Fijian Deputy Mayor

of Lautoka

FIRST Fijian to hold office as a Town Councillor and Deputy Mayor, the Rev. Kolinia Saukuru, was unanimously elected Deputy Mayor of Lautoka on November 2. (See PIM for November).

The Rev. Kolinia Saukuru has had a notable career. After train ing at the Methodist Mission Tech nical School, Davuilevu, he was appointed, in 1928, Technical In spector at the Richmond Mission School in Kadavu.

Between 1933 and 1948, he did brilliant mission work among the Aborigines in Arnhem Land, Northern Australia, and during the Second World War was appointed navigating pilot in the north eastern waters of Australia and un official chaplain to the Royal Aus tralian Air Force. The latter appointment was confirmed in August, 1945, one day before Japan surrendered.

After a period of study and ex tremely popular Church work in the United States, he returned to Fiji and in 1950 was appointed as the first Fijian minister at Lautoka. He was mainly responsible for the

building of the Coronation Methodist Church at Lautoka, completed in Coronation year, 1953.

In the same year the Governor nominated the Rev. Kolonio Saukuru a member of the Lautoka Town Council the first Fijian appointment of the kind under the Local Government (Towns) Ordin ance, 1947.

A younger, but increasingly pro minent member of the Fijian

Methodist Church, Anare Raiwall was appointed a Suva City Couu cillor in October. t The village of Lauli’i, TutuiiJ Eastern Samoa, was recently cod nected into the electric power systes Fagasa village, soon to be connected will be the first village on the non coast of the island to be so sin plied.