Mago Island (pronounced ) is a volcanic island that lies in the northwest sector of

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

's northern Lau Group of islands. One of the largest

private island A private island is a disconnected body of land wholly owned by a private citizen or corporation. Although this exclusivity gives the owner substantial control over the property, private islands remain under the jurisdiction of national and som ...

s in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island has an area of . The island is privately owned by actor and director

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

. Mago is located 166 statute miles ENE of the Fiji capital of Suva and SW of the tiny island of

Namalata Namalata () is a village and island in Fiji. It is located in the southern portion of the Vanua Balavu island group, part of Fiji's Lau Islands. The village is a constituent of the larger Lomaloma village. The people of Namalata descend from th ...

, near

Vanua Balavu Vanua Balavu (pronounced ) is the third largest island in Fiji's Lau archipelago, and the main island of the Northern Lau Group. Geography and infrastructure This coral and volcanic island has a land area of . Its maximum elevation is . The isl ...

, where descendants of original Mago inhabitants still reside. Mago Island is relatively undeveloped at present and inhabited only by a few caretakers of

Indo-Fijian Indo-Fijians () are Fijians of South Asian descent whose ancestors were Girmitiyas, indentured labourers. Indo-Fijians trace their ancestry to various regions of the Indian subcontinent. Although Indo-Fijians constituted a majority of Fiji's ...

descent.

History

During the 1860s, a cotton plantation established by the Ryder brothers of Australia flourished there. In 1884 there was a well-established sugar cane plantation plus a sugar mill on the island. The Mill was shut down in 1895 and it was dismantled and used to enlarge the Penang Mill in Ra.

Colonial Sugar Refining Company (Fiji) The Wilmar Sugar, Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR) began operations in Fiji in 1880 and until it ceased operations in 1973, had a considerable influence on the Politics of Fiji, political and Economy of Fiji, economic life of Fiji. Prior to ...

The Ryders were succeeded by the Borron family. In early 2005 Mago Island was purchased by

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

actor/director

for $15 million from Japan's

Tokyu Corporation The , a contraction of and formerly until 2 September 2019, is a Japanese ''keiretsu'' or conglomerate headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. While a multinational corporation, its main operation is , a wholly-owned subsidiary operating railways i ...

. Descendants of original native inhabitants of Mago, who were displaced in the 1860s, have protested against Gibson's purchase. Satellite images of the island dating from 2008 show a dirt airstrip of 1100 metres. There is no port on the island; a short stone pier is located on the island's north side. There is only one loosely arranged village on the island whose appearance is more indicative of a resort. Agriculture consists of only a few small areas of fields. An episode of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

sitcom ''

30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satire, satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live' ...

'' titled " Operation Righteous Cowboy Lightning" (Season 5, Episode 12) featured a story about a disaster on the island.

Jack Donaghy John Francis "Jack" Donaghy ( ) is a fictional character on the NBC sitcom '' 30 Rock'', airing from 2006 to 2013. The character was created by series creator Tina Fey, and is portrayed by Alec Baldwin. He was introduced as the Vice President of ...

, played by

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...

, decides to air a pre-recorded telethon to benefit the victims of the disaster. However, Donaghy is shocked to learn the only "victims" of the disaster are Mel Gibson and his guest,

Jon Gosselin Jonathan Keith Gosselin (born April 1, 1977) is an American former television personality, previously known for his appearances with former wife Kate Gosselin and their eight children on the American reality TV show ''Jon & Kate Plus 8''. Early ...

References

External links

Islands of Fiji Lau Islands Private islands of Fiji {{Fiji-geo-stub