Sigatoka

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Sigatoka River.
Sigatoka River.

Sigatoka is a town in Fiji. It is found on the island of Viti Levu and is situated at the mouth of the Sigatoka River, after which it is named, some 69 kilometers from Nadi. At the 1996 census, the last held, it had a population of 7940.

An ornate mosque dominates the Sigatoka skyline. Major tourist attractions include the sand dunes near Kulukulu village two kilometers south of Sigatoka, and the Kula Eco Park, which houses some 500 birds of 100 species from many tropical countries.

Sigatoka was incorporated as a Town in 1959, and is governed by a 10-member Sigatoka Town Council, elected for a three-year term. At the last municipal elections, held on 22 October 2005, all 10 seats were won by a coalition of the United Fiji Party (SDL) and the National Federation Party (NFP). The new council reelected Ratu Isikeli Tasere as Mayor, a position held for a one-year term, renewable any number of times.

From 1912 to 1923, banana plantations in the Sigatoka valley suffered severe episodes of a fungal infection known since then as the Yellow sigatoka disease. The Black sigatoka, an even more ravaging plant disease, was subsequently named so for its relatedness.

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Coordinates: 18°9′S, 177°30′E

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