Fiji, circa 1890
by G.W. Waters

The Fiji Islands of the early to mid 19th century were a savage place with fierce power struggles between warring island tribes a constant occurrence. By the 1880s, when the photographer G. W. Waters opened his studio in Suva (the capital city), the climate had stabilized somewhat which allowed Waters to capture, through portraits, the still present intensity of the native peoples. We only need to peer into the eyes of the warrior in this photograph, wearing a necklace of wild boar tusks and porting his club, to see that Waters was successful in his pursuit.