Sathi Narain
Encyclopedia
Sir Sathi Narain was a Fiji Indian businessman who built up his construction and shipping business through his own hard work.
d labourers abroad the S.S. Ganges on 21 February 1913 and were sent to work for the Colonial Sugar Refining Company
(CSR) estate at Rakui in Navua
on the eastern side of the island of Viti Levu
. After five years, his parents became "free" and moved to a village outside Navua and continued working for the CSR but under better conditions. They were also able to grow their own cash crops and sell to the indentured labourers.
After the departure of his father, his mother gave birth to her fourth child and struggled to look after her children. While on a visit to the Levuka
, on the island of Ovalau
, she met and married Latchman Naidu and moved to Koro
island. Naidu had set up a small business in Koro, buying and selling tobacco and trading in other small goods. Relations between Narain and his stepfather were not always good, so when he was sent to hospital in Levuka for a knee ailment, he stayed on at his recently married sister's place. Narain was ten years old then and started attending the local mission school. Through the wife of the local dentist who had connections with the school, Narain was able to get employment in the surgery. When the dentist moved to Suva, Narain went with them and for two years worked full time at their home as houseboy and at the surgery.
After two years in Suva his stepfather took him back to Koro, and he was put to work on a European's estate. When the owner was taken ill, Sathi was given charge of the estate. His mother died during the same year aged only 36.
, despite opposition from other European planters. As Savusavu expanded, he saw the need for and established a school, named Khemendra Bharatya School, after his son. He also donated land for a park, known as Narain Park.
, Ratu Mara
and Ratu Edward Cakobau
. His fluency in the Fijian language
and these initial contacts introduced him to other Fijian leaders such as Ratu Penaia Ganilau
and Ratu George Cakobau
. At the Union Club he was given the title of Tui Koro (Chief of Koro). In 1955, it came as no surprise when Narain Construction was awarded the contract to build the Native Land Trust Board building in Suva.
elections and won. In 1959 he accepted the nomination as an Indian nominated member to the Legislative Council
. In his maiden speech he spoke about ways of assisting low wage earners, by giving them income tax deductions for medical expenses. When the Nausori
Sugar Mill closed in 1959, he asked for assistance to be given in the form of income tax deductions for capital expenditure by farmers to change from sugar to other types of cultivation. He proposed assistance to coconut farmers by asking for tax not to be levied on the planting of coconuts but on the proceeds from the sale of copra.
and he was the first to build town houses in Suva. He won other major contracts: 480 housing units for the Housing Authority, a new hospital in Suva, Travelodge Hotel in Savusavu and the Narain Towers, a fifteen storey, 72-unit complex in Suva. He even went into the shipping business but was not successful in it.
(OBE), for which he travelled to London to receive the award from the Queen. In 1980 he received his knighthood and was Knighted by Princess Anne
during the Tenth Independence Anniversary celebrations. In 1986, he had moved to Brisbane
for rest and to be closer to his children but the coup in Fiji in 1987, made this move permanent. A few years later he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the lever and died in Brisbane on 19 October 1989.
Family background
His parents had arrived in Fiji as indentureIndenture
An indenture is a legal contract reflecting a debt or purchase obligation, specifically referring to two types of practices: in historical usage, an indentured servant status, and in modern usage, an instrument used for commercial debt or real estate transaction.-Historical usage:An indenture is a...
d labourers abroad the S.S. Ganges on 21 February 1913 and were sent to work for the Colonial Sugar Refining Company
Colonial Sugar Refining Company (Fiji)
The Colonial Sugar Refining Company began operations in Fiji in 1880 and until it ceased operations in 1973, had a considerable influence on the political and economic life of Fiji. Prior to its expansion to Fiji, the CSR was operating Sugar Refineries in Melbourne and Auckland...
(CSR) estate at Rakui in Navua
Navua District, Fiji
Navua District is located within Serua Province in the Central Division of Fiji. During colonial times it used to be a sugar growing area, but the closure of the sugar mill in Navua in 1923 led to a decline in economic activity in the district...
on the eastern side of the island of Viti Levu
Viti Levu
Viti Levu is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji, the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population.- Geography and economy :...
. After five years, his parents became "free" and moved to a village outside Navua and continued working for the CSR but under better conditions. They were also able to grow their own cash crops and sell to the indentured labourers.
Early life
Narain was the second child, born during the second year of his parents' life as free labourers in Fiji. His father later found work as a construction worker in Suva, where Narain was also introduced to the tools of the construction trade. After the birth of his third child, Narain's father developed a passion for gambling. He lost all his savings and also owed a great deal of money to others. To get away from his creditors, he decided to return to India, intending to find work there, save enough money and return.After the departure of his father, his mother gave birth to her fourth child and struggled to look after her children. While on a visit to the Levuka
Levuka
Levuka is a town on the eastern coast of the Fijian island of Ovalau, in Lomaiviti Province, in the Eastern Division of Fiji. It was formerly the Capital of Fiji. At the census in 2007, the last to date, Levuka town had a population of 1,131 , about half of Ovalau's 8,360 inhabitants...
, on the island of Ovalau
Ovalau
Ovalau is the sixth largest island in Fiji's Lomaiviti Archipelago. Situated at 17.70° South and 178.8° East, , the island is about 13 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide...
, she met and married Latchman Naidu and moved to Koro
Koro
Koro is a Japanese incense burner or censer often used in Japanese tea ceremonies.Examples are usually of globular form with three feet, made in pottery, Imari porcelain, Kakiemon, Satsuma, enamel or bronze....
island. Naidu had set up a small business in Koro, buying and selling tobacco and trading in other small goods. Relations between Narain and his stepfather were not always good, so when he was sent to hospital in Levuka for a knee ailment, he stayed on at his recently married sister's place. Narain was ten years old then and started attending the local mission school. Through the wife of the local dentist who had connections with the school, Narain was able to get employment in the surgery. When the dentist moved to Suva, Narain went with them and for two years worked full time at their home as houseboy and at the surgery.
After two years in Suva his stepfather took him back to Koro, and he was put to work on a European's estate. When the owner was taken ill, Sathi was given charge of the estate. His mother died during the same year aged only 36.
Return to Suva
The recurring knee problem gave Narain the chance to return to Suva for treatment. He found employment as carpenter in the Colonial Government. When his younger brother also came to Suva for medical treatment, the two moved into a house in Toorak, where Narain started building small artifacts for his neighbours. Soon, word of his carpentry skills spread and he was kept busy making household furniture. In no time at all he was carrying out extensions to houses and even building new houses. He married 14-year old Rukhmani, while in Toorak.As a businessman
After five years, working for the Government, he decided to set up his own business. He rented a building in Toorak and started building residential buildings and shops. As his business expanded, he moved to a new premises in Walu Bay. His big break came when he won the tender to build the Fiji Museum in 1953. Soon afterwords, he won other major contracts. By this time he had expanded so much that he was able to register his company as a limited liability company in December 1953.Savusavu
He saw the opportunity and bought a 210 acre (0.8498406 km²) copra plantation in SavusavuSavusavu
Savusavu is a town in the Fijian Province of Cakaudrove. The town is located on the south coast of Vanua Levu Island and had a population of 3,372 in the 2007 census.Savusavu is known as "the hidden paradise of Fiji."- Geography :...
, despite opposition from other European planters. As Savusavu expanded, he saw the need for and established a school, named Khemendra Bharatya School, after his son. He also donated land for a park, known as Narain Park.
Union Club
In 1946, Narain joined the Union Club, the only multi-racial club of its type in Suva. There he met some of the then and future leaders of Fiji, including Ratu SukunaLala Sukuna
Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, KCMG, KBE was a Fijian chief, scholar, soldier, and statesman. He is regarded as the forerunner of the post-independence leadership of Fiji...
, Ratu Mara
Kamisese Mara
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, CF, GCMG, KBE is considered the founding father of the modern nation of Fiji. He was Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the first Prime Minister from 1970 to 1992...
and Ratu Edward Cakobau
Edward Cakobau
Ratu Sir Edward Tuivanuavou Tugi Cakobau, KBE, MC was a Fijian chief and statesman.-Life:He was born on 21 December 1908 as the son of King George Tupou II of Tonga and his Fijian "trial wife", Adi Litia Cakobau, who was a granddaughter of Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the King who forged the first...
. His fluency in the Fijian language
Fijian language
Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken in Fiji. It has 450,000 first-language speakers, which is less than half the population of Fiji, but another 200,000 speak it as a second language...
and these initial contacts introduced him to other Fijian leaders such as Ratu Penaia Ganilau
Penaia Ganilau
Ratu Sir Penaia Kanatabatu Ganilau, GCMG, KCVO, KBE, DSO was the first President of Fiji, serving from 8 December 1987 until his death in 1993...
and Ratu George Cakobau
George Cakobau
Ratu Sir George Kadavulevu Cakobau, GCMG, GCVO, OBE was Governor General of Fiji from 1973 to 1983. A great-grandson of Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the King of Bau who had unified all the tribes of Fiji under his reign in the mid-1800s and subsequently ceded the islands to the United Kingdom in...
. At the Union Club he was given the title of Tui Koro (Chief of Koro). In 1955, it came as no surprise when Narain Construction was awarded the contract to build the Native Land Trust Board building in Suva.
Political involvement
In 1956, Narain stood for the Suva City CouncilSuva City Council
The Suva City Council is the municipal law-making body of the city of Suva, Fiji's capital. It consists of 20 Councillors, elected for three-year terms from four multi-member constituencies called wards...
elections and won. In 1959 he accepted the nomination as an Indian nominated member to the Legislative Council
Legislative Council (Fiji)
The Fijian Legislative Council was the colonial precursor to the present-day Parliament, which came into existence when Fiji became independent on 10 October 1970.-The first Legislative Council:...
. In his maiden speech he spoke about ways of assisting low wage earners, by giving them income tax deductions for medical expenses. When the Nausori
Nausori
Nausori is a town in Fiji. It had a population of 47,604 at the 2007 census, the most recent to date. This makes it the fourth most populous municipality in the country. Situated 19 kilometers out of Suva, it forms one pole of the burgeoning Suva-Nausori corridor.Nausori grew up around Fiji's...
Sugar Mill closed in 1959, he asked for assistance to be given in the form of income tax deductions for capital expenditure by farmers to change from sugar to other types of cultivation. He proposed assistance to coconut farmers by asking for tax not to be levied on the planting of coconuts but on the proceeds from the sale of copra.
Expanding business
From 1960 onwards the Narain Construction business expanded greatly and spread to all parts of Fiji. He acquired the established engineering firm of Bish Limited in 1960, a branch was opened in LautokaLautoka
Lautoka is the second largest city of Fiji and the second largest in the South Pacific. It is in the west of the island of Viti Levu, 24 kilometres north of Nadi, and is the second port of entry in Fiji, after Suva. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane growing region, it is known as the Sugar...
and he was the first to build town houses in Suva. He won other major contracts: 480 housing units for the Housing Authority, a new hospital in Suva, Travelodge Hotel in Savusavu and the Narain Towers, a fifteen storey, 72-unit complex in Suva. He even went into the shipping business but was not successful in it.
Later life
His wife had been intitutionalised for a long time, and in 1969 Narain remarried. In 1970 on Fiji's independence, he was awarded the title of the Member of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(OBE), for which he travelled to London to receive the award from the Queen. In 1980 he received his knighthood and was Knighted by Princess Anne
Anne, Princess Royal
Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
during the Tenth Independence Anniversary celebrations. In 1986, he had moved to Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
for rest and to be closer to his children but the coup in Fiji in 1987, made this move permanent. A few years later he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the lever and died in Brisbane on 19 October 1989.