Cumming Street, Suva

One of the most picturesque parts of the city, Cumming Street, did not appear at all on early maps. To get there from the Handicraft Centre you’ll need to head down Edward Street, cross Scott Street and jog right to Thomson Street (which intersects Scott). Walk a block and cross Nubukalou Creek (across a bridge of course!) and you’ll run squarely into Cumming Street.

The area formerly was a low-lying swamp extending most of the way from Marks Street to Ellery Street, the site of a former refuse dump. The district was reclaimed in the early 1900s, and gradually the street developed into a commercial area. Also prominent in the area were its yaqona (kava) saloons — “dens of iniquity” of the 1920s — and the curry shops, known as lodges.

In 1923 a fire destroyed most of the buildings on the street, thereby depleting all its gains.
After that, the street was the home of the Suva Market for more than 20 years, until the market was moved to its location on Edinburgh Drive, at the edge of town and near the wharf area, next to the bus station.

On the rest of the street, shopkeepers such as tailors, barbers and café owners changed gradually during World War II into sellers of curios and artifacts, when military personnel provided potential shoppers. The businesses changed again in the 1960s when the nation removed its import duties from a large selection of electronic goods.

In 2022, Cumming Street was still a cheek-to-jowl collection of retail outlets, ranging from beauty salons to clothing and fabric shops. But it was no longer a center of duty-free shopping, as it was decades ago. Tax laws had changed, except at the airport, and Fiji no longer provides any duty-free benefits.