Mona is a neighbourhood in southeastern Saint Andrew Parish, approximately eight kilometres from Kingston, Jamaica. A former sugarcane plantation, it is the site of a reservoir serving the city of Kingston and the main campus of the University of the West Indies.
Name
The neighbourhood is named for the former Mona Estate.
Geography
Mona is bordered by the neighbouring communities of Liguanea, Hope Pastures, Beverly Hills, August Town, and Papine.
Mona Reservoir
thumb|Mona Reservoir
The Mona Reservoir replaces the system of aqueducts that were used at the sugar plantations and then the city of Kingston. The reservoir is now the main water source for Kingston and a recreational area for hikers.
Mona Estate
The Mona Estate was once a large sugar plantation with water supplied via stone aqueducts. and Jewish refugees from Portugal and Spain. By 1942, approximately 1,500 evacuees from Gibraltar, a British territory, were in Jamaica; other civilians were evacuated to Britain and Madeira. They were removed to make way for a military force of 30,000 who fortified the area against German attack.
To speed up the development of the camp, barrack frames were built on the Jamaica-bound ship. The camp was situated on 252 acres of the former Mona Estate. It had housing for the evacuees, staff, and Roman Catholic priests and nuns. Facilities included a hospital, police station, and store. It was outfitted with electrical, water, and telephone service. It is the first campus of the multi-campus University of the West Indies system. In October 1948, it accepted 33 medical students. In 1949 and 1950, Natural Science and the Arts were added to the curriculum, respectively. It now offers undergraduate, masters and doctoral courses in a wide range of subjects.
The University of the West Indies Mona campus is situated on the former site of the camp. Wooden buildings erected for the refugee camp were repurposed to become the original campus structures, which included lecture halls, laboratories, residence halls, and office buildings. These buildings were augmented with new construction that began in the early 1950s.