Incessant tribal warfare reduced the village to smouldering ruins.
Yet like the metaphorical phoenix, it would rise from the ashes, albeit almost 200 hundred years later, to reclaim its place in Suva history.
Thurston Gardens was a much loved recreational site for families in Suva after it was established way back in 1913 boasting exotic plant species from all over the world along with some of Fiji’s endemic trees, ornamentals and flowers,
The garden was renamed after its founder, John Bates Thurston in 1913 yet the decades that followed have not been kind to one of Suva most popular relaxation spots.
Now the powers that be have put together a comprehensive plan that will help breathe life back into one of Suva’s most popular relaxing spots and one of Fiji’s important heritage sights.
The Thurston Gardens Master Plan was fittingly launched by His Excellency the President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau last year.
The Master Plan was established through the voluntary effort of the ‘Friends of the Thurston Gardens’ and the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GIZ) and the Global Environment Facility Forest Conservation and Protected Area Management Project in Fiji for financing this Master Plan.
The multi-million dollar plan is designed by Landscape Architect, Elsa Miller.
The new Thurston Gardens will include a floating garden collection, bamboo collection, Fijian endemic palm collection, food gardens along with medicinal plants and endemic fruit trees.
The garden will also feature a collection of hanging flowering vines, Fijian forest trees and endangered species, perfumed plants, a hibiscus and frangipani collection, ginger, orchids and heliconias along with prehistoric flora.
People can expect to walk through new roads, and enjoy new benches and even a café to relax in.
New gates, garden furniture and an amphitheatre for outdoor performances are other features in store for Suva residents.
Interestingly Ratu Epeli once played in the gardens as a child growing up in the domain area which he alluded to when launching the master plan.
The mission statement of the Thurston Gardens Master Plan aims to “cultivate endemic Fijian plants and “other culturally and ecologically important native and introduced plants of” conservation, economic and cultural value
The plan also intends “To provide educational opportunities for schoolchildren and the public in botany and the environment”.
Plants are also to be labelled and the public educated on its uses, potential and distribution.
The mission statement has outlined the need to “To keep appropriate records of planting in each section to ensure the scientific value of the collection. Each garden type will be a documented collection of plants found in Fiji.”
Other aspects of the mission statement to create areas of passive recreation and enjoyment for visitors.
Importantly though the plan will promote Thurston Gardens as a unique and major tourist attraction in Suva
National Trust of Fiji chairman Robin Yarrow said the garden was teeming with history that needed to be told to younger generations and it represents Fiji’s rich plant biodiversity.
“Nature supports and sustains all life, and yet many of Fiji’s people, particularly those who live in our ever-expanding urban areas, tend to overlook this fact,” said Mr Yarrow.
“A Botanic Garden which is representative of Fiji’s rich plant biodiversity will help to educate our young citizens and at the same time remind our adults of this reality while also serving as a peaceful green haven, both for residents of Suva as well as for visitors to the capital to enjoy, appreciate and relax within,” he said.
“That Thurston Gardens has so much history will also serve to add value and interest.”
Fijian ornithologist, writer and environmental consultant Dick Watling said Thurston Gardens “has been an inspiration and a refuge of serenity for the citizens of Suva for over a century, but it has fallen on hard times.”
“In an age when our youth are becoming rapidly more disengaged from the natural environment, when we sense the imminent collapse of entire ecosystems,” said Watling.
“And our list of threatened plant species here in Fiji mounts at an increasing rate, the presence of a revitalised Thurston Gardens is more important than ever.”
In efforts to transform Thurston Gardens into a world-class five-star botanical garden the working group has identified improved drainage and good design and working drawings as critical.
There is also a need for “carefully chosen and documented plant stock and qualified botanical and horticultural skills.”
The new Thurston Gardens Collection will include Fijian forest trees and endangered species.
Endangered trees are to be planted here to provide a seed source for other future plantings.
The Thurston Gardens master plan has also identified nearly 200 species of trees, palms and shrubs that are critically endangered. “This means there are less than 1000 in the wild, or they occur in three or fewer locations,” the report states.
The President said the refurbishment of Thurston Gardens was important for future generations.
“This effort to revitalise the gardens is not only a noble endeavor, but one that I see as absolutely necessary for our present and future generations,” said Ratu Epeli.
Ratu Epeli paid tribute to J B Thurston who was instrumental in starting the Suva Botanical Garden and that the former governor and colonial secretary “recognised the importance and diverse nature of plants and trees in Fiji, as a form of aesthetic relaxation and education for all.”
“Now, almost two hundred years later, the need for an urban garden in our city is even more significant,” he said.
“With the increasing trend of urbanisation over generations, the degradation of forest ecosystems, and declining biodiversity, our people are losing their cultural ties to nature and its importance to their daily lives.”
The President said it was noteworthy that “Singapore values its botanical garden so much that it is planning to nominate it for listing as a world heritage site under the world heritage convention”.
The President said more than 1800 botanical gardens across the world are now in close communication including through an organisation called Botanic Gardens Conservation International.
“In time, hopefully Thurston Gardens can become a member. This enables a sharing of information, experience and good practice,” he said.
The President said botanical gardens can perform many useful roles, including in awareness and education, in information and knowledge provision, in recreation as well as in providing assistance with restoring ecosystems by maintaining some of these within the garden area.
“The new Suva Thurston Gardens master plan is an opportunity to recreate that special place where we can reconnect with nature.”
Some of the new key features of the Thurston Gardens will be the creation of a new collection of native and endemic plants.
The plan will also include thematic collections of plants, improved landscaping, a focus on the historical significance of the place.
Challenges that lie ahead include improved recreational amenities and solving the problems of drainage which are shared in common with the presidential compound next door and Albert Park.
“The revitalised gardens will be developed according to international standards and will provide living collections of plants as stores of genetic diversity, in sharing horticultural skills, undertaking plant research and in providing educational opportunities for schoolchildren and the public in botany and the environment,” said Ratu Epeli.
“We can all look forward to this green haven, a place of beauty and serenity that we can retreat to, appreciate and enjoy.
“It is important to note that the Thurston Gardens is a listed Fiji Heritage Site, together with the adjacent properties of Albert Park and the Grand Pacific Hotel — it is vital that we move to restore this important facility to ensure we can maintain our pride in this wonderful national asset.”
Additionally, this combination of significant colonial buildings, including the Fiji Museum, all in the same precinct, is a unique opportunity to enhance the tourism attraction of this part of the city of Suva.
The new garden will have a more comprehensive and informative labelling and signage.
It will also have better lighting for night visitation and a suitable memorial to the original Suva village that was founded at the site in 1820.
With the emergence of the new and improved Grand Pacific Hotel anf the planned refurbishment of Albert Park, both within a stone’s throw distance from Thurston Gardens, the master plan could not have comne at a better time.
“As Fiji becomes increasingly urbanised Thurston Gardens could play a more meaningful role in educating our young population about Fiji’s unique and varied plant biodiversity, much of which can be difficult to see in the wild,” said Ratu Epeli.
“We will come and we will go, but the Thurston Gardens’ rich collection of plants is for our future.”
