This Day in History: Leonidas Arrives in Fiji
14th May 1879. The Leonidas, a specially fitted 1600 ton ship carrying 522 Girmitiya (indentured labourers), men and women from Calcutta stagger into the horizon of Levuka, then a major British port town in eastern Fiji. The ship left Calcutta on the 28th of January 1879, and its crew, most of them Girmitiyas, had suffered severely from bouts of cholera, dysentery and smallpox during the three and a half month long voyage. The latter had been most fatal, taking at least nineteen lives. Since it was getting dark, Leonidas’ Captain McLachlan decided against entering an unfamiliar harbour, full of sharp coral reefs. The next morning, Levuka’s British administration woke up to a potentially disastrous news about the Leonidas and its crew. It turned out that some Girmitiyas were still suffering from cholera and smallpox, and therefore bringing the ship to the harbour might have devastating effect on the European and indigenous population of Fiji. A measles epidemic borne by European maritime trade had already killed a third of Fiji’s 150,000 indigenous population in 1875, and another potential epidemic of cholera and smallpox might have even more crippling effect.
A heated debate ensued among the highest ranks of Colonial administration about the fate of the Leonidas. While most suggested that the ship be quarantined away from the harbour under close observation, more extreme views included sending the ship back to the high seas, and even possibly, Calcutta. The administration finally decided to guide the ship to a safe harbour on an isolated part of Levuka, where it will be put under quarantine until alternate, isolated arrangements for housing the sick “migrants” could be established. The Girmitiyas and any other crew of the ship were strictly prohibited from coming on land, or coming in physical contact with anyone on the island. In order to ensure this was not breached, police boats constantly patrolled the harbour and Elizabeth, an armed military schooner, was placed in constant surveillance. The police and those manning the schooner were asked to shoot anyone on Leonidas who attempted to breach the quarantine, after giving a single warning. The administration was so anxious about the possibility of another epidemic, that officers frequently inspected the police boats and the schooner to ensure compliance to orders. On one occasion a soldier was flogged as he was found sleeping during a nocturnal inspection. A Fiji Times article of 18th May 1879 reflects this anxiety:
All letters are placed in a carbolic acid bottle, and are of course fumigated before delivery. Communication with the vessel under these circumstances is of course slow, but from what we learn there are 373 male and 149 female coolies on board, independent of children, all of whom are under the charge of Doctor Welsh. We hear also that two buffaloes are on board. It is sincerely to be hoped that all officers of the Government will, under the trying and unfortunate circumstances, be at their post and duty, and that any and every assistance will be rendered by one and all to prevent any contagion reaching these shores.
As the Leonidas remained in quarantine and the the traumatic journey to an uncertain future continued for the Girmitiyas on board, construction of a quarantine camp was under way at Yanuca Lailai, in a small island, 10 miles way. The quarantine camp contained small huts for the Girmitiyas, a hopsital unit, storage units for food and other resources, and an accommodation for the depot-keeper. The Girmitiyas could be finally released from the ship and taken to this camp. However, transporting them, without the risk of contagion posed the next major hurdle. In order to prevent any contact with the locals, armed guards were posted along the coastline. The Girmitiyas were transported, batch by batch, to Yanuca Lailai on small boats, over the next 10 days. The Girmitiyas would be finally released from their quarantine on 15th August 1889 and would soon be employed as labourers in British plantations and for other Government public works in Fiji, often under extremely exploitative circumstances, and a limited pay. Eventually, after the end of their five to ten year period of indenture, 290 of the Leonidas’ Girmitiyas would decide to leave Fiji and managed to get a passage back home. The rest remained in Fiji.
The Girmitiyas who finally made landfall in Fiji at their quarantine camp on Yanuca Lailai 139 years ago opened a new chapter in Fijian history, and the history of the Indian diaspora worldwide. The Leonidas was the first of forty-two ships that transported 60,553 Indian indentured labourers to Fiji in eighty-seven voyages between 1879 and 1916. The Leonidas Indians, and others who would follow them became the decedents of a thriving Indian diaspora in Fiji today.
Further Resources:
http://girmit.org/ is a great resource which records and traces the history of the Indian diaspora in Fiji.
Gillion, K.L., 1962. Fiji’s Indian migrants: a history to the end of indenture in 1920. Oxford University Press.
Lal, B.V., 2013. Chalo Jahaji: On a journey through indenture in Fiji. ANU Press.
Mishra, S., 2014. The Leonidas Fijians: a minor history. The Journal of Pacific History, 49(3), pp.283–300.
