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Story: Fijians

Religious communities

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Religious communities

There is a strong Fijian Roman Catholic community in New Zealand, and many Fijians and other Pacific Islanders train for religious professions in this country. The five women pictured were professed at the Noviciate of the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary at Upper Hutt in 1992. In the back row (from left) are Ana Tawake (Fiji), Lusia Meanadrau (Fiji), Maletina Ve’ehala (Tonga) and Senia Tipasa (Samoa). In front is Pafuti Crichton (Samoa).

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)

Reference: EP/1992/2463/7

by Jon Hargest

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Jacqueline Leckie, Fijians – Fijian culture in New Zealand, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/829/religious-communities (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jacqueline Leckie, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 July 2024.