Thurston Gardens

Thurston Gardens occupy the ground in central Suva where the village of Suva stood before the colonial town was laid out, and the botanical gardens, first planted elsewhere in Suva in 1881, were moved here in 1913 and later named for a governor who was also a serious botanist. They hold palms, orchids, and a good collection of Fijian and introduced tropical species, with the Fiji Museum in the middle and the clock tower of 1918, a memorial to the first mayor of Suva, near the entrance. It is the green space central Suva runs on.

History

The gardens stand on the site of the original town of Suva, burned in 1843 in one of the bloodiest fights in Fiji's history. In 1879 Sir John Thurston invited John Horne, director of forests and botanic gardens in Mauritius, to advise on a botanical garden, and in 1913 the gardens were reorganised, with drains laid underground and avenues of 101 royal palms and 39 tree ferns planted. The clock tower and bandstand were built in 1918 in memory of Suva's first mayor, the Fiji Museum's building went up in the grounds in 1955, and in 1976 the Suva Botanical Gardens were renamed in memory of Thurston, governor of Fiji from 1888 to 1897 (Wikipedia, Thurston Gardens).

What you'll find

• The palm collection - Fijian and introduced species through the grounds.
• The clock tower - the 1918 memorial to Suva's first mayor near the entrance.
• The Fiji Museum - the national museum sitting in the middle of the gardens.
• The old village site - the ground the original Suva village occupied.

When to go

Year round; Suva is wet in every month and the gardens are green accordingly. Mornings are best before the afternoon rain. The gardens are open daily.

What to expect

They are modest by botanical garden standards and an hour covers them. Labelling is patchy. Suva's rain means the paths are often wet and the grass soft.

Nearby

The Fiji Museum is inside, Albert Park is alongside, and the Suva municipal market is a short walk north.

Key facts