The Uluilakeba was a Fijian steamship that served as the primary means of transport from its capital, Suva, to some of the outer islands.[1] She was 112 feet (34 m) long.[1] On December 10, 1973, Cyclone Lottie hit and capsized the Uluilakeba with 106 passengers and crew on board, many of whom were schoolchildren heading home to Suva for the Christmas holidays.[2] With no distribution of lifejackets, there were only 41 survivors in one of the worst modern marine disasters in Fijian history.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b Christopherson, Walt (2011). By ship, train, bus, plane & sometimes hitchhiking. Arizona: Buckeroo Books. pp. 58–61. ISBN 9780983723509.
- ^ a b Gravelle, Kim (1988). Fiji's times: History of Fiji. Fiji Times. pp. 242–246. ISBN 982-214-001-0.