Ravuama Vunivalu (died 7 April 1964) was a Fijian civil servant and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Council in two spells between 1950 and his death in 1964.

Biography

After excelling at school, Vunivalu won a scholarship from the Morris Hedstrom fund to study at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, and was only the second Fijian to earn a Bachelor of the Arts after

Lala Sukuna Ratu Sir Josefa Lalabalavu Vanayaliyali Sukuna (22 April 1888 – 30 May 1958) was a Fijian chief, scholar, soldier, and statesman. He is regarded as the forerunner of the Modern Fiji, post-independence leadership of Fiji. He did more than an ...

.Ravuama Vunivalu
''Pacific Islands Monthly'' May 1964, p129 He won a second scholarship in 1948 to attend a postgraduate course in economics at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

. He returned to work for the civil service, which he had originally joined in 1938. In 1950 Vunivalu was appointed as one of the five Fijian members of the Legislative Council. However, he resigned in 1954 in order to join the First Battalion of the

Fiji Infantry Regiment The Fiji Infantry Regiment is the main combat element of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces. It is a light infantry regiment consisting of six battalions, of which three are regular army and three are Territorial Force. The regiment was formed w ...

to fight communist forces in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

.Yesterday
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', July 1974, p71 He returned to Fiji in 1956 and rejoined the civil service, becoming secretary of the Education Department. Vunivalu was appointed to the Legislative Council again in 1959. Fijians were given the vote for the first time in the 1963 elections, with Vunivalu returned unopposed in the Eastern Fijian constituency. He died during a trip to London in April 1964 at the age of 42. He was married twice, first to Faranisese Baboboa and later to Asilina Davila.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vunivalu, Ravuama University of Auckland alumni Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Fijian civil servants Fijian soldiers Members of the Legislative Council of Fiji 1964 deaths