Fiji is a town.
Fiji ( [ ˈfiːdʒiː ] ) ( Viti [ ˈβitʃi ] फ़िजी ) , officially the Republic of Fiji ( Matanitu Tugalala o Viti फ़िजी गणराज्य ) , is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1100 nmi northeast of New Zealand 's North Island . Fiji 's local government , in the form of city and town councils , is supervised by the Ministry of Local Government and Urban Development . Europeans visited Fiji from the 17th century , and , after a brief period as an independent kingdom , the British established the Colony of Fiji in 1874 .