A Royal Visit To Tonga

By F. T. GOEDICKE, of Haapai

TTOW the report got afloat I now forget, * but many years ago it was said that His Royal Highness the Duke of Edin burgh intended to pass through the Ton gan Islands, on his way to Tahiti from Fiji. The report caused immense excite ment among the natives.

I know they all felt honoured at the anticipated visit, and that they thought it quite natural that such a visit should take place.

When I told the natives that I thought that it was at least very doubtful that we should be honoured by a visit from a son of “Vika” (as they called Her Majesty) they laughed at me.

I remember, at this time, asking a chief what sort of duties or pleasures occupied the Queen of England. Of the former he had no idea, but he thought that perhaps, as King George of Tonga (Tubou I.), on fine evenings, sat on his verandah among his chiefs and people, drinking kava and eating ripe bananas, a great chieftainess like Her Majesty might do the same. But kava papalagi (square gin) would probably be substi tuted at Windsor Castle for Tongan kava , and salt beef and sardines —in those days thought to be the acme of all good things —for bananas: and she would be sur rounded certainly with captains of war ships.

One bright morning, at one of the chief villages of Tongatabu, I saw most of its female population shouting and running down to the beach, waving rags and waist cloths, towards a large ship which was steaming into the eastern passage of Tonga. They were certain that it was the long expected Duke.

There was a marsh in those days near the sea beach, and close to Nukualofa, which marsh occupied a portion of land belonging to an Englishman, who had been in those parts much longer than I.

I went to call on. him.

“Yes, the Prince is certainly coming,” he said, “and we ought, for the credit of the people, to get up something to amuse him and show loyalty to our Queen.”

There were about 20 weatherboard houses in Nukualofa then, and there were no great shakes either.

“But what could we do?’’ I asked.

“What could we show him. if he does come?”

“The best thing,’' I continued, “always providing that the almighty missionaries will allow it, is to get the Prince to go in one of his boats, with plenty of cham pagne, etc., and sail to one of the small islands over the reef yonder, where there are white beaches, sunlight, green palm trees, and grass; and we could take out a bevy of dusky beauties, who could dance before him, in old native style.”

The idea appeared to please him, for he said: “That would be nice, with noth ing on; but that would never be per mitted.”

“No,” I said. “But if the Prince ex

pressed a wish to see a ancient dance, the missionaries would hardly object.”

I was on friendly terms with old King George in those days. He was not then full of ridiculous ideas of his magnifi cence with which he was subsequently stuffed by his advisers. I went to see him, to find out why he expected the Galatea.

I found His Majesty on his verandah, looking seaward. He had obtained from Eua all the Kalas (parrots) that could be procured, as a present for the expected royal guest, and they were all in a large wicker aviary in the palace ground.

He had the waterfront decorated for more than a mile with upright poles, all festooned with sisi kakalas, which are girdles the natives wear round their waists. These are made of dead ferns, only procurable at Eua, and of different kinds of flowers. Chinese lanterns were not known here then, otherwise all the poles would doubtlessly have been decor ated with them, too.

As soon as the King had shaken hands with me, he spoke about the Prince’s visit to Tonga.

I told him that I was in Sydney on that day when the Prince was wounded by a madman, and of how Sydney went almost mad with rage.

We were in the midst of our kava and talk, when a boat was reported to be coming in. There was a blinding sun, but His Majesty seized his telescope, and looked out.

“Koe mooni!” he said. “A boat is com ing, and it appears to be rowed better and more regularly than my Tonga people could row one, and there are many oars on each side of her.”

“Perhaps,” I said, “it is a boat from the Galatea, sent off to look for a pilot.”

"Ten teuV (get all ready), cried His Majesty to his attendants.

But before long, the supposed boat from H.M.S. Galatea , was found to be the German firm’s large boat, full of dirty bags of copra, from a neighbouring bay.

Prince Alfred, at about that time, was making Jiis transit across the Pacific, a thousand miles from Tonga, on his way from the Colonies to Tahiti.