50 Fun Facts About Tonga

Tonga is officially known as what kind of state, the only one of its kind left in the Pacific islands?

Its royal line has an unbroken hereditary succession, and Tonga was never colonised, only 'protected' by Britain from 1900 to 1970.

What is the capital of Tonga?

It sits on the main island of Tongatapu, home to 70% of the population, and was swamped by the tsunami of January 2022.

Tonga lies in which region of the Pacific?

It is directly south of Samoa, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand, and 98% of its people are Polynesian Tongans.

How many islands make up Tonga, of which 45 are inhabited?

They span an 800 km north-south line in three main groups: Vava'u, Ha'apai and Tongatapu, plus the far northern Niuas.

Tonga became known as the 'Friendly Islands' after warmly welcoming which explorer in 1773?

He arrived during the 'inasi first-fruits festival. According to William Mariner, the chiefs wanted to kill him but could not agree on a plan.

The name 'Tonga' comes from a Polynesian word meaning what?

It is the southernmost group in western Polynesia. The word is cognate with Hawaiian 'kona', meaning leeward, as in Hawaii's Kona District.

The first Europeans to reach Tonga, in 1616, sailed under which flag?

Willem Schouten's ship Eendracht stopped to trade. Abel Tasman followed in 1643, well over a century before Cook.

Which warrior chief united Tonga under one crown in 1845 and later took the Christian name George?

Baptised by Methodists as Siaosi in 1831, he ruled as George Tupou I and gave Tonga a constitution in 1875 that freed the serfs.

In which year did Tonga adopt its constitution and formally become a constitutional monarchy?

Missionary Shirley Baker helped draft it. The same constitution enshrines the flag and stipulates that it can never be changed.

From 1900 to 1970 Tonga had what relationship with Britain?

Britain handled foreign affairs but posted no one grander than a consul, and Tonga never gave up its sovereignty.

Queen Salote Tupou III charmed the world at Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation by doing what?

Tongan etiquette forbids imitating the person you honour, so when hoods went up on the other carriages she left hers down and got drenched.

The king who reigned from 1965 to 2006, Tupou IV, held what physical distinction among Tongan monarchs?

He weighed 209.5 kg and stood 196 cm. In later life he became a national symbol of dieting after slimming down dramatically.

In which year did Tonga hold its first partially representative elections?

Riots in Nuku'alofa in 2006, aimed largely at Chinese-owned shops, had pushed the reforms. The monarchy itself remains popular.

The January 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai has been compared in size to which historic blast?

Its atmospheric shock wave was unlike anything in the modern record. It cut Tonga's only undersea cable for five weeks and killed four people.

How far from the main island of Tongatapu was the volcano that erupted in 2022?

The tsunami it sent reached the capital within minutes and drowned two women as far away as Peru.

Tonga's flag is red with a white canton bearing what?

Adopted in 1875 and written into the constitution, which says it may never be changed. The cross stands for Christianity.

What is Tonga's currency?

It is pegged to a basket of the Australian, New Zealand and US dollars and the yen. The tala, vatu and kina belong to Samoa, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

In Tonga, which animals are considered sacred and the property of the monarchy, so they cannot be hunted?

The protected fruit bats have thrived as a result and roost in huge colonies, most famously at Kolovai on Tongatapu.

What is Tonga's national sport?

The 'Ikale Tahi, or Sea Eagles, beat France at the 2011 World Cup and perform the Sipi Tau war dance before matches.

What is the nickname of Tonga's national team in its most popular sport?

'Ikale Tahi in Tongan. Their best World Cups were 2007, when they nearly upset eventual champions South Africa, and 2011.

At the 2011 Rugby World Cup Tonga stunned which eventual finalist 19-14 in the pool stage?

France still edged them out for the quarter-finals on bonus points after Tonga's 41-10 opening loss to the All Blacks and a narrow defeat to Canada.

In rugby league, the national team's motto 'Mate Ma'a ...' followed by the country's name means what?

Stars like Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita switched allegiance before the 2017 World Cup, and Tonga went on to beat New Zealand, Great Britain and Australia.

Tonga's only Olympic medal was a silver won by Paea Wolfgramm at Atlanta 1996 in which sport?

He lost the final to Wladimir Klitschko. The islands have since sent athletes to both Summer and Winter Games.

Pita Taufatofua became world-famous as Tonga's flag-bearer at Rio 2016 for appearing how?

A taekwondo fighter, he then took up cross-country skiing to reach the 2018 Winter Games and carried the flag again in 2020.

The 13th-century stone trilithon Ha'amonga 'a Maui on Tongatapu is nicknamed what?

Its name means 'the Burden of Maui'. King Tu'itatui reputedly built it to honour his two sons.

In Tongan mythology, which demigod fished the islands up from the ocean?

Tongatapu appeared first, then Ha'apai and Vava'u. Maui's fishing exploits are told from Hawaii to New Zealand.

What title did the ruler of the medieval Tongan maritime empire bear?

From the first king 'Aho'eitu, its influence reached Fiji, Samoa, Niue and New Caledonia. Ariki and ratu are Maori and Fijian chiefly titles.

Tonga's earliest known settlement, Nukuleka, has been dated to roughly what year?

The settlers were part of the Lapita culture, whose distinctive pottery marks the Polynesian expansion out of Melanesia.

In the Tongan social system of fahu, which relative holds the highest rank in a family?

Sisters are considered sacred and senior to their brothers, and the paternal side outranks the maternal side.

Tongan is a Polynesian language of which branch, shared with the language of Niue?

Hawaiian, Samoan, Maori and Tahitian are more distant cousins. English is the other official language.

Which denomination did Queen Salote establish as Tonga's state religion in 1928?

Its chief pastor still anoints and crowns the monarch. Today the constitution has no state religion, but the Sabbath is written into it.

What happens to commerce and entertainment in Tonga every Sunday?

The Sabbath is enshrined in the constitution. Almost 98% of Tongans profess Christianity, and nearly a fifth are Mormons.

Roughly what share of Tongans are Latter-day Saints, one of the highest shares in the world?

Mormon missionaries first got permission to preach from King George Tupou in 1891. Protestants make up around 64%.

Tonga's economy leans heavily on remittances from what share of its people who live abroad?

More than twice the home population lives overseas, chiefly in New Zealand, Australia and the United States.

From 1987 Tonga found a lucrative but risky export market in Japan for which vegetable?

Price swings made farmers wary. Kava and vanilla from larger plantations became the other main agricultural exports.

Tonga's postage stamps are prized by collectors for unusual shapes, including which of these?

The self-adhesive fruit-shaped issues of the 1960s and 70s made Tonga a philatelic curiosity.

The Tonga Trench, off the islands, is the deepest ocean trench in which category?

Only the Mariana Trench is deeper. The Pacific plate is subducting here faster than anywhere else on Earth.

The 1789 mutiny on HMS Bounty broke out about 30 nautical miles south of which Tongan island?

Fletcher Christian acted days after a tense stop at Nomuka. Bligh's men were attacked when they landed on Tofua and one was killed.

The 1918 flu pandemic, brought by a ship from New Zealand, killed roughly what share of Tongans?

About 1,800 people died. The kingdom's population was around 32,000 as late as the 1930s.

When Tonga joined the Commonwealth in 1970 it did so unusually as a country with what?

Only Malaysia, Brunei, Lesotho and Eswatini share that status. Tonga joined the United Nations much later, in 1999.

How many administrative divisions does Tonga have?

'Eua, Ha'apai, the Niuas, Tongatapu and Vava'u. Vava'u is the whale-watching and cruise-ship centre.

Per the 2021 WorldRiskReport, where does Tonga rank among countries most exposed to natural disasters?

Cyclones, earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis all threaten the low islands. The cyclone season runs from November to April.

Tonga's population is closest to which figure?

Roughly 82,000 Tongans lived in New Zealand alone in 2018, more than in any Tongan town.

Land in Tonga is protected by the constitution in what way?

Foreigners may only lease. The traditional system long discouraged farmers from planting long-term tree crops on land they did not own.

In the 1980s, market demand disrupted Tonga's fahu system and stripped almost all of which resource in two years?

Local competition for the fragrant wood overwhelmed the traditional sharing networks that had once regulated its harvest.

Which Dutch captain's ship Eendracht made the first European visit to Tonga in 1616?

Abel Tasman followed in 1643, visiting Tongatapu and Ha'apai.

How large is Tongatapu, the largest island and home of the capital?

Most Tongan islands are uplifted coral limestone; others are limestone over a volcanic base.

Which airline collapsed after Tonga held a long-term charter on an unusable Boeing 757 stuck in Auckland?

Other ill-fated schemes included registering foreign ships and approving a cigarette factory for exports to China.

Roughly how much of downtown Nuku'alofa was destroyed in the pro-democracy riots of November 2006?

As many as six people died before Tongan forces and a New Zealand-led task force restored order.

In which city's hospital did King George Tupou V die of leukaemia in March 2012?

His brother succeeded him as Tupou VI and was crowned on 4 July 2015.