Levuka Historical Port Town
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How it came to be
Levuka lies on the east coast of Ovalau island in Fiji. From around 1820 European traders and settlers made their homes here, and the harbour, sheltered by its reef, became a transhipment and information centre for the bêche-de-mer trade. The first Europeans lived in Fijian-style houses in or near the indigenous village of Levuka.
By the mid-19th century settlers linked to the cotton trade were arriving, and the town became a clearing house for labourers sent to the plantations. By 1870 the non-indigenous population was over 2,000, and land reclamation along the shore created Beach Street. Methodist and Catholic missions built churches and schools, and in 1869 Fiji's first newspaper, the Fiji Times, was founded here.
When the Kingdom of Fiji was formed in 1871, Seru Epenisa Cakobau was crowned king at Levuka. After Fiji was ceded to Britain in 1874 the town became the colonial capital, but the steep hills behind it left no room to grow, and the capital moved to Suva, officially in 1882. Levuka carried on as a copra port, and its townscape was inscribed in 2013.
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