KIWI CRAFTS FIJI CAT
BY KEITH INGRAM
I
n 1872 the uninhabited island of Malolo Lailai was purchased
from the Nadroga chief Ratu Kini by John Thomson, who
intended to plant cotton which was in short supply at that time.
Unfortunately, John Thomson died in 1876 and Malolo Lailai
was then sold to Louis Armstrong, an American. Armstrong died
bankrupt and the island was transferred to the Mortgage Agency
of Australasia Ltd, who sold and transferred the island to James
Borron in November 1891. James Borron, who owned and
ran several plantations
A classy
conning position
60
Professional Skipper
July/August 2013
throughout Fiji, leased Malolo Lailai to a Chinese family by
the name of Wongket for 70 years to plant and harvest copra, a
lucrative commodity during the late 1800s and 1900s.
However, in the early 1960s with the Wongket's agreement to
cut short the lease, it was sold to three owners: Richard Smith,
Regge Raffe and Sir Ian MacFarlane. The three then renamed
Malolo Lailai as Leeward Island.
In the early 1970s the three gentlemen decided to part ways
and individually manage their portions of the island. By then
the airstrip had been built and ran as a boundary, dividing the
now Plantation Island Resort and Musket Cove Resort. Now
known as the Plantation Village Resort, it was originally called
Plantation Island Resort and opened in 1969 with six rooms.
Richard (Dick) Smith started building on Musket Cove, which
was then casually known as Dick's Place and on October 3, 1976
Musket Cove Island Resort was born, the resort opened with 12
bures. Prior to opening Musket Cove, the Smiths built, owned
and later sold Fiji's first island resort, Castaway, an icon in Fiji
tourism.
Musket Cove proudly stands as Fiji's oldest Resort Company
boasting a range of accommodation with 55 bures and villas as
well as a private homes and a residential development of villas.
this is complemented by a marina, a day spa and a fully licensed
bar and restaurant.
In 2000, Sir Ian MacFarlane sold his share of Malolo Lailai
to the remaining two partners, resulting in Musket Cove then
including the 400 hundred acres directly to the north of the
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