Lautoka

Lautoka is Fiji's second-largest urban center, on the west coast of Viti Levu in Ba Province, with a population of 71,573 at the 2017 census. Its name comes from Fijian words meaning "spear hit," recalling a legendary duel between two chiefs; Captain William Bligh first sighted the area on May 7, 1789, and the United States Navy established a base there during World War Two. Known as the "Sugar City," Lautoka's economy centers on the Lautoka Sugar Mill, built between 1899 and 1903 for the Colonial Sugar Refining Company and still its largest employer with about 1,300 workers, alongside timber milling, brewing, fishing and construction that make it Fiji's industrial hub.