64 years later, Eta Qereqeretabua's Hibiscus memories still bloom
Ms Qereqeretabua never imagined nursing school would lead her to the festival stage.
Friday 04 September 2026 | 14:30
Miss Hibiscus 1962, Eta Qereqeretabua (left), and her daughter, Miss Hibiscus 1988, Lenora Qereqeretabua, share a special moment as generations of Hibiscus Queens come together to celebrate seven decades of the festival’s rich history and legacy.
Photo: Ronald Kumar
More than six decades after she wore the Miss Hibiscus crown in 1962, Eta Qereqeretabua returned to the heart of the festival’s history on Thursday, sharing with a new generation of contestants the story of how a young student nurse, backed by an entire nursing school, became one of Fiji’s early Hibiscus queens.
Now 85, Ms Qereqeretabua joined current contestants and former queens at a breakfast get-together at the Grand Pacific Hotel, reflecting on a journey shaped by hardship, courage and the support of those around her.
That journey began well before Hibiscus.
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Her father, a farmer, died during her first year at Adi Cakobau School, leaving her mother to raise six children with limited means.
Ms Qereqeretabua recalled having only two red skirts and three white blouses for school.
Years later, she was a second-year student nurse when an unexpected opportunity put her on the path to the Miss Hibiscus crown.
Ms Qereqeretabua never imagined nursing school would lead her to the festival stage.
Her principal initially ruled that she could not compete as an independently sponsored candidate, prompting the Student Nurses Association to step in and sponsor her.
“The support, in my case, was from the whole nursing school,” she said.
The association provided three new dresses, shoes and transportation, while fellow student nurses cheered her throughout the festival.
Their support extended to the Saturday float, which depicted a nursing classroom complete with a skeleton and diagrams of the human body, digestive system and heart.
That journey culminated in Ms Qereqeretabua being crowned Miss Hibiscus in 1962.
More than six decades later, the memories of that festival remain vivid.
She recalled the kindness of her fellow student nurses, the dresses and shoes provided for her, the excitement of the festival and the bangles she wore to the formal ball.
Looking back at the journey from a childhood marked by hardship to the Hibiscus crown, Ms Qereqeretabua said the experience taught her the importance of support and courage.
“You have to have it in you,” she said.
