Makogai (pronounced ) is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

belonging to

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 consists ...

Lomaiviti Archipelago The Lomaiviti (pronounced ) archipelago of Fiji consists of seven main islands and a number of smaller ones. They cover a total area of , and had a population of 15,657 at the most recent census in 2017. The largest town, with a population of 1, ...

. Covering an area of , it is situated at 17.26° South and 178.58° East. It has a maximum

altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

of . Makogai is visible from Ovalau. The beach forest, cycad dominated, and coastal/marine ecosystem of the island and its surrounding reef contribute to its national significance as outlined in Fiji's Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. The island used to house a

leper colony A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. '' M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East Af ...

owned by the colonial government of Fiji with the help of the

Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary The Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary (SMSM) are a congregation of pontifical right of Catholic religious women. They are part of the Marist family of congregations. The order is dedicated to evangelization. In its missionary activity it is ...

. The number of patients grew from 40 when the leprosarium opened in 1911 to 700 in 1950. They were nursed by Catholic sisters. Mother Mary Agnes was the superior of the lepers colony from 1916 until 1950. Patients were coming from all the British colonies of the Pacific as well as from the various territories of the

Dominion of New Zealand The Dominion of New Zealand was the historical successor to the Colony of New Zealand. It was a constitutional monarchy with a high level of self-government within the British Empire. New Zealand became a separate British Crown colony in 184 ...

after 1922. Patients who were not residing at the hospital were living in villages organized by ethnicity, each community being allowed to keep their traditions and religious practices. As part of occupational therapy, patients were expected to grow food, fish, do craft work or graze cattle. The leprosarium was renowned internationally as a model of discipline and social peace even though the Fijian government imposed a

racial hierarchy A racial hierarchy is a system of stratification that is based on the belief that some racial groups are superior to other racial groups. At various points of history, racial hierarchies have featured in societies, often being formally institut ...

on the island resulting in white people receiving more rations than non-white. The Fijian government was charging accommodation fees to the various governments sending lepers depending on the race of the patient. Fees were higher for whites, lower for Chinese, Indians and Maori and a lot lower for Pacific islanders. The leper colony operated until the 1960s.

References

Islands of Fiji Lomaiviti Province Leper colonies Preliminary Register of Sites of National Significance in Fiji {{Fiji-geo-stub

See also

References