THE MOVE FROM LEVUKA TO SUVA

THE Fiji Times’ first home was at Albion Passage, in Levuka. Records revealed its public office was located along Beach St, close to Niukaba Hill where the 1914-1918 War Memorial stands.

After Fiji was ceded to Great Britain, the suggestion came for the capital to be moved from Levuka to Suva.

The Fiji Times condemned this vigorously in its subsequent newspapers. But before the move was made officially, George Griffiths, The Fiji Times founder went ahead and began a newspaper service in Suva. The Suva Times was established on October 20, 1881 at Renwick Rd at a building opposite the Suva Triangle.

“The two newspapers kept in touch by sea mail and quoted extensively from each other’s columns,” a 1969 article from The Fiji Times described. “Griffiths made full use of a pigeon post service started at the beginning of 1884, and lofts were fitted to the roofs of the Suva and Levuka offices.

The birds made the journey between the two in a little more than 30 minutes.

But the inevitable happened. Rapid developments were happening, and soon Griffiths had to contend with the changes. From January 1, 1887, The Fiji Times (incorporating The

Suva Times) was published in

Suva.

In an editorial, Griffiths explained there had been a time when “while Suva hardly struggled to support its newly assumed dignity as the capital of Fiji, the commercial superiority for a long time remained with Levuka … but since that date, the change has been very marked.

“The tide of population and trade has naturally set to the political centre and secured for it the decided preeminence”.

Picture: SUPPLIED Picture: SUPPLIED Picture: http://maa.cam.ac.uk/photo-maafu-p103552-vh/ A copy of the historic Deed of Cession document. Historic Deed of Cession document. Enele Ma’afu’otu’itonga, commonly known as Ma’afu, held important titles in two countries in the Pacific. He was a traditional Tongan Prince and a self-made Fijian chief.

Picture: FILE Mr Griffiths.