Fiji Migration Story

Our next story in the Migration and Legacy series of our Pacific mothers features Amalaini Ligalevu-Legge, who migrated with her husband and children from Fiji in the early 1970s. Coming to New Zealand to provide better education opportunities for their children, the family first lived in Christchurch and Amalaini remembers it being so cold. After a few months they moved to Auckland and made connections with local Fijian families, to help them feel more at home. Her message to her children and grandchildren is that if they want to be known as Fijian they need to speak the language and understand the culture. She is proud of the achievements of her family, and is satisfied she has done what she came here to do when she migrated. Credit: Historic footage supplied by Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision and Archives New Zealand.