Fiji Museum, Museum in Thurston Gardens, Suva, Fiji.
The Fiji Museum is a museum in the Thurston Gardens in Suva that houses objects related to the islands' history and culture. The collections are organized in two wings and display ships, textiles, and personal items from different periods.
The Fiji Museum was founded in 1904 by a voluntary association, the Friends of Fiji Museum, and first occupied the old Town Hall in Suva. It moved several times during the twentieth century before settling in Thurston Gardens, where it was opened in 1955 by Governor of Fiji Sir Ronald Garvey. It is a statutory body under the Fiji Museum Act.
The museum displays objects from daily life and traditional craftsmanship that reflect the richness of Fijian cultures. Visitors can see how these items and art forms continue to shape the identity of island communities today.
The site is easy to reach and the gardens themselves offer pathways between buildings that are accessible to people with limited mobility. Plan for about two to three hours to explore the collections without rushing.
The 13-metre double-hulled canoe Ratu Finau is the centrepiece of the collection, one of only two drua still preserved. Beside it hangs the rudder of HMS Bounty, kept after the ship was burned at Pitcairn; the museum also holds objects tied to cannibalism and to Indo-Fijian communities.
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