Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
urbs. Although there is little to admire architecturally, Lautoka is a good place to wander,
with plenty of leafy avenues and diverting
Fiji-Indian stores
and market stalls - the latter a
far cry from Nadi's touristy souvenir shops.
Lautoka established itself around the
sugar industry
. In 1903, the Australian-owned Co-
lonial Sugar Refinery Company set up headquarters here, attracted by a deep-water harbour
that almost rivals Suva's. The
sugar mill
they built is still the largest in Fiji and employs
more than a thousand people, mostly from the surrounding Fiji-Indian sugarcane farms. The
rambling corrugated sheds and chimney stacks of the mill are fed by an endless parade of
cane trucks and trains between June and December, eventually pumping raw molasses along
pipes to container ships moored at
Lautoka Port
- it's not a place to linger, with the stench
of sugar sludge filling the air.
In recent years, Lautoka has become a second home for the indigenous people of the
Yas-
awas
who, without secondary schools or work opportunities, send their children here for edu-
cation. Today, more Fijians live in the city than Fiji-Indians.
LAUTOKA ORIENTATION
Approaching from Nadi, the Veitari roundabout, full of mango sellers from August to
December, splits the
Queens Road
in two. The right fork, along
Drasa Avenue
, passes
through Lautoka's residential area, bypassing downtown and joining the Kings Road to Ba
Town at the north end of the city. The left fork heads down
Navutu Road
along the indus-
trial section of Lautoka into downtown; the road passes South Pacific Distilleries (where
Fiji's famous rum is concocted), the fishing port and the sugar mill.
