a new flag. A committee narrowed down the entries to six designs. But for some reason, the (now) republican government went cold on the idea, and dropped plans to change the flag. The six designs have never been made public. So Fiji retains the pale blue British ensign as its flag, despite it being a republic and, after being kicked out of the Commonwealth, having absolutely no relationship with Britain whatsoever other than historical. This struck me as being quite bizarre - after a coup to make Fiji a republic in 1986, why such timidity in changing the flag?

Brendan Jones, 10 August 1995

Fiji still retains very close economic and political ties with the UK, which may possibly have influenced its decision to retain the old flag. Remember that the British Foreign Office does not recognize Fiji's withdrawal from the Commonwealth and therefore treats Fijian citizens as through they were still in the Commonwealth. The Fijian ambassador is still the High Commissioner, for example, and Fijian students can still apply for Commonwealth scholarships (I know this because I used to help administer one). I think the Foreign Office is basically turning a blind eye to the problem (something they are very good at!) in the hope that it will somehow disappear.

Stuart Notholt, 23 August 1995

Fiji held a competition on independence to design a new flag. The fact that they ended up with one so similar to the colonial ensign suggests a certain lack of imagination either on the part of the competitors or the judges! Anyway, the only main differences made were that the white disk behind the coat of arms was removed and the colour changed to light blue. A dark blue version, which must look virtually the same as the old colonial flag was adopted for use as the state ensign.

Stuart A. Notholt, 9 February 1996

Colours of the botanical specimens on the shield. They are probably emblazoned 'natural', so there's plenty of scope for artistic licence, but suggest that the trunk of the coconut-palm in the second quarter should be brown rather than blue, and that the stem and 'dead flower?' at the ends of the bunch of bananas in the fourth quarter, should also be brown.

David Prothero, 27 May 1998

The new Constitution (1998) altered the official name of the country to Republic of the Fiji Islands. No reference to any discussion concerning national symbols is apparent from Fijian sources. Probably nobody is aware of the obsoleteness of the Fijian flags.

Jan Zrzavy, 16 September 1998

From the Fiji Government Official Site:

Fiji's flag flew for the first time on Independence Day, October 10, 1970. It includes the red, white and blue Union Flag of Britain in the top left-hand corner and the shield from the Fiji Coat of Arms on a light blue background in the fly. The design for the national flag was selected as the result of a competition won jointly by Mr. Robi Wilcock and Mrs. Murray MacKenzie.

Dov Gutterman, 25 December 1998

About five years after the 1980 coup, Fiji decided to return to the Commonwealth, following at least a partial return to democratic rule. Interestingly the committee of Rautu (Chieftains) decided to make a formal apology to the Queen, for dispensing with her services (at least temporarily). They presented her with a sharks tooth [whalebone?] as a sign of deep apology.

J.B. Oates, 5 April 1999

May I make some corrections here. The coup was in 1987, not 1980. Fiji was ultimately re-admitted to the Commonwealth quite recently, I think it was in 1997, but it remains a republic. There has been talk that Fiji will seek to become a monarchy under the House of Windsor again, but as far as I know it has not been acted upon yet. I don't know whether the President of Fiji continues to use the old Governor-General's flag or not.

Roy Stilling, 6 April 1999

modified by Calvin Paige Herring, David Prothero and Santiago Dotor

The civil ensign is like the national flag, but red.

Jan Zrzavy, 16 January 1998

modified by Calvin Paige Herring, modified by David Prothero and Santiago Dotor

modified by Calvin Paige Herring, David Prothero and Santiago Dotor

The naval ensign is like the national flag, but white.

Jan Zrzavy, 16 January 1998

The Naval Division of the Royal Fiji Military Forces was formed in 1974, four years after independence. As of about 3 years ago, the Fiji Navy had 6 patrol and coastal craft, 1 training vessel, and a presidential yacht (the Cagidonu). Fiji has traditionally relied heavily on New Zealand for defence arrangements, but since independence most of Fiji's army has been overseas on UN assignments. Apparently this is a major source of revenue for Fiji.

T.F. Mills, 23 May 1999

National Defence: 3600 men (91.7% in Army and 8.3% in Navy). White Ensign. Source: Encyclopaedia Universalis Yearbook, 1998; flag as reported in Album des Pavillons.

Ivan Sache, 24 May 1999

by Calvin Paige Herring, modified by David Prothero and Santiago Dotor

While looking at my collection of Fijian ensigns (actual flags - not GIFs), I was stirred to check out the FOTW Fiji page. It surprised me that no one had drawn the complete gamut of Fijian flags that are based on the UK style. I made some quick adjustments to the FOTW site's Fiji flag to complete the civil, government, and naval ensigns. The Civil Air Ensign is a completely new creation by me. After looking at the UK CAE, I realized that the proportions are off (more 3:5 than 1:2) so I drew a completely new ensign. Source: Barraclough & Crampton 1981.

Calvin Paige Herring, 24 May 1998

From the Fiji Government Official Site
Coat-of-arms adopted 4th July 1908

According to Smith 1981, the specimens depicted in the Fijian coat-of-arms are three sugar canes, a coconut palm, a dove with olive branch and a bunch of bananas. The lion in the chief is holding a peeled coconut. The coat-of-arms was granted by Royal Letter Patent on 4th July 1908 and confirmed on 30th September 1970. Other elements which appear in the coat-of-arms when depicted on its own (and also in the Colonial Flag) are:

• the supporters, two Fijian warriors dressed in mulberry bark skirts, one of them holding a lance and the other a pineapple mace, all proper;
• the crest, on a wreath argent and gules a canoe with outrigger all proper;
• the scroll, or with the motto "Rere vaka na kalou ka doka na Tui" ("Fear God and honour the King").

According also to W.Smith, the dove with olive branch and the motto were pre-colonial Fijian symbols.

Santiago Dotor, 20 November 1998

From the Fiji Government Official Site:

Fiji's national Coat of Arms consists of the images of two Fijian warriors on either side of a shield and the motto "Rerevaka na Kalou ka Doka na Tui" below the shield. These words mean "Fear God and honour the [King or] Queen." The shield from the coat of arms has the image of a heraldic lion holding a cocoa pod across the top. Sugarcane, a coconut palm and bunch of bananas are represented in three of the sheilds sections. The fourth contains the reproduction of a dove of peace, the main feature, of the Cakobau Government's flag before cession.

Dov Gutterman, 25 December 1998

According to Whitney Smith, Fiji's Governor-General's Flag has proportions 11:15 and is similar to others (blue with royal crest) but the name of the territory ("Fiji") appears on a "tabua" or whalebone (a traditional Fijian welcome gift) instead of a scroll.

Santiago Dotor, 20 November 1998

From the Fiji Government Official Site: "The tabua a whale's tooth, is much prized in Fijian tradition. It takes precedence over everything else and occupies first place in Fijian ceremony, whether for family, intertribal or state occasions. It is regarded as a sacred bond between two parties. It is used as a symbol of peace and disputes or quarrels can be smoother over by its presentation."

Santiago Dotor, 13 January 1999

In the South Pacific Handbook (1989, Moon Publications INC, PO BOX 3040 Chico CA 95927-3040 USA) a text about Rotuma says: "...Rotuma is run like a colony of Fiji, with the administration in the hands of a district officer responsible to the district commisioner at Levuka. Decisions of the appointed Rotuma island council are subject to veto by the national government. The island wasn't directly represented in the old house of representatives, being lumped into the Lau Group constituencies, although it did have an appointed senator. In early 1988 Rotuma attempted to secede from Fiji, citing human rights violations by the military-backed republican regime. The Fijian district officer on the island promptly demonstrated his disgust by blasting the flag of the New Republic of Rotuma with a shotgun. Soon after, a "peace keeping force" of 13 Rotuman soldiers arrived, and the protesters were taken to Suva and charged with sedition...".

Jaume Ollé, 7 April 1997
Jarig Bakker, 26 November 1998

Alan Howard

A kind of apartheid ("pro-Fijian and anti-Indian") had been established in Fiji the previous year, by Col. Rabuka, if I remember correctly. Maybe this was incentive for Rotumans to leave the Fijian nation, however. And "independentist" flags certainly were not tolerated in those years, while I do not know how they would be welcomed now.

Thanh-Tâm Lê, 28 November 1998