…that little old me would still be worthy of being attacked by the Office of the Director of Prosecutions when I am a grumpy septuagenarian with a modest little unpaid sidekick as a commentator on events in my country of birth. Mind you, they did get my surname wrong.
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No matter. My new-found notoriety comes as I’ve been sorting through my papers preparing for our home to be partially rebuilt after being flooded in a Noah-like deluge last April. And to follow is a random selection of some of the detritus of my life to remind everyone what a short distance I have traveled.
My long-suffering father, the Reverend Peter Davis, would never have imagined that his wayward son would be quite so notorious so late in life. He was – after years of spreading the “word” in isolated mission stations in Fiji – eventually a pillar of the establishment as president of the Methodist Church.
I was born – as a great many Fijians at the time were born – at Nurse Morrisons in Waimanu Road when the CWM was still a functioning and well respected hospital. I suspect the lifts didn’t have to work because there weren’t any.
Funnily enough, despite my rakish reputation, I’ve been a member of the Methodist Church since January 17 1954.
It’s striking looking back at my old school reports to find that I was as troublesome then as I am now. Though improving, just as I hope I am now. Because life, of course, is a journey of trying to do better. And not always succeeding.
We all wrote in government-issued stationary like this:
And official mail always came courtesy of a remote woman who lived 16,000 kilometres away in Lodoni (England, not Tailevu)…
…who occasionally made a fleeting visit to her colonial possession.
We went out into the world with everything the Fijian state and its British masters could equip us with. It took me three goes to get my driving licence in Suva in the days before the testers could be bribed. But after that, the world of motoring was my oyster.
And then eventually the British were gone and it was Independence.
Fancy being so notorious 55 years on. It’s been quite a journey from the bright-eyed luveni talatala to the cynical world-worn scribe.
And none of it planned. It just kind of happened, including my career in journalism that began at Lautoka European School before it became Drasa Avenue, where our teachers from NZ and the UK taught us the “Queen’s English” – the only subject I have ever been passably good at since.
It eventually led me to the BBC World Service newsroom in Lodoni writing the “Queens English” for a global audience by the age of 24. And four decades in television roaming the world after that.
After many years of being a disruptive influence, who’d have thought that after all this time, Graham “Davies” is still causing trouble in Fiji.
A small slice of yours truly – an island life, of sorts – as background to some free publicity from the outgoing leadership of the ODPP. .
I sometimes wonder how I’ve been allowed to exist. And so undoubtedly do Nancy and John at Gunu House.
Your parents should be very proud of you because you are a journalist with integrity and honesty.
Your courageous advocacy has had an impact on this Christopher Pryde issue.
Proud of you GD.
Let’s hope Mr Pryde can fix up the mess that Rabuka created.
Ordinary people are scared to function now because crime and drugs have become rampant over the past two years.
Pryde and the new Commissioner of Police need to step up and enforce the law.
Let’s pray for this. 🙏 🙏
Reminiscent of Job’s lament.
Oh for the days when Fiji was in its prime.
We are proud and grateful to have you as a true son of Fiji. Vinaka GD
Keep up the good work! .Grahsm you are a beacon of light for good old fashioned independent unbiased journalism in an era where mainstream media is sadly no longer trusted.
That is a very well kept home. To have all those reports, certificates, passports, magazines of that era still, wow, lucky you Mr Davis, that is priceless. The safekeeping of those documents was the work of the ‘greatest generation’. The reports were typed out without a flaw, that takes techical skills and great responsibility.
As reminisced above, from independence and to the mid 70s Fiji was ‘in it’s prime’, ready to step out with the world. A nation built from the toil of two generations, ‘the greatest and the silent’. The baby boomers took over and the rest, alas, is history.
Floral shirt..Elvis Presley look alike
Thank You GD for your insights and wonderful analysis.
Given the Fiji Times and Fiji Sun are both toilet paper and sensible people are looking for news from unbiased and untainted sources, your site has consistently delivered factual information which Fijians living abroad and in Fiji can rely on for the real news.
Even the locally run sites such as FijiVillage, FijiLive, FBCNews, etc. are all pandering and preening to the government just to make some money off them.
Keep up the good work mate!
Well done GD. It takes a lot of patience and dedication to the task, not to mention courage, especially when there are mentally challenged individuals who have no moral compass and try to dictate the narrative according to their own unintelligible beliefs.
Those memorabilia are priceless and indeed Fiji was the gem of the Pacific in its heydays of the 60s and 70s.
Please keep up the media pressure on the clowns that are currently in charge of the circus in Fiji. It is paying off seeing that pancy Nancy used Grubsheet in one of her press releases. She isn’t the brightest bulb in the city aye?
Vinaka GD, all the best 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Thank you Nancy and John for directing traffic to Grubsheet! Why pay when Nancy and John can promote your site FOC, Graham?
Keep up the good work, It is moving mountains. The talatala must be really proud.