In 1881, the Union Steam Ship Company began operations to the Fiji Islands when their vessel “Southern Cross” established service from New Zealand. The company provided services to and from New Zealand, Australia, and across the Pacific to North America. It was once the largest shipping line in the southern hemisphere and New Zealand’s biggest private-sector employer.
According to nzshipmarine.recollect.co.nz, during its peak, the company ran a hotel in Fiji, owned offices and wharves in Australia, a printing works and coal business in New Zealand, and a chain of branch offices throughout the South Pacific. It also operated airlines.
The Fiji Times notes that the company’s first Suva office, a timber structure, was built in 1900 and remained until 1934 when it was replaced by a modern building. Prior to this, the company was served by shipping agents like Ernest Ford in 1884 and A.M. Duncan in 1888.
The land on which the first office was located required reclamation work, adding 220 pounds to the company’s budget of 650 pounds for constructing the wooden block.
Despite its wooden walls and shingled roof offering a cool appearance, the building was primitive and vulnerable to water during extreme weather. Electric lighting was not installed until 1920, and prior to that, the office used kerosene and petrol gas lamps. The only telephone system on the island was a private exchange run by CSR Company, and the office borrowed the use of a telephone at Brown and Joske’s office until they got connected to the CSR exchange.
From 1920 onwards, the wooden office became increasingly dilapidated with rotting boards and a leaking roof. However, the company’s Fiji business continued to grow, servicing many famous ships, including the Aorangi, Niagara, Matua, Tofua, and Tarawera. They also handled agency work for Union South Pacific, the first vessel to commence RoRo services in Fiji.
In 1934, the wooden office was replaced with modern concrete structures costing 3000 pounds. The new building was described in The Fiji Times as a “handsome addition to Suva’s rapidly growing number of modern premises.”
Further reclamation work in 1939 on the seaward side of the property enabled it to withstand the hurricanes of 1941 and 1952, and the earthquake and tidal wave of 1955. Various changes to its interior layout and decoration followed, maintaining the structure for at least four decades.
A significant renovation was done in 1980 to construct the Union Travel Plaza, with the office temporarily moving to Harris Street in 1979 for upgrade work. The plaza became a popular shopping destination in central Suva, located between the general post office and Westpac Bank. Among the new shops was The Crossroads, owned by Jane Usher, featuring goods sourced from Italy, England, Norway, France, Korea, Austria, and New Zealand.
Boomerang Duty-Free, owned by Jayanti Lal, opened at the plaza dealing with products like Akai equipment, Casio watches, Sharp radios, Olympus cameras, Sanyo hi-fi systems, and Hitachi products.
One of the reasons the Union Steam Ship Company was well-known in Suva during the colonial years was its link to the Grand Pacific Hotel (GPH), a significant project in the early 20th century. The idea for GPH was mooted in 1908 by the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand. The company, founded by James Mills in Dunedin in 1875, was later acquired by shipping giant P & O around World War I.
GPH was built on a landing place called Na Vunivesi, with plans prepared by New Zealand company Salmon and Vanes. Constructed by Hall Hogg and Company from Dunedin, the hotel opened on May 23, 1914, offering 35 rooms designed to emulate the first-class accommodations of the era’s steamships.
The Fiji Times in 1914 hailed GPH as a “magnificent structure” designed to “catch the cooling tradewinds.” The hotel featured 15-feet wide verandas and balconies, electric fans, a front balcony overlooking the Parade, a roof garden, a drawing room for ladies, and a billiard room for men. Shared bathroom fittings were praised for their modern sanitary design.
Initially, rooms in GPH were priced from 15 shillings. In 1958, after Union Steam Ship relinquished their lease, Cathay Hotels (Fiji) Ltd took ownership, led by Wesley Barret M.L.C.
Today, the plaza space where the company’s first Suva office was located still stands between Westpac Bank and Suva’s post office. Known now as Marchant Finance Plaza, it has housed various businesses, including KFC, Optic Eyecare, and Macquarie Travelworld.