Tribute To

[?] E Builder Of

Korolevu

[ had been asked to name the ;st example I knew of a first citizen —honest, clean-living and etent, devoted to a numerous y and intensely jealous of his ry’s good name—l should have ‘Hughie Ragg of Fiji”. began with nothing. Ceaseless work, probity, clear and logical ng, marked courage in plan and execution, made him, de lly, not only a rich man but, ably, one who was called to places in the government of his ry. He ended with a record my man might envy. ghie Ragg was a tough fighter, nmerce and in politics, but never er one. He could hate with the )f us; but he never bore malice, the fight was over, he remem only his opponent’s good points, espected him accordingly. In all uarter - century’s perambulations id down Fiji, I never heard a nasty word spoken against him. spoke of him gratefully—he generous giver. link I shall remember him best planner. On occasion, many ago, he would drive me from to Lautoka; and always he 1 pull up at a particular spot ic South Coast, and wave his over a bay and a beach, and e that there he would build the hotel. never gave up, and gradually took shape the delightful Koro leach Hotel, which has achieved ore than any other single factor tablishing Fiji’s now valuable t industry. ause of his practical planning, k he should be regarded as the of Fiji’s tourism: “You want ing travellers and their money lt is simple. We have all itural beauty. We lie in between ica and Australia. Give them ansport and the good hotels, and rth and so on—and our tourist ic will beat the sugar income.” d so it came, “so forth and so Hughie, the planner’s, inevitable nemorable phrase. was a remarkable man who, igh he achieved four-score years, grew old, mentally or physic- When last I saw him in Suva dd me a wicked story, which with a merry laugh. We shall iss Hughie.—R. W. ROBSON.