Highlights museum theme ‘Missionaries – Founding Christianity in Fiji’

Methodist Church in Fiji secretary for communication Reverend James Bhagwan says missionaries did not only spread the good news of the Gospel but contributed to the development of the country.

“If you look back at many of the developments that took place in Fiji in education, health care, structures within the community, the cleanliness of villages are part of the by-product of the work of missionaries,” he said.

Reverend Bhagwan highlighted this while speaking as chief guest during the monthly Fiji Museum Open Day in Suva yesterday.

With the theme: “Missionaries – Founding Christianity in Fiji”, Reverend Bhagwan said the Methodist Church was grateful that the open day was dedicated remembering and honouring the work of the missionaries in Fiji.

“The earliest missionaries to Fiji came in the 1800s, the first three were Tahitians who ended up in Oneata (Lau) and that’s where the first church in Fiji existed.

“The official work of mission in Fiji officially began in 1835 on the 12th of October when the missionaries (William) Cross and (David) Cargill arrived in Lakeba,” he said.

“Within a few weeks not only did they start working in sharing the Gospel but they began something that would be the whole mark of Methodist missionary in Fiji and that is education.”

Reverend Bhagwan said they recently launched their decade for education at the annual conference which commemorated those education roots.

The open day is organised monthly by the Fiji Museum in collaboration with the Department of Heritage and Arts, the Fiji Arts Council, the National Trust of Fiji and the National Archives of Fiji focusing on heritage, culture and arts, connecting Fiji to its past, present and future.

 Edited by Rusiate Mataika

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