Albert Park

Albert Park was constructed as a cricket ground in the 1880s on land which once belonged to the indigenous village of Suva. It is named after Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria.  It has since hosted sporting events, national celebrations, visiting dignitaries, and was the site of the first aeroplane landing in Fiji in 1928

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith (1897-1935) was the first aviator to cross the Pacific, flying in his little Fokker trimotor, The Southern Cross, from California to Australia.  The longest leg of the flight was the 34-hour trip from Hawaii to Fiji.  Suva’s Albert Park, with its hill at one end and the Grand Pacific Hotel at the other, was made into a makeshift landing strip for his arrival.  Trees were still being cleared after Smith had already left Hawaii.