Makogai is a true example of Fiji’s astounding resilience and success. This island is most well known for being the only leper colony in the Pacific. And today it is a Maricultural Center saving Fiji Reefs by culturing Giant Clams.
Leper Colony
Makogai Island became the first and only leper colony in the Pacific.
The Makogai Leprosy Hospital, in Dalice Bay, was officially opened in November 1911 and closed in 1969.
The hospital started out with 40 lepers and grew to 700 in the 1950s. Over 4,000 patients landed on the island while the hospital was open.
Patients came from all of the British colonies of the Pacific as well as from various territories of New Zealand.
Patients who were not residing at the hospital were living in villages organized by ethnicity. This allowed each community to keep their traditions and religious practices.
The patients were expected to grow food, fish, graze cattle and do craft work.
The Results of Leprosy
The hospital effectively treated and sent home over 2,500 patients.
Around 500 were repatriated back to their homeland and the remaining 1,241 died due to the disease.
The cemetery spans across many acres. Although, Mother Nature has reclaims a lot of the ground and gravesites.
Many are so overgrown that you can’t see the headstone. And yet most are not even accessible on foot due to the thick forest and overgrowth.
Fijian Sister, Maria Agnes Filomena lived on the island for 30 years as a worker and a patient. Her grave along with hundreds of others are at the Makogai cemetery.
One of the locals returned to Makogai to place this beautiful plaque at his grandfather’s grave.
Unfair Practices
The leprosarium in Fiji was renowned internationally as a model of discipline and social peace. Despite its reputation, the leaders imposed a racial hierarchy on the island resulting in white people receiving more rations than non-white.
The Fijian government, which ran the leper colony, accepted patients from all over the Pacific. They then charged the various governments fees to accommodate these non-Fijian patients .
Ancient Structures Still Standing
Cyclone Winston and time almost completely demolished the original leper colony structures.
However, we discovered several key buildings still standing over 100 years later.
The steps leading up to the hospital and the hospital toilets are still around.
Our guide pointed out the “new” hospital. This hospital was built after the leper colony was shut down and before Cyclone Winston.
There is a lovely path from the “village” to the cemetery.
As you travel down the path, you pass the old movie theater, prison, foundations for old dormitories, a small bridge, and the church gates.
Four dorm blocks believed to have been Chinese or Indian quarters are within walking distance from the hospital.
Movie Theater
The projector building and the pillars for the screen are still standing.
Inside the projector building you will find the pedestals for the projectors, a film room, and the windows used to project the movies.
It is really nice to know that they had some form of entertainment for the leper colony.
Prison / Jail
Believe it or not, they had a jail for the naughty patients. Patients got in trouble for stealing rations and or invading the opposite sex campsite.
The prison was super hard to find because it is completely covered by vines, trees, and bushes from the road. However, if you stand with your back to the theater (looking across the road and toward the beach) you can see the 1 palm tree that is growing right next to the jail.
These are shots taken from the forest (opposite side from the main path).
We bush whacked our way to the jail to capture these photos.
More Remnants
Makogai was the first island to have a telephone center. We did not find the telephone center ruins, but we did find (2) telephone poles.
We also found a water storage building, toilets, and another storage facility with a large headstone moniker (not a grave stone).
Where did they go?
Makogai was also the first island to have a post office and a coconut soap factory. But we were not able to locate these buildings.
- The first Pacific Post Office
- First Telephone Center
- A coconut soap factory (with a massive engine house, island store, and old bakery).
However, nobody could point us to these sites.
Excellent video on the Leper Colony on Makogai!!!!
This was an interesting web page on Makogai’s leper colony.
Check out No Foreign Land
Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual live events. We were in Makogai around mid-July 2025.
Did you read about Koro, the fertile island?