Vuda Point is a

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...

on the west coast 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 P ...

island, in

Ba Province Ba is a province of Fiji, occupying the north-western sector of Viti Levu, 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 o ...

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 ...

. It is located between the towns of

Nadi Nadi (pronounced ) is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population had ...

and

Lautoka Lautoka () is the second largest Local government in Fiji, city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing r ...

. Vuda Point features the 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 ...

, with the Vuda Marina yacht harbor and several small resort complexes. Nadi International Airport serves the area.

History

By tradition, Vuda Point was the landing site 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, Va ...

n ancestors of the

Fijian people Fijians ( fj, iTaukei, lit=Owners (of the land)) are a nation and ethnic group native to Fiji, who speak Fijian and share a common history and culture. Fijians, or ''iTaukei'', are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in ...

to the country. The first expatriate families to settle in the Vuda were the Kumars, Maharaj Sharmas, Mishras, Waddinghams, McElraths, and Goundars. They currently reside in the area except for the Mishras, along with other old families in the area, such as the Vakubuas, and the Babas. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the US Navy built a

Naval Base Fiji Naval Base Fiji was a naval base built by the United States Navy in 1942 to support the World War II effort. The base was located on Fiji in the Central Pacific Ocean. The base was built as one of many advance bases in the island-hopping ca ...

Fleet Recreation Center at the point. In the 1970s an Italian husband and his Japanese wife settled at a southeastern ridge of Vuda Point. Their two sons became established engineers with international offices. In 2009 Sapphire Bay Fiji Ltd was established to develop the Sapphire Bay Fiji resort, and construction began in 2013 on several rental villas. Sapphire Bay Ltd
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References

External links

Vuda Marina Fiji websiteSapphire Bay Fiji Resort website
Headlands of Oceania Landforms of Fiji Ba Province Viti Levu {{Fiji-geo-stub