Kingdom of Tonga
Tonga (meaning "South") was named the
"Friendly Islands" by Captain Cook in 1773 because
of the warm welcome received from the islanders. Tongan people are Polynesians (meaning "many
islands"). The modern-day Kingdom of Tonga was
founded in 1875 by the adoption of a written constitution
under Tonga's first constitutional monarch, His Majesty King
George Tupou I. The present monarch, His Majesty
King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV is the great-great grandson of HM
Tupou I and is the 22nd King in the line of the Tu'i
Kanokupolu Monarchy and the fourth monarch in the house of
Tupou. His Majesty has been on the throne since 1965,
although his coronation did not occur until 1967. He started
his secondary education in Tonga at Tupou College and
graduated with honours in 1932. His Christian name, Jiaoji
Taaufa'ahau, may be found on the Tupou College honourboard
for the year 1932. He went on to further studies and
matriculated in Australia at Newington College, then
continued his education and completed his BA, LLB at
Sydney University. His Majesty is the first known Tongan to
have graduated from a university. Under the
leadership and guidance of HM King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, Tonga
has continued to develop its government, education and
economy enabling Tonga to play its full part in the
political and economic affairs of the Pacific region and
beyond. More details may be found on http://www.pmo.gov.to/
Geographical Location
The Kingdom of Tonga is located in the South Pacific Ocean, North-East of New-Zealand and East of Fiji,
at Latitude 20 00 S and Longitude 175 00 W. Tonga consists of 170 islands in two
parallel chains mainly of coral, although with a few volcanic, islands. Most of the larger
islands are inhabited. Tonga is officially sub-divided into 5 sub-groups of
islands, namely: Tongatapu, 'Eua, Ha'apai group, Vava'u Group and the Niua
Islands. The capital, Nuku'alofa (meaning "Land-of-Love"), is located
on Tongatapu - the main island. A map of Tonga showing
the main island groupings may be
found here.
Getting to Tonga
Among other means, the beautiful islands of Tonga can be
reached via air from New Zealand (Monday to Saturday)
and Australia (Thursday) provided by the Royal Tongan
Airlines new B757 aircraft. Royal Tongan flights are also available via Fiji (Tuesday and
Saturday) through a code share with Air Pacific on a B737
aircraft. Other airlines, including Air New
Zealand and Air Pacific, also operate regular scheduled
services to Tonga.
Form of Government
The Tongan Government is a Constitutional Monarchy, that is, the king's power is
limited by law. The current monarchy was originated in 1845 by King George (Siaosi)
Tupou I following a major civil war among the island sub-groups. More information
may be found at the Government of Tonga official website http://pmo.gov.to/
The King has in line 33 Nobles at his disposal, acting as his mediators to the
people throughout the kingdom. The Nobles control the land distribution and
facilitate the welfare of the people who occupy the land.
Language and People
Tongan people are known as Polynesians or Pacific Islanders. The national
language is Tongan. English is the second language and is becoming more common
as the official language. According to tradition, government documents are still
published both in Tongan and English versions.
Population
The local population is about 100,000 and 100,000 more live abroad mainly in New
Zealand, Australia and USA. The majority of the population (more
than 60%) lives on the
main island, Tongatapu, because infrastructures are better developed here than in
the outer islands. About 5% of the local population is of other nationalities,
mainly New Zealanders, Australians, Americans, British, Europeans, other
Pacific Islanders and, more recently, Chinese immigrants. Statistics
show that the
local population is fairly stable partly because of a consistent flow of
emigrants overseas mainly to New Zealand, Australia and USA.
Climate
Tonga has a very pleasant climate on the main island, Tongatapu.
During winter
months one still needs some warm clothes. For all-year round weather, Vava'u has
a much warmer climate. For Tongatapu in the Autumn/Winter/Spring months (March
to November) temperatures range from 10º C at midnight to
25º C at
mid-day. At other times, temperatures around 20º C at mid-night to
39º C at mid-day
is normal. Also relative humidity is high during the summer months (December, January
and February). Occasionally the islands suffer from a severe hurricane or earthquake, the
former being more frequent.
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