The Great Council of Chiefs is a Fijian constitutional body. It previously existed from 1876 to March 2012 and was re-established in May 2023.
Photograph of a meeting of the Great Council of Chiefs in Waikava in 1876. The Great Council of Chiefs meeting at Waikava was opened by Governor Gordon on 20 November 1876 and lasted nearly 3 weeks. Gordon outlined his plans for indirect rule and established procedures for future meetings. Numerous resolutions were adopted and at the end of the meeting a letter to the British Queen was signed by the principal chiefs. Various people came to the climax of the meeting which included a feast, dancing and a
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about 1,100 nautical miles north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The most outlying island group is Ono-i-Lau. About 87% of the total population of 924,610 live on the two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in the capital city of Suva, or in smaller urban centres such as Nadi or Lautoka. The interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited because of its terrain.
A Fijian mountain warrior. Photograph by Francis Herbert Dufty, 1870s
Bure-kalou or temple, and scene of cannibalism
Levuka, 1842
Ratu Tanoa Visawaqa
