By Staff Writer
The Fijian community turned up en masse today to celebrate their National Day in Apia at the Catholic, Tu’utu’u ile Loloto Hall, Mulivai.
More than a hundred adults and children started gathering from mid-morning onwards to take part in the events organised to mark occasion.
Sporting activities at the nearby grounds of the Marist Brothers Primary School were part of the celebrations.
Many of the Fijians in Samoa are members of the expatriate community on working contracts in regional and international organisations set up in Apia.
Fiji Day is celebrated during the year on 10 October, to commemorate the anniversary of both Fiji’s cession to the United Kingdom in 1874 and its attainment of independence in 1970.
Fiji was first visited by Europeans by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1643 while he was searching for the fabled Great Southern Continent.
The British took control of the islands as the Colony of Fiji on 10 October 1874. Fiji became an independent sovereign state on 10 October 1970 when its colonial status was removed.
The week leading up to Fiji Day is known as Fiji Week and consists of a series of religious and cultural events that celebrate Fiji’s diversity.
