Glorious Company: The Polynesia Company in Melbourne and Fiji

by Max Quanchi

Fiji in the 1860s was the scene for an investment scheme that involved settlers from Victoria heading to Suva and other districts to become cotton planters as part of the "Fiji Rush". Melbourne was then home to many get-rich-quick schemes driven by wealth from the Gold Rushes and a booming metropolis, and Fiji seemed an ideal destination -- plenty of land, a labor force that could be imported from Kiribati and the Solomon Islands, high prices for cotton, and a "glorious company" to manage share sales and land grants. Was the Polynesia Company a scam? Did it have a realistic plan for expanding European settlement in the islands? Should it be known for founding the modern-day capital of Suva?

166 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2022