FIJI’s first newspaper, The Fiji Times was founded by Welshman George Littleton Griffiths and its first issue printed on September 4, 1869 — an achievement that the company still celebrates today.
The first office was at Albion Passage on Beach St, not far from where the Methodist Church stood back in 1989. Mr Griffiths was a pioneer who was born into a family of architects, builders, and timber owners.
In 1868 and in the following year, at the age of 25 Mr Griffiths came to Fiji and established The Fiji Times in partnership with J.H. Hobson, a relative by marriage. His partnership with J.H Hobson was later dissolved in 1870 which showed Mr Griffiths carrying on the newspaper operations alone.
Mr Griffiths, became a great supporter of the pigeon post, which had been established between Levuka and Suva to get messages through including shipping news, sights of vessels, race results and other news.
In the absence of a postal service, The Fiji Times started a mall service on November 1, 1870 and Mr Griffiths printed his very own stamps. The Fiji Times had since been present at every major event in the country and reported on all issues.
The newspaper was there to report on the signing of the Deed of Cession and commented on the decision to move the capital from Levuka to Suva.
On October 20, 1881 Mr Griffiths started a separate paper in the new capital, The Suva Times. At the end of 1886 he decided to bring the Fiji Times to Suva.
The Suva Times ceased publications and The Fiji Times began publications in the new capital on January 1, 1887. Suva soon had two newspapers; the opposition to The Fiji Times came from the Western Pacific Herald which was started by Mr (late Sir) Alport Barker on April 13, 1901.
Mr Barker bought out The Fiji Times in 1918 and merged it with the Western Pacific Herald. The name of the paper was later shortened to Fiji Times and Herald. In 1950s, Mr R.W Robson, owner and publisher of Pacific Islands Monthly took over Fiji Times and Herald and began modernising its plant and equipment.
Mr Robson changed the name of the paper to its original, The Fiji Times. The paper had since changed hands three times. It was bought out by the Wilkes Group of Melbourne Herald and Weekly Times and three years later it was bought by Rupert Murdoch’s News Ltd.
After Rupert Murdoch’s News Ltd it was later bought by the Motibhai Group on Septmber 22, 2010
