Thurston Gardens, Botanical garden in central Suva, Fiji

Thurston Gardens is a botanical garden in central Suva that spreads beside Albert Park and showcases a diverse collection of tropical plants. The grounds feature palms, gingers, water lilies, and other plantings connected by wide pathways and divided into multiple planted sections, including a Clock Tower and bandstand.

Thurston Gardens occupy the site of the original town of Suva, burned in 1843 in one of the bloodiest fights in Fiji's history, in which many inhabitants were killed and eaten by the people of Rewa. In 1879 Governor Sir John Bates Thurston asked John Horne, Director of Forests and Botanic Gardens in Mauritius, to recommend a botanical garden; the Suva Botanical Gardens were later renamed in his memory in 1976. In 1913 the gardens were reorganised and drains laid underground.

The Fiji Museum, housed in a building erected in the garden grounds in 1955, holds archaeological and cultural objects from Fiji, including art, weapons and pottery. The museum maintains the gardens, and Suva residents still use them during the day.

The grounds are free to enter year-round and feature wide, level pathways that are easy to walk. Visitors should prepare for the humid tropical climate and explore the garden best during the cooler morning hours.

The 1913 replanting laid out avenues of exactly 101 Royal Palms and 39 tree ferns, and the same works put the garden's drains underground. The Fiji Museum, housed in a building raised on the grounds in 1955, now maintains the garden.