Levuka officially ceased to act as Fiji’s capital from 1882.
Four years later, in 1886, it was still regarded a lively place to live in, with all the trappings of a colonial port township.
Then, some very fine stores, made up of weatherboard and iron, lined Beach Street.
Leading Levuka firms at the time included Messrs W. Hennings and Co., G. Morgan, Sadingham and Co.,H. Cave and Co., Hoerder and Co., Sadingham and Co., Brodzrak and Co., and Bentley and Co.
According to Levuka.wordpress.com Levuka had “three good hotels” — Polynesia, Planters Club and Royal. The latter still stands today, making it the oldest hotel in the South Pacific.
Shops and businesses included butchers, tailors, bakers, boat makers, chemists, watchmakers, sail makers, blacksmith and boot makers, among others.
There were two bank branches, the Bank Of New Zealand and the Union Bank of Australia and three established churches belonging to the Church of England, Roman Catholic and Weslyan Mission.
Levuka.wordpress.com further noted there were two newspapers, The Fiji Times and the Polynesian Gazette. The former owned one of the “handsomest and most prominent buildings” in the town.
And there was also something called “The Mechanics’ Institute”. The website levuka.wordpress.com says, “The Mechanics’ Institute ia a large and Imposing structure, with the town clock its steeple; in the hall, …. amateur theatricals, and assembly balls are held.”
In the 1800s, Mechanics’ Institutes were established in Europe and America as educational organisations for craftsmen and skilled workers.
These institutes were set up to disseminate knowledge from trade to trade, and provide education for members through lectures on science and a variety of self-improvement topics. Subscription libraries, for the use of institute members and for the public, usually formed part of the institute.
The library in a Mechanic Institute included works of fiction and non-fiction, a reading room for newspapers and magazines, and a venue for lectures, classes, book and play readings, and light entertainment.
Some institutes became educational establishments originally formed to provide adult education, particularly in technical subjects, to working men in Victorian-era Britain and its colonies.
They were often funded by local industrialists on the grounds that they would ultimately benefit from having more knowledgeable and skilled employees. The mechanics’ institutes often included reading spaces for the adult working class, and were said to provide them with an alternative pastime to gambling and drinking in pubs.
In New Zealand, Mechanics’ Institutes were formed very early during its European settlement period. The Auckland Mechanics’ Institute for instance was established in July 1841, and a Wellington Institute started in April the following year.
The Wellington organisation took over the collection of the Port Nicholson Exchange and Central Library, a subscription library set up in 1841 with Dr. F. J. Knox as librarian.
Although the Wellington Institute was suspended for four years after 1844, it was revived again in August 1848.
In Levuka, Ovalau, following the style of similar buildings throughout the world, the Mechanics’ Institute was used as Fiji’s first library of sorts and a centre of the arts and entertainment.
According to the journal article, The Levuka Reading Room: Fiji’s first library, author Philip James Calvert noted that the first public reading space in Fiji was established in the capital of Levuka between 1858 and 1862 by William Thomas Prichard, who was at that time the British consul in Levuka. However, this did not survive for very long.
Prichard thought that such an institution was necessary to bring about some semblance of civic pride and civic mindedness among citizens of Levuka since within the first month of having him as the consul, he had to deal with at least 10 cases of drunkenness and riotous conducts among members of the British community.
However, in 1868, a second reading room became a reality but not without its string of problems.
The stock was inadequate and the room never had a secure financial base. It was successfully used for community activities such as dances, meetings, and lectures. The public house was located in a small thatched building erected on Niukabe Hill on land leased from the Wesleyan Mission.
Because it was a popular place, its support helped it resist an attempt by the Polynesia Company and the Wesleyan Mission from taking over its site.
In 1871, when the room was used for the assembly of the new Cakobau government, its use as a reading room/library came to an end.
Its collection of books was then passed on to the Mutual Improvement Association and later to the Levuka Mechanics Institute which became the first known stable known library in Fiji.
The Mechanics Institute was the centre of activities, art and entertainment in early Levuka. In Turpin’s Fiji Directory (1874), similar to today’s Yellow Pages, the Mechanic’s Institute was looked after by Mr F.H.Duff as president, Mr T.A.Cartledge as vice-presi1dent and Mr John Harman as secretary.
For some time it was used to hold court sessions when the government offices on Niukabe Hill had to be refurbished.
When sites in Levuka were scouted to permanently build what is today known as Levuka Public School (LPS), the school board initially wanted to set up the school at the Mechanic’s Institute but that never happened.
According to LPS records, in 1879, school management started looking for a permanent place to build the school, then called Levuka Common School.
By the end of the year, the lease of the Oldfellows Hall had expired so the school temporarily used the Mechanics Institute, “where the town folks had their balls, plays, entertainment and other social events”.
In its search for a lasting home, the school Board eyed two pieces of land – one on the south of Totogo Creek and one near Niukabe Hill, today the site of the European War Memorial. The former site was chosen “in accordance with the decision arrived at by ratepayers”.
When the capital of Fiji was moved to Suva, on Viti Levu, a mechanics’ institute was also set up in Suva at the corner of Butt Street and Gordon Street.
According to Fiji Museum records, The Mechanics’ Institute was opened in 1884 and provided a library to the adult working class who were interested in technical subjects.
At a public auction in March, 1904, the Wesleyan Mission made a successful bid of £1375 for the property and had since acquired it. The Wesley City Mission Church, commonly known as “The Butt Street Church” was the former location of Mechanics’ Institute Suva and originally opened as a school when the church took over.
