Still on Deck After 176 Years!

This ancient tortoise is Tonga’s oldest inhabitant. The story is that it was presented to a Tongan chief by Captain Cook, who called at Tongatabu in 1773. No one knows how old the tortoise was then—but it makes him (her or it) going on 200, now. However, there is no reason to doubt that the creature is the original tortoise presented by Cook to a Tongan noble, now long dead.

The tortoise is treated with great respect by the Tongans; Queen Salote took it into her care some years ago and it lives in the Palace grounds. Apparently the tortoise has found some difficulty adjusting itself to the motor age after a youth spent in Captain Cook’s sailing ship. The dent in the body-work was caused by a collision with a car some years ago. History does not relate what happened to the car.