Fiji Museum

The Fiji Museum sits in Thurston Gardens in central Suva and holds the national collection: three and a half thousand years of archaeology from Lapita pottery onwards, masi barkcloth, weapons, war clubs and the maritime material that is its strongest suit. The centrepiece is a drua, the double-hulled ocean-going canoe that Fijian builders made better than anyone in the Pacific, and among the smaller objects is the rudder of HMS Bounty, recovered from Pitcairn.

History

The Fiji Museum was founded in 1904 by a voluntary association, the Friends of Fiji Museum, and its first home was the old Town Hall; it moved several times during the twentieth century before settling in its building in Thurston Gardens, which the Governor of Fiji, Sir Ronald Garvey, opened in 1955. It is a statutory body under the Fiji Museum Act, and until 2006 it hosted the secretariat of the Pacific Islands Museums Association, which then moved to Port Vila in Vanuatu (Wikipedia, Fiji Museum).

The main sights

• The drua - a great double-hulled sailing canoe, the finest craft of the Pacific.
• The Lapita pottery - some of the earliest ceramics in the region, from the first settlement.
• The Bounty rudder - recovered from Pitcairn and held here.
• The masi and weapons - barkcloth, clubs and ceremonial objects from across the group.

When to go

Year round, since it is indoors. Suva rains a great deal in any month, which makes the museum a reliable option. It closes on Sundays and public holidays.

Things to know

The building is small and two hours covers it. Some displays are dated and lighting is poor in places. Photography rules vary by gallery and are enforced.

Nearby

Thurston Gardens are around it, and central Suva is a short walk north.

Key facts