THE news of the demise of Commodore James Goodenough was reported in The Fiji Times on September, 29, 1875.
He was an officer in the Royal Navy who went on to become Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station.
The commodore, along with Edgar L Layard (the newly-appointed consul in Fiji), was instrumental in the lead-up towards the annexation of Fiji to Great Britain
He travelled throughout Fiji to speak with the chiefs and settlers on their views of annexation.
And when the general consensus was agreed upon by the chiefs, he made a historic trip to the chiefly island of Bau to speak to them.
In December, 1873, he gave a favourable report to the Admiralty, and in February 1874 to the Colonial Office, that Fiji ought to be annexed.
He was a keen racegoer and had strong charitable interests, especially among seamen.
His duties included the maintenance of law and order among British subjects in the Pacific and control of their relations with indigenous peoples.
In September, 1875, The Fiji Times received a telegram announcing the murder of Commodore James Goodenough.
He was attacked by the savages of the island of Santa Cruz which “sent a thrill of horror and regret from the southern to the northern hemisphere”.
“The gallant officer had taken a very leading part in the steps which have led to the acquisition of the most recent possession of the Imperial Crown.
His name had been for some time before the public in connection with Fiji, and will always be associated with the annexation of these valuable islands,” reported The Fiji Times.
“The late Commodore Goodenough was a good man, cruelly cut off in the midst of a career of usefulness, but let us hope that so great a sacrifice will not be without some beneficial effect, both upon ourselves who claimed him as a countryman and friend. The remains of the gallant and generous seaman have been borne to their last resting place with due honors; and, doubtless, the hundreds who formed the funeral cortege mourned for him as David mourned for the premature death of Jonathan, his friend. He — one of England’s ablest sons — has gone early to receive the imperishable reward.”
Commodore Goodenough was buried in the cemetery of St Thomas’s Church of England, North Sydney, between two of his men.
