02841cam a22003373u 4500 76974 UtSlPG 20260610134801.0 m cr n 260607r20251882utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d UtSlPG en iso639-1 DU Gordon Cumming, C. F. (Constance Frederica), 1837-1924 At home in Fiji New edition Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg, 2025 1 online resource : multiple file formats text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Release date is 2025-10-03 Peter Becker and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) "At home in Fiji" by C. F. Gordon Cumming is a travel memoir written in the late 19th century. It follows a British traveler attached to Governor Sir Arthur Gordon’s household as she journeys via Australia to newly annexed Fiji, recording landscapes, colonial society, Fijian chiefs and customs, and missionary influence. Blending letters, reportage, and nature sketches, it dwells on daily life in Levuka and outlying islands during a turbulent transition to British rule. Readers who enjoy Pacific history, ethnography, and vivid scene-painting will find it appealing. The opening of the work first sets out the political backdrop: Fiji’s cession to Britain, speeches by chiefs Thakombau and Maafu, Sir Hercules Robinson’s role, the appointment of Sir Arthur Gordon, early administrative reforms, and economic prospects amid the devastation of a measles epidemic. The narrative then shifts to the author’s journey—assembling the Governor’s party, sailing out, and pausing in Sydney for social calls and excursions to the Blue Mountains and the bush—punctuated by the shocking account of Commodore Goodenough’s death in the Santa Cruz Islands. She finally reaches Levuka with Royal Engineers and missionaries, finds Government preparations incomplete, and sketches the hardships of provisioning and household management. Early encounters include formal meetings with chiefs, yangona rituals and mékés, and a stark chronicle of the measles catastrophe and quarantine efforts. The section closes with first impressions of Levuka’s harbour life—native canoes, reef-lit waters, and the colour and motion of the coral lagoon. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Originally published: New York: A. C. Armstrong & son, 1882 Fiji Folklore -- Fiji https://archive.org/details/athomeinfiji01gord https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76974 117698 117698