Ratu ''Ratu'' () is an Austronesian title used by male Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, ''adi'' (pronounced ), is used by females of chiefly rank. In the Malay language, the title ''ratu'' is also the traditional honorific title to r ...

'' Luke Dawai (died 20 June 1970) was a Fijian chief, administrator and

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

international.

Biography

A member of the

Great Council of Chiefs The Great Council of Chiefs () is a Fijian constitutional body. It previously existed from 1876 to March 2012 and was restored in May 2023. It is different from the House of Chiefs, a larger body that includes all hereditary chiefs, although m ...

, Dawai worked for the

Nadi Nadi (, ) is the second-largest city in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 59,707 at the most recent census, in 2017. Nadi is multiracial with many of its inhabitants Asians, India ...

local government administration, serving as Buli Nadi for seventeen years and Tui Nadi for ten.Ratu Luke Dawai
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', August 1970, p141 He held several other official posts, including sitting on the Ba Provincial Council, Nadi Local Rural Authority, Nadi Township Board and the Native Land Trust Board. He served in the 4th Battalion of the

Fiji Infantry Regiment The Fiji Infantry Regiment is the main combat element of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces. It is a light infantry regiment consisting of six battalions, of which three are regular army and three are Territorial Force. The regiment was formed ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war he played for the

Fiji national rugby union team The Fiji national rugby union team represents Fiji in men's international rugby union. Fiji competed in the Pacific Tri-Nations and now competes in its successor tournament Pacific Nations Cup. Fiji also regularly plays test matches during the ...

, making two appearances as a flanker against

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

in 1947.Luke Dawai
ESPN Dawai died in June 1970 at the age of 53.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawai, Luke Fiji international rugby union players Fijian military personnel of World War II Fijian chiefs Fijian civil servants 1910s births 1970 deaths Year of birth uncertain Rugby union flankers People from Nadi Rugby union players from Ba Province