On November 18, 1918, one of The Fiji Times articles said: “As a result of the outbreak of influenza in Suva, six Fijians who contracted it have died at the Colonial Hospital.”
Word was also received that seven of the dozen or so Fijians on the ship SS Atua in Sydney had died.
This was the start of an influenza epidemic in Fiji in the early 1900s. Special thanksgiving church services which were to have been held were abandoned or other arrangements made at the wish of the Governor.
At St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Suva, no notice was received and the service proceeded as usual.
At the Roman Catholic Cathedral and the Jubilee Church, services were held in the open air. Schools were requested to close as there were still numerous cases being reported and doctors were facing a challenge in hospitals. Regulations were made by the Governor-in-Council to deal with the prevailing epidemic of influenza, otherwise called “Spanish influenza”. Almost a month later, on December 12, 1918, The Fiji Times reported there was no sign of the epidemic abating.
“There are 60 patients at the Boys’ Grammar School with a regular roster of workers,” the paper said.
“The brothers have turned their school rooms into a hospital and there will be room for about one hundred patients.”
Twelve staff members were reported off-duty and remaining staff members worked double shifts to keep pace with the traffic. On December 3, the first paragraph of a story read: “The total burials yesterday were 26.”
“Pretty bad” was the reply from a Levuka resident when the paper made enquiry as to the condition of the town. Four deaths had occurred in Levuka the previous night.
“There are probably 200 or 300 cases on the island, but the work is being coped with by members of the committee (volunteers) who are at work.” At Navua, there were about 1000 cases, The Fiji Times said.
“Of these, 270 are in the Navua Hospital while the Mission has been opened as a hospital. The deaths total is about 20 to date.”
