It’s not every day you see or hear of former school principals hoping to find students at the school they once taught in.
This newspaper published an article sharing a story as such, highlighting how a former principal came to The Fiji Times Pte Ltd to have a look through old publications.
This is what Tom Robinson did. He was the principal of Natabua Secondary School from 1945 to 1951.
He was accompanied by his wife Mrs Robinson in this journey down memory lane.
The article stated Mr and Mrs Robinson were on a sentimental journey to meet former students of Natabua Secondary School, who were scattered all over Fiji.
It was also stated the principal, with his wife, had earlier met teachers who had also taught in the school.
These teachers were Clarence Dass from Lautoka and Justice Mishra from Suva.
According to the article, some of the former students they had met who had become prominent figures were: Abbas Koya who was the Magistrate in Lautoka, Ratu Josaia Tavaiqia, the Tui Vuda, Divaka Rao, the senior Education officer in Suva, Karim Buksh, an executive at Cable and Wireless Ltd, Utkat Naicker, the director of Housing Authority, Mumtaz Ali, a chartered accountant in Suva, Vivendra Kumar, the editor of The Fiji Times and many others.
Mr Robinson, who was the head of the English Department at Stratford High School in Taranaki, then called his former school and met its principal Dip Narayan, who had been a student of his at Wangarei and other teachers.
The Fiji Times quoted Mr Robinson as saying, “When I read through the list of ex-Natabua pupils, it reads like a list of university graduates. It makes me feel very proud.”
Mr Robinson then thanked his workmates and especially his students who had used the facilities at Natabua Secondary School.
“My best teaching years were spent in Fiji,” where he further added he would return to the school to celebrate its jubilee in 1982.
