Ratu Deve Toganivalu (1864 – 21 February 1939) was a Fijian chief and politician. He was Roko Tui of Bua from 1909 until 1928 and a member of the Legislative Council between 1926 and 1938.
Biography Born in 1864,T. J. MacNaught (1974) "Chiefly Civil Servants? Ambiguity in District Administration and the Preservation of a Fijian Way of Life 1896-1940", The Journal of Pacific History, Vol. 9, pp3–20 Toganivalu started his career in 1880 as a clerk in Levuka.Timothy J. Macnaught (1982) The Fijian Colonial Experience The Australian National University, p55 In 1888 he joined the civil service as a Native Tax Inspector.Ratu Deve Toganivalu, I.S.O. Pacific Islands Monthly, March 1939, p6 He later became the Governor's Matanivanua and a Native Stipendiary Magistrate. He resigned from the civil service in 1927.
On 1 January 1909 Toganivalu became Roko Tui of Bua,Fiji Blue Book for the Year 1914, p102 a role he held until being succeeded by his son George Toganivalu in 1928. During his tenure, Bua gained a reputation as being the best-run and most traditional province of the territory. He became a nominated member of the Legislative Council in 1926,Ahmed Ali Fiji and the Franchise: A History of Political Representation, 1900–1937 and was awarded an Imperial Service Order in the 1928 Birthday Honours. He resigned from the Legislative Council in 1938 and was replaced by G.W. Lalabalavu.Ratu G.W. Lalabalavy Pacific Islands Monthly, March 1938, p58 He died in February 1939.
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