Laucala
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| Vanua Levu Group
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| Islands of Fiji
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Laucala (IPA: [la u ða la]) is an island in Fiji. It is one of three small islands, the others being Qamea and Matagi, lying to the east of Thurston Point on the island of Taveuni. The total land area of the island is 12 square kilometers. Five kilometers long, it has a maximum width of three kilometers, and in certain places this narrows to 1.5 kilometers. Laucala is separated from Qamea, to the west, by a strait several hundred meters wide. The privately owned island boasts what many consider to be Fiji's most exclusive resort.
Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the Fijian monarch who unified the nation before ceding the islands to the United Kingdom in 1874, sold Laucala to European settlers who established a copra plantation, before turning it over to the Australia-based Carpenter Group. In 1972, publishing magnate Malcolm Forbes bought the island, and upgraded the living accommodation of its inhabitants - who worked on his estate - at his own expense. He also provided free primary education and paid up to half of a student's secondary and tertiary education expenses. He also sought to diversify the island's economy away from its dependence on copra by promoting tourism and cattle and goat farming.
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