Davuilevu, the name of the site of three Methodist Church of Fiji institutions
Davuilevu Theological College the Bible School for Catechist training, and
Lelean Memorial School
Lelean Memorial School is one of the largest co-ed schools in Fiji. It was established in 1943 and is run by the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma. It is co-located at the Davuilevu Methodist Compound with thDavuilevu Theological Collegeand the ...
. It can be translated as "the large conch shell."
Information
The use of the adjective "large" in this context is used by the church to convey the significance of the duty bestowed upon church members who attend the Davuilevu institutions, which surpasses even its physical size. It is the premier institution of the
Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma. Indigenous
Fijians
Fijians ( fj, iTaukei, lit=Owners (of the land)) are a nation and ethnic group native to Fiji, who speak Fijian and share a common history and culture.
Fijians, or ''iTaukei'', are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live ...
use the giant conch shell (
Charonia tritonis
''Charonia tritonis'', common name the Triton's trumpet or the giant triton, is a species of very large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Charoniidae, the tritons. Reaching up to two feet (or 60 cm) in shell length this ...
) as a horn to herald important events such as the birth and death of a high ranking chief.
Davuilevu is located at
Nausori
Nausori () is a town in Fiji. It had a population of 57,866 at the 2017 census. This makes it the fourth most populous municipality in the country. Situated 19 kilometers outside of Suva, it forms one pole of the burgeoning Suva-Nausori corrid ...
,
Fiji.
It was the home station of Reverend
Thomas Baker who was martyred and killed in 1867 by cannibals at Nubutautau in the upper reaches of the Navosa Hills. His famous words still ring true to those who enter Davuilevu. When warned of a possible plot against his missionary party, he replied in Fijian that "Sa yawa vei au ko Davuilevu, ka sa voleka vei au ko lomalagi," meaning, "Davuilevu is yet far, heaven for me is closer."
The Methodist Church moved its Theological College for Ministers and Bible School for Catechists from
Navuloa to Davuilevu in 1907. Fiji's first technical and engineering school was also established here. Later the colonial government asked the assistance of the Methodist Church to help set up the government technical school. This was named the Derrick Technical Institute, after the founder and Principal of the Davuilevu Technical School,
R.A. Derrick, and who was asked to set up the government technical school at
Samabula,
Suva. The Derrick Technical Institute was later renamed the
Fiji Institute of Technology.
References
*
Tippett, A.R., 1954, The Christian (Fiji 1835–1867), Auckland Institute and Museum, Auckland
Thornley Andrew; Exodus of the i Taukei, The Wesleyan Church in Fiji 1848-74; Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific; 2002
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Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma educational institutions