{{Short description|Island in Fiji}} {{Infobox islands | name = Makogai | image_map = ISS006-E-7476 - View of Fiji.jpg | image_map_caption = The islands of Wakaya (left) and Makogai (right) as seen from space | pushpin_map = Fiji | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Fiji | coordinates = {{Coord|17|27|S|178|58|E|region:FJ_type:isle|display=title}} | archipelago = Lomaiviti Islands | waterbody = Koro Sea | area_km2 = 8.4 | elevation_m = 267 | country1_largest_city = | country = {{flagicon|Fiji}} Fiji | country_admin_divisions_title = Division | country_admin_divisions = Eastern Division | country_admin_divisions_title_1 = Province | country_admin_divisions_1 = Lomaiviti | country_admin_divisions_title_2 = District | country_admin_divisions_2 = Lomaiviti Other Islands | module = }} '''Makogai''' ({{IPA|fj|makoˈŋai}}, also known as '''Makongai''' in English)<ref name="nga">{{cite book |title=Pub. 126 Sailing Directions (Enroute) Pacific Islands |date=2017 |publisher=National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency |location=Springfield, Virginia |page=89 |edition=12 |url=https://msi.nga.mil/api/publications/download?key=16694491/SFH00000/Pub126bk.pdf&type=view |access-date=24 July 2023}}</ref> is an island belonging to Fiji's Lomaiviti Archipelago. Covering an area of {{convert|8.4|km2|acre|abbr=off}}, it is situated at 17.27° South and 178.58° East. It has a maximum altitude of {{convert|267|m|ft}} on two peaks in the centre. Makogai is visible from Ovalau. To the south is Wakaya Island.<ref name="nga"/>
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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ganilau|first1=Bernadette Rounds|title=Fiji Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan|date=2007|publisher=Convention on Biological Diversity|pages=107–112|url=https://www.cbd.int/doc/world/fj/fj-nbsap-01-en.pdf|access-date=28 May 2017}}</ref>
Captain William Bligh (formerly of HMS ''Bounty'') passed between the islands of Koro and Makogai in early May 1789, becoming the first European to discover them.<ref>{{cite web |title=Captain Bligh's Second Voyage to the South Sea |url=https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks12/1204361h.html |website=gutenberg.net.au |access-date=31 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Quanchi |first1=Max |last2=Robson |first2=John |author-link1=Max Quanchi |title=Historical dictionary of the discovery and exploration of the Pacific Islands |date=2005 |publisher=Scarecrow |isbn=978-0-8108-5395-9 |page=xiii |url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/3638404 |access-date=31 July 2023}}</ref>
thumb|260px|Sisters and lepers of Makogai The island used to house a leper colony owned by the colonial government of Fiji with the help of the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary. 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 after 1922.<ref name="kingsbury">{{cite news |last1=Benjamin|first1=Kingsbury|title=The Dark Island: Leprosy in New Zealand and the Quail Island Colony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bMq7DwAAQBAJ |access-date=14 January 2021 |work=Stuff |date=2019|isbn=9781988545950}}</ref>
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 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.<ref name="kingsbury" /><ref name="matthews">{{cite news |last1=Matthews |first1=Philip |title=Island of lost souls: the leprosy colony in Lyttelton harbour |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/116037396/island-of-lost-souls-the-leprosy-colony-in-lyttelton-harbour |access-date=17 February 2020 |work=Stuff |date=6 October 2019}}</ref>
The Makogai Mariculture Research Centre and residential buildings had been destroyed by Cyclone Winston in 2016, so a new research centre was opened in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Talebula |first1=Wati |title=Makogai Research Station Rises Again |url=https://fijisun.com.fj/2019/02/01/makogai-research-station-rises-again/ |access-date=11 August 2023 |work=Fiji Sun |date=1 February 2019}}</ref> In early 2019, the Ministry of Fisheries announced a ban on the usage of plastic bags on the island, and declared it a marine protected area.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bia |first1=Aliki |title=Plastic bags banned on Makogai Island |url=https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/parliament/plastic-bags-banned-for-makogai-island/ |access-date=16 August 2023 |work=Fiji Broadcasting Corporation News |date=14 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Talebula |first1=Wati |title=Govt Declares Makogai Island Plastic Free, Marine Protected Area |url=https://fijisun.com.fj/2019/02/01/govt-declares-makogai-island-plastic-free-marine-protected-area/ |access-date=16 August 2023 |work=Fiji Sun |date=1 February 2019}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|Islands|Oceania|Geography}} * List of islands
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Lomaiviti}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Islands of Fiji Category:Lomaiviti Province Category:Leper colonies Category:Preliminary Register of Sites of National Significance in Fiji
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