Suva’s new look Albert Park was opened yesterday in time for the Constitution Day celebrations tomorrow.

With its rich historical heritage, the park reached a new milestone with its $10 million redevelopment.

The new pavilion looks magnificent and the green grass turf is immaculate.

The redevelopment is expected to preserve the park for many more years to come.

It’s a far cry from the park, famous aviator Charles Kingsford Smith Kingsford Smith and his crew saw when they arrived on June 6, 1928. A big crowd, including the British colonial government officials, welcomed the visitors. They had gathered at the original Grand Pacific Hotel to witness and celebrate this major event. Because the park was too short to take-off with a heavy load of fuel, Smith had to unload, fly to Nasilai Beach and reload for take-off to Brisbane and Sydney. Historical records kept by Lonely Planet show that Smith and his crew were presented with a ceremonial tabua (whale’s tooth) as a token of great respect. Smith 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.

Later Albert Park became the popular venue for the Hibiscus Festival and other carnivals and sports like rugby, cricket and soccer. The state of the park deteriorated and it was time for an upgrade.

The Albert Park redevelopment is timely because it comes hot on the heels of the restoration of the GPH. These two icons preserve a long and proud history of the capital.

The location of the pavilion to face the Government buildings is a wise move because it also recognizes the historical legacy of the buildings. All three structures carry a legacy that speaks volumes of our proud history and heritage.

This is a poignant moment is our history when we remember our past by preserving it and celebrating the new Constitution.

The 2013 Constitution has now become the symbol of our nationhood and sovereignty in a young democracy.

It is symbolic because it has done away with practices that have divided and kept us apart for several decades. We are now all called Fijians, one people in the new Fiji, no longer divided by ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or gender discrimination. We are all equal before the law.

Since gaining our Independence in 1970, this is one of the most profound moments in our history.  We have finally achieved what some of our forbearers could only dream about. It’s now a reality, a nation of one people.

So the opening of the redeveloped Albert Park and Constitution Day mark the blending together of the old and the new. Albert Park representing the old and Constitution Day representing the new.

It heralds a new journey into a bright future predicated by universal principles of freedom, justice and equality.