Nukulau!

Look what I've just found:

Instant grip on my heart.

That's the wharf on an island called Nukulau in Suva Harbour. And the reason this shot grabbed so instantly and deeply at me is that shot contains everything that is directly the reason why all we Murphys learned to swim at such early ages.

I still remember this all so clearly and that's because, when I was only about two years old, maybe younger, I fell off that wharf while playing with other toddlers there. It doesn't look much, does it, falling off this, but that's because the tide is out here.  I do think also that the wharf may have been, back then, much longer, so falling in was a big, big deal, especially for someone who couldn't swim. 

 

And to make it worse, this sand island was formed because there was a vicious current right from Rewa River which swept around this island and into the deep ocean passage just beyond where there was a tiger-shark breeding ground, full naturally of savage tiger sharks, and, yes, when I fell in I was immediately swept away in it, pulled fast right along that beach you can see right there. 

 

Terrible memory, but what makes it so very odd is that, while being whizzed along at a rate of knots into a tiger-shark breeding ground, my primary thought as "This is sooo embarrassing. I hope no one sees me."  Gosh, I was such a little Aspergic, wasn't I!

 

It was because I really hated adults laughing at me so there was no way on earth I was going to call out for help and even decided I preferred to die than to be seen by any grown-up in such a predicament. 

 

Luckily my big brother saw me whizz past and dived in to save me which was particularly brave of him because he certainly couldn't swim back then either.

It could have ended very badly but fortunately mum saw him struggling to get back to shore with me, and waded out to grab the pair of us.

The upshot of all this was the very next day, a Monday, she took the whole pack of us down to Paul Kraus at the Suva Sea Baths to sign us up for his learn-to-swim classes.  Most of us were actually too young for him to take on but she was insistent that she wanted us water-proofed so something like that wouldn't happen again, and thus he conceded.

 

I should also tell you that the legend began that Monday because while Paul Kraus was teaching the littlies in the baby pool, Bob Kennedy, Fiji's Swimming Coach, had the Fiji swimming squad doing laps in the big pool, and Julia, only about three or four, spent the first five minutes of her swimming lesson hanging over the wall watching them.  I guess couldn't stand being stuck with the kiddies or maybe something gelled with her because she suddenly took a deep interest in what Paul Kraus was teaching, took only about ten minutes to learn how to swim and then leaped over the wall of the baby pool to join in with them.  Yup, a tiny little girl who'd only had 10 minutes of swimming lessons dived in with the Fiji Training Squad and began doing laps.

 

Luckily Bob, a wonderful human being, thought it was hilarious and said to mum "If she can do it, let her stay." and yup, she did the length of the pool, so Bob took her on, but only in the Juniors, however the legend still stands that Julia joined the Fiji Swimming Squad when she was barely four.

But this is meant to be about Nukulau, Suva's picnic island. I have so many other stories - like the time we found the skeletons on the beach - but while this heat-wave continues I think I'll save those for another time.