Early in the days when Europeans explored the Pacific frontier, they left their mark over a vast expanse of the ocean and its islands.
Not only did their names go down in history books, but they were also immortalised on sea charts as names of natural landmarks from reefs and islands to sea passages and ocean straits.
The Duff Reef in Vanuabalavu, Lau Group is a great example of this.
The name of the reef is said to have links to a famous explorer that sailed the Lau waters in the 1700s.
He was a British named Captain James Wilson. His ship, the Duff, was famous in the 1700s for its many voyages and mission work around the Pacific.
According to the Ship Stamp Society, the Duff was built in 1794 by Peter Everitt Mestaer, at the King and Queen Dock at Rotherhithe, England.
History documents suggest the ship had set sail with the London Missionary Society (LMS) on August 10, 1796, landing in Tahiti on March 6, 1797, taking the first British missionaries to Tahiti (today called French Polynesia).
Captain Wilson is said to have explored many islands in the Pacific including Tonga and the Marquesas Islands.
The Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands lists Captain Wilson as the first European visitor to explore Vanuabalavu, Ogea and Fulaga in Lau in the year 1797.
According to Capt Wilson’s chart, the Duff had struck the reef at night on September 13, 1797.
This was after Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1643, British explorer Captain James Cook in 1774 and William Bligh from 1789 to 1792 had explored other islands in Fiji.
According to People Pill, a website that publishes news and biographical information about people, Capt Wilson onboard the Duff had surveyed or confirmed the locations of three islands in Lau and numerous other islands in the Pacific.
He published an account of his voyage on the Duff, “A Missionary Voyage to the Southern Pacific Ocean”, in 1799.
But the name Duff had confused many villagers of Mavana on Vanua Balavu who couldn’t understand how the reef Duff got its name when locals knew the name of the reef as Cakau Galu meaning the mute or the quiet reef for generations. Yavusa Qalitu (Mavana) spokesman Mesake Koroi said they had to do a bit of research to discover the name behind the reef.
“When you go into history you will find a Capt James Wilson voyage. They must have come close to Duff Reef, the name we call Cakau Galu in iTaukei.”
As years went by and as information about Capt Wilson’s journey surfaced, Mavana villagers then realised that the Duff Reef was named after Capt Wilson’s ship, the Duff.
“When we heard the word duff we thought it was supposed to be spelt deaf. Then we did a bit of checking on it and I found out that the HMS Duff was Capt Wilson’s regatta at the time. That is probably why he named the reef Duff Reef,” Mr Koroi said.
The Duff Reef is a two-hour boat ride from Mavana Village. While it is quite a distance from land, it is a spectacular place to visit.
When you get to the reef, you will be greeted by its quiet demeanour yet rich marine ecosystem located in the middle of a deep-sea passage surrounded by sparkling white sandy beaches.
According to Mr Koroi, Cakau Galu acts as a demarcation line or iqoliqoli boundary for the yavusa Qalitu of Mavana and the iqoliqoli of the turaga na Tui Cakau, the paramount chief of Cakaudrove province.
“Historically, the people of Mavana owned a lot of these areas, from Qilaqila Point and right up to the Tongan passage.”
“If you look at the old maps you will find that they still regard the Tongan passage as the Daveta vaka Mavana (Mavana passage) so therefore we had quite a lot of influence in the ownership of these islands.”
Mr Koroi said the reef was a blessing to them because it was full of wealth.
“The Duff Reef used to be a great source of wealth for us because it is a unique place and there is a big sandbank on it. That sandbank is where turtles usually come and breed so if you want turtles you go down to Duff.”
“When our forefathers first came to settle on these islands they had sailed through these waters and reef systems,” he said.
“While on that journey our ancestors then went to Qilaqila, (northwest) of Vanuabalavu and later settled in Mavana.”
Mr Koroi said this showed their ancestors had discovered Cakau Galu and the neighbouring pristine reef systems situated close to Vanuabalavu.
He said his people were so blessed to have customary ownership of those areas until today.
The sand cay on Duff Reef is mind-blowing as it has fine white sand accompanied by a few sand boulders formed over the years.
It was reported in 2020 by Conservation International that Duff Reef was purely a turtle nesting site with many nests and tracks that crisscrossed along the stretch of the sand.
The cay had been recently renamed by the turtle survey team as “Nodrai Vicovico a Marama” translated to “the belly button of a lady” island as it is a significant nesting capital of the green turtles in the Lau group.
With its strong link to history plus its rich biodiversity, the Duff Reef has become a remarkable site for researchers.
The protection of the reef has become a fundamental need for the people of yavusa Qalitu because not only does the reef hold great historical and traditional value, but it also allows the villagers to provide the best resources for their future generations.
Mr Koroi said from research done in the past, three types of turtles in the Pacific are bred on the reef.
He said the reef was specifically for turtle nesting.
On the reef being a marine protected area, Mr Koroi said the taboo had not only allowed the protection of the sand cay but also the surrounding areas in the reef system from unwanted divers.
“Fishing of any form is banned in these waters, particularly on the reef. We are trying to preserve our iqoliqoli from divers. This is our contribution to the protection of iqoliqoli in Fiji and Fiji’s fight against climate change.”
He said the yavusa didn’t have a lot of land but they had a vast area of the reef system in their iqoliqoli.
Meanwhile, the pristine Duff Reef has been declared a turtle sanctuary in Fiji.
The declaration of the reef was made possible through the efforts of Conservation International (CI), its partners and the people of the yavusa Qalitu of Mavana.
This is part of the Lau Seascape Initiative which focuses on both terrestrial and marine resource management and highlights the importance of achieving effective governance across all sectors and at all levels.
The declaration ceremony was done on Duff Reef on November 19, 2020.
- History being the subject it is, a group’s version of events may not be the same as that held by another group. When publishing one account, it is not our intention to cause division or to disrespect other oral traditions. Those with a different version can contact us so we can publish your account of history too — Editor.
