Ba is a
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...
of
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...
, occupying the north-western sector of
Viti Levu
Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population.
Geology
Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australian ...
, Fiji's largest island. It is one of fourteen provinces in the nation of Fiji, and one of eight based in Viti Levu. It is Fiji's most populous province, with a population of 247,708 - more than a quarter of the nation's total - at the 2017
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
.
It covers a land area of , the second largest of any province.
Ba Province includes the towns and districts of
Ba,
Magodro,
Nadi,
Nawaka,
Tavua,
Vuda and
Vitogo. The city of
Lautoka
Lautoka () is the second largest city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing region, the city has come to be known as the Su ...
and the
Yasawa Archipelago, off the western coast of Viti Levu, are also in Ba Province.
Notable residents of Ba Province include Fiji's former
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
,
Ratu Josefa Iloilo and the former
Chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...
of the
Great Council of Chiefs,
Ratu Ovini Bokini. Former
prime ministers Timoci Bavadra and
Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Pal Chaudhry ( hif, महेन्द्र पाल चौधरी; born 9 February 1942) is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party. Following a historic election in which he defeated the long-time former lead ...
, both of whom were deposed in
coups and Ratu Tevita Momoedonu, were also from Ba Province.
Vuda Point
Vuda Point is a headland on the west coast of Viti Levu island, in Ba Province of Fiji. It is located between the towns of Nadi and Lautoka.
Vuda Point features the village of Viseisei, with the Vuda Marina yacht harbor and several small resort c ...
, in Ba Province, is the traditional landing of the canoes that brought the
Melanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, V ...
n ancestors of the
Fijian people to the islands. The nearby village of
Viseisei Viseisei () is a village at Vuda Point on the west coast of Viti Levu island, in Ba Province of Fiji.
History
According to tradition, it is the oldest settlement in Fiji, established by Lutunasobasoba when the first Melanesian canoes beached at V ...
(President Iloilo's hometown) is traditionally considered to be the oldest in Fiji.
The province is governed by a
Provincial Council, which is chaired by
Ratu Tevita Momoedonu
Ratu Tevita Momoedonu (13 January 1946 – 26 November 2020) was a Fijian politician who served as the fifth Prime Minister of Fiji twice – each time extremely briefly. Both appointments were to get around constitutional technicalities; his ...
.
References
{{authority control
Provinces of Fiji
Ba