Levuka
Encyclopedia
Local government of Fiji
Fiji is divided administratively into four divisions, which are further subdivided into fourteen provinces; the self-governing island of Rotuma and its dependencies lie outside any of the four divisions. Each division is headed by a Commissioner, appointed by the Fijian government...
on the eastern coast of the Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
an island of Ovalau
Ovalau
Ovalau is the sixth largest island in Fiji's Lomaiviti Archipelago. Situated at 17.70° South and 178.8° East, , the island is about 13 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide...
, in Lomaiviti Province
Lomaiviti Province
Lomaiviti Province is one of the 14 provinces of Fiji. Administratively, it forms part of Fiji's Eastern Division and of the Kubuna Confederacy, one of three traditional chiefly hierarchies in Fiji.Geographically it consists of the Lomaiviti Islands....
, in the Eastern Division
Eastern Division, Fiji
The Eastern Division of Fiji is one of Fiji's four divisions. It consists of Kadavu Province, Lau Province, Lomaiviti Province and Rotuma.The capital of the division is Levuka, on the Ovalau island...
of Fiji. It was formerly the Capital of Fiji. At the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
in 2007, the last to date, Levuka town had a population of 1,131 (plus 3,266 living in the peri-urban area as defined by the Bureau of Statistics), about half of Ovalau's 8,360 inhabitants. It is the economic hub and the largest of 24 settlements on the island. Levuka and the island of Ovalau have been seeking recognition from UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
as a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
for decades.
History
The modern town of Levuka was founded around 1820 by EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an settlers and traders as the first modern town in the Fiji Islands, and became an important port and trading post. A disparate band of settlers made up Levuka's population - traders, missionaries, shipwrights, speculators, and vagabonds, as well as respectable businessmen. Marist
Society of Mary (Marists)
The Society of Mary , is a Roman Catholic religious congregation or order, founded by Father Jean-Claude Colin and a group of other seminarians in France in 1816...
priests, led by Father Breheret, established a mission in Levuka in 1858. By 1870, the town had a population of more than 800. When the first modern nation state of Fiji was founded in 1871, Seru Epenisa Cakobau
Seru Epenisa Cakobau
Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau was a Fijian Ratu and warlord who united part of Fiji's warring tribes under his leadership, establishing a united Fijian kingdom.-Background:...
was crowned
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
King at Levuka. After Fiji was annexed as a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
colony
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
in 1874, Levuka remained the capital until 1877, when the administration was moved to Suva
Suva
Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...
, although the move was not made official until 1882. The move was prompted by concerns that the 600-meter high cliffs surrounding Levuka gave it no room for expansion.
Fiji Times
The Fiji Times is a daily English-language newspaper published in Suva, Fiji. Established in Levuka on 4 September 1869, it is Fiji's oldest newspaper still operating....
, which is still in operation today, was founded in Levuka in 1869. Levuka's Royal Hotel is the oldest hotel in the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
still operating. Historians have not ascertained its exact age, but records show that it was in existence by the early 1860s. Levuka Public School, opened in 1879, was the first public school in Fiji and many of Fiji's leaders in the years leading up to and following independence in 1970 were educated there. The oldest Masonic lodge in the South Pacific, Lodge Polynesia 562 SC, is also to be found in Levuka. It was established in 1875. Levuka was also the site of Fiji's first public electricity system, which began in 1927, three days before the capital Suva was electrified.
Economic activities
Levuka's status as a stopover portPort
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
for ocean vessels crossing the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
came to an end in the 1950s, threatening the town with economic extinction. In 1964, however, the Pacific Fishing Company (PAFCO) was founded by a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese firm, specializing in freezing and shipping canned tuna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
, mostly to markets in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. A cannery, a joint PAFCO-government venture, was opened in 1976, and is the largest private employer on the island of Ovalau. Owing largely to Levuka's isolation, tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
plays only a minor role in the Levuka/Ovalau economy.
Governance and politics
Levuka has been incorporated as a TownLocal government of Fiji
Fiji is divided administratively into four divisions, which are further subdivided into fourteen provinces; the self-governing island of Rotuma and its dependencies lie outside any of the four divisions. Each division is headed by a Commissioner, appointed by the Fijian government...
since 1877, and is governed by a Town Council of 8 members, elected for 3 year terms. The municipal elections
Fiji municipal election, 2005
Municipal elections were held for 11 of Fiji's twelve city and town councils on 22 October 2005. In the capital city, however, elections for the Suva City Council were postponed till 12 November, owing to the death of two candidates; the death of a candidate in Lautoka also resulted in the...
of 22 October 2005 resulted in a defeat for the SDL
Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua
The Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua is a political party in Fiji...
of outgoing Mayor Taniela Bulivou, with the Balance Party taking 6 of the 8 seats. The new council elected George Gibson to succeed Bulivou; the Mayoral term is for one year, but may be extended any number of times. The council has recently been suspended by the interim government of Fiji and a local administrator (Napolionio Masirewa) has been named.
Landmarks
Nasova
Nasova is a village in the Municipality of Apače in northeastern Slovenia.The village chapel to the east of the village on the road towards Lešane was built in 1928 to house the original free-standing sculptures of the crucifixion, erected in 1683. It was renovated and repainted in 2000.- External...
, where the King Seru Epenisa Cakobau
Seru Epenisa Cakobau
Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau was a Fijian Ratu and warlord who united part of Fiji's warring tribes under his leadership, establishing a united Fijian kingdom.-Background:...
signed the Deed of Cession, ceding the islands to Great Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on 10 October 1874.
The Levuka Community Centre, which houses a branch of the Fiji Museum
Fiji Museum
The Fiji Museum is a museum in Suva, Fiji located in the capital city's botanical gardens, Thurston Gardens.The museum houses an extensive archaeological collection dating back 3,700 years and relics of Fiji's indigenous cultural history...
, a public library, crafts centre, kindergarten, squash court and meeting hall, occupies a renovated store built in 1878 by Morris Hedstrom & Co., a trading company established in Levuka's early days and still in business in Fiji. Morris Hedstrom gave the building to the National Trust of Fiji
National Trust of Fiji
The National Trust of Fiji is a statutory organization in Fiji devoted to conservation of public resources. The trust was created in 1970 by the National Trust of Fiji Act.It administers parks and various historical sites...
in 1980. Adjacent to the Levuka Community Centre stands Queens Wharf, with a maximum depth of eight meters. Upgraded in the 1990s, it is used mostly by local craft, though foreign vessels sometimes dock, Levuka being one of three official ports of entry to Fiji (Suva
Suva
Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,...
and Lautoka
Lautoka
Lautoka is the second largest city of Fiji and the second largest in the South Pacific. It is in the west of the island of Viti Levu, 24 kilometres north of Nadi, and is the second port of entry in Fiji, after Suva. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane growing region, it is known as the Sugar...
being the other two).
Other well-known landmarks include Sacred Heart Church, a legacy of the Marist Fathers, who arrived in 1858, the Ovalau Club, one of the oldest social organizations in the Pacific, and Levuka Town Hall, which houses the Levuka Town Council. It was built in 1898 in honour of Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
's Diamond Jubilee
Diamond Jubilee
A Diamond Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 60th anniversary in the case of a person or a 75th anniversary in the case of an event.- Thailand :...
.
External links
- Levuka Fiji
- Lodge Polynesia 562 SC
- Levuka Days of a Parson in Polynesia, Illustrated memoir by C.W. Whonsbon-Aston (1936)