Saturday, July 17, 1976
A big crowd turns out for parachutists
More than 2000 people milled around at Stinsons Parade near the seawall, stretching from the Civic Centre to Princes Landing yesterday to watch a mass parachute drop organised by the RNZAF parachute training school in Suva Harbour. The RFMF chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel David Ogilvy headed the show parachuting alone in the first drop.
Tuesday July 17, 1973
Woman vanishes on fishing trip
Volunteers are helping police in a search for the body of a young woman washed out to sea near the mouth of the Sigatoka River.
Mrs Osa Knowles (29) of Kulukulu was fishing with a hand line on Saturday and was waist deep when a big wave swept her out to sea. Other women fishing with Knowles went to her rescue but she disappeared under water. A strong seaward current was running at the time. The deep-sea fishing launch Susan Jane carried the manager of Korolevu Beach hotel, Mr Bill Clark and three members of his fishing team, his son Jamie, Mr Hector McDoanld and the manager of American Airlines in Fiji, Mr Ron Hunt. They spent three hours at sea and near the mouth of the Sigatoka River without sighting anything before returning to Korolevu.
Major changes in FSM administration
Major changes are being made in the administration of the Fiji School of Medicine. The latest Fiji royal Gazette lists the appointment of a new academic board and an advisory council. The academic board has a specific instruction to consider racial balance when selecting students for the school
Nightmare on the bay
A speedboat horrified people on Suva‘s Bay of Islands on Sunday when it ran out of control at high speed after the driver was thrown overboard. It circled the pontoon area in front of the Tradewinds Hotel dining area twice - crashing each time into Tanya and Maid-4 Fun, which were moored at the pontoon - then straightened out and piled into the 19ft cabib cruiser Tuna. The runaway boat, owned by Mr Don Stewart of Lami, is Zorro, a 16-footer powered by a 50-horsepower outboard engine.
Govt driver charged over death
A government chauffeur was charged in Suva court yesterday with causing death by dangerous driving.
A charge against Epeli Rokovaka alleged that he drove dangerously causing the death of Daniel Swamy (20, s-o Samuel Posaiya) labourer of Cunnigham Road, Suva near his home at 6.15am on June 1.Police brought an alternative charge of careless driving. Rokovaka said he wished to go on trial in the Supreme Court. Rokovaka was driving a car carrying the Minister for Communications, Works and Tourism, Ratu Penaia Ganilau to Nausori Airport when the accident took place.
Police record praised
The Royal Fiji Police Force is a highly successful crime-fighting organisation, according to the Commissioner of Police, Mr Tom Hanford.
Mr Hanford said yesterday the force‘s overall detection rate and successful prosecutions worked out at between 70 and 80 per cent of the crime rate.