Nukulau

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Information is taken from the unoccupied article on the English language Wikipedia. Tip: Standard works on Fijian history, for news articles in the Fiji Times. - Tem Binoka II ( discussion ) 18:10, Jan. 7, 2016 (CET)

Nukulau
Waters	Pacific Ocean
Archipelago	Viti Levu Group , Fiji Islands
Geographical location	18 ° 10 ′  S , 178 ° 31 ′  E Coordinates: 18 ° 10 ′  S , 178 ° 31 ′  E
surface	1 km²
Residents	uninhabited

Nukulau is a small island in the Fiji Islands within the Viti Levu Group . She played an important role in the demographic and political development of Fiji over the past 160 years. Administratively it belongs to the Central Division and today, as a former prison island, has no permanent settlement.

geography

Nukulau is located southeast of the main island Viti Levu and is only ten kilometers away from the capital Suva .

history

In 1846 the American consul John Brown Williams bought the island for US $ 30 and lived there until 1849. On July 4th of that year, one of his shops was destroyed by fire during Independence Day celebrations and his belongings were stolen by Fijian people. A second fire in 1855 destroyed his house. He made Seru Epenisa Cakobau , the Vunivalu of Bau (warlord of Bau) and self-proclaimed Tui Viti (King of Fiji), responsible for his robbery and, with the support of the US Navy, demanded $ 43,531 in compensation for Williams' losses, which amounted to $ 5,000 Value were appreciated. Since Cokabau was insolvent and feared a US invasion and annexation, negotiations with the United Kingdom took place under the leadership of Hercules Robinson , the then governor of New South Wales. After a failed attempt to establish a stable constitutional monarchy under the possible tutelage of the Australian Polynesia Company , negotiations resulted in the cession of the islands to the United Kingdom, which would rule for nearly a century.

From 1879 to 1916 the island became a quarantine station for thousands of recruited Indian workers brought here by the British colonial rulers. After health checks, they were immediately used on the sugar plantations in Fiji or returned to the Indian subcontinent .

Nukulau Prison

In 2000, a prison was opened on Nukulau Island to house George Speight and other political prisoners who participated in the 2000 coup and brought down the government of Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhrys .

On December 18, 2006, Commodore Frank Bainimarama , Fiji's military leader, announced that he would close the prison and turn the island into a public park. According to him, the facility was too expensive and all inmates would be transferred to other prisons. The prison was then closed on December 20th, 2006 and on December 26th it was possible to visit the island again for the first time.

Individual evidence