The Island Kingdom of Tonga

Tonga has always facinated me ever since seeing Queen Salote of Tonga waving and smiling in the pouring rain during The Queens coronation in 1953. So where is this facinating and interesting island?

The Kingdom of Tonga is a small island nation in Polynesia in the South Pacific, located about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand. The kingdom compromises 169 islands in total, 36 of which are inhabited. While he total surface area of its islands is a mere 750 square kilometres, it is scattered over an area of 700 000 square kilometres across the South Pacific. A quarter of Tonga’s 100 000 residents live in its capital city, Nuku’alofa, however, which is located on the north coast of the nation’s main island, Tongatapu.

From 1900 to 1970, Tonga was a protected state of the United Kingdom. Under the protectorate, Tonga remained the only Pacific nation to retain its monarchy. The Tongan people still venerate its monarch, and criticism of the monarch is considered to be contrary to Tongan etiquette. Queen Salote Tupou, who ruled Tonga for nearly 48 years – between 1918-1965 – was the country’s longest reigning sovereign. Standing tall at 6 feet and 3 inches, she brought international attention to Tonga when she attended the coronation of queen Elizabeth II and refused to let her carriage hood go up when it started raining, since Tongan custom and etiquette dictates that one should not imitate the actions of those you are honouring. She continued to smile and wave to adoring crowds all while driving from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace through the pouring rain. This famous open carriage ride is said to have placed Tonga on the world map.

The monarch’s official residence, the Royal Palace of the Kingdom of Tonga is located in the northwest of the capital, Nuku?alofa, close to the Ocean. Although this wooden Palace is not open to the public, it is easily visible from the waterfront. According to Tongan tradition, all flying bats are considered to be sacred, and are the property of the monarchy.

Tonga is an ethnically and religiously homogeneous nation, and foreigners are not allowed to own property on its islands. More than 97% of the population are ethnically Tongan and over 90% of the population adhere to some form of either Christianity or Mormonism. The country has a 99% literacy rate and education is both free and compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 14.

Rugby is Tonga’s national sport and the Tongan national team – nicknamed the “Sea Eagles” - has performed quite well in numerous Rugby World Cups. Tonga is also famous for producing some of the best and most famous rugby players in the world, including Jonah Lomu who played for New Zealand, Israel Folau who played for Australia, and Welch international Toby Faletau.

With the islands enjoying a tropical climate, Tonga enjoys relatively warm weather all year long. It has a cyclone season from October to April, and during its wettest month, March, it averages 263 mm in precipitation. The Tongan tropical moist forests form a fascinating broadleaf forest ecoregion across of all Tonga’s islands. Interestingly, the ecoregion has no native land mammals.

Tonga’s western islands are all of volcanic origin. This means that most of these islands have incredibly rich soil with immense agricultural potential. Tonga still has moderate volcanic activity, with the last eruption having come in 1985. In December 2014 and January 2015 a new volcanic island of 1 km wide and 2 km long was even formed in Tonga.

While small and scattered in the South Pacific, the 169 islands that make up the kingdom of Tonga are not only home to a people with some of the richest traditions in the world, but also some of the world’s most unique and beautiful fauna and flora.