Peking Expert’s Opinion on

“Very Remarkable”

Peking Expert’s Opinion on Fiji Rock Symbols

SEVERAL months ago there were pub lished in the “Pacific Islands Monthly” photographs of a number of very strange inscriptions cut into rock faces in a cave in the northern Fijis, found by Mr. A. J. Vogan. Mr. Vogan, at great expense and incredible personal labour climbed into the upper recesses of this cave which is partly filled by water and made plaster replicas of the inscriptions. He claimed that the inscrip tions strongly resembled ancient Chinese script.

The plaster casts, rubbings from the rock faces, and photographs were brought to Sydney by Mr. Vogan and submitted to the University “authorities.” The latter treated the discovery very cavalierly, and did not even thank Mr. Vogan for sub mitting the specimens. Other “experts” were equally discouraging.

Mr. Vogan submitted photographs to Dr. Fox, who is acquainted with ancient Chinese writings; Dr. Fox was much in terested and sent the photographs to Rev.

Dr. Mathews, of the China Inland Mis sion, Shanghai: and Mr. Mathews sub mitted the photographs to Professor Kok, Chancellor of the Dutch Legation, in Peking, who is said to be one of the greatest authorities on Chinese writings.

The following are extracts written by Dr.

Kok: “The Fiji symbols are very remarkable indeed, and a thorough study of them may become of great value to the science of scripts . . There is indeed some similarity between these Fiji symbols and ancient Chinese script . . . Evidence from ‘books’ is less reliable than stone, bronze, or bone inscriptions, which take us back to 600-900 B.C.”

Dr. Kok asks for information about any further discovery of scripts in Fiji.

As a result of the article published in the “Pacific Islands Monthly” of July last, Mr. Vogan has had many letters; and among them is information about even more remarkable rock inscriptions in another part of Fiji. Mr. Vogan is making plans to visit Fiji to examine this latter discovery more closely.