A Monarch Who Pursued Schemes To Enrich His Land

The Age

Tuesday September 12, 2006

By ELIZABETH WOOD-ELLEM

TAUFA'AHAU TUPOU IV KING OF TONGA 4-7-1918 - 10-9-2006

TAUFA'AHAU Tupou IV, the King of Tonga, has died in Auckland's Mercy Hospital after a long illness. He was 88.

Tupou IV was born Siaosi (George) Taufa'ahau Tupoulahi, three months after his 18-year-old mother, Queen Salote, ascended to the throne of the Pacific island kingdom with the title of Tu'i Kanokupolu.

Although Salote's inheritance of the pre-eminent title was lawful according to the constitution of 1875, Tonga had long been divided into chiefly factions, each seeking ascendancy over its rivals, especially at this time over Queen Salote's consort, Tungi Mailefihi (premier of Tonga 1923-41), whom she had married in 1917.

The queen and tungi were determined to unite the kingdom under her leadership and ensure the continuance of her dynasty through the succession of their eldest son. They tried to prepare the crown prince for his future responsibilities, but their plans were frequently undermined by supporters, who encouraged the young prince to consider himself a genius.

Crown Prince Taufa'ahau was educated at the Wesleyan secondary school Tupou College from 1927 to 1932, and made his first visit to Australia in 1928 as a member of the college choir and concert party that toured the eastern states to raise money for the school. In December 1932 he won second place in scholarship exams awarded to Tongan students to study at Newington College, Sydney. After matriculation from Newington, he enrolled in an arts-law course at Sydney University, and completed his law degree with second-class honours - the first Tongan to graduate from a university - in December 1942. He returned to Tonga in the same month, as the death of his father in July 1941 meant that he was needed at home. (A younger brother had died at age 16, and the youngest was then studying at Gatton Agricultural College, Queensland.)

Queen Salote, who was committed to promoting the health and education of her people, appointed the crown prince, then known by his title Tupouto'a, as minister for education in 1943, and added the health portfolio in 1944.

He toured the country to inspect schools and instituted new systems; he set up a teachers' training college and wrote a monthly magazine for teachers as well as a manual on music to be used in schools. And, he declared that Tonga would be a bilingual country.

A rise in the price of copra in the 1940s boosted government revenues and made overseas scholarships possible for an increasing number of Tongan boys - and later, for girls. Health services also improved.

In 1945, Crown Prince Tupouto'a was installed in his fathers title of tungi, which he held until his death. In June 1947, Tupouto'a-Tungi married Halaevalu Mata'aho, a 21-year-old of chiefly descent. As Princess Halaevalu Mata'aho, later queen, she was an invaluable supporter of the king. They had three sons and one daughter.

In 1949, Queen Salote appointed Crown Prince Tupouto'a-Tungi as her premier. He was determined to modernise the Tongan economy, using all the political powers accorded him by the constitution. However, he often appeared to act on ideas - even whims - without adequate research or costing.

After he was installed as premier, he believed that the advisory role of the British consul in matters political and financial, as defined in various amendments to the Treaty of Friendship with Great Britain of 1900, was no longer appropriate. At the request of Queen Salote, the British Government suggested modifications, and she signed the revised treaty in 1958. (The treaty was next revised in 1970, recognising Tonga's place as an independent member of the British Commonwealth.)

Queen Salote died on December 16, 1965, and Tupouto'a-Tungi was proclaimed, and later crowned king. Almost absolute power was given to him by the constitution, and he immediately appointed his surviving brother, Prince Tu'ipelehake (Fatafehi), as premier.

As premier and as king, Taufa'ahau spent several months of every year travelling, sometimes for pleasure and more often to look for some new agricultural implements or machinery, ships, or systems of communications for the scattered islands of his kingdom. For some years he was convinced that commercial quantities of oil could be found on and around the islands.

He also believed that Tonga had the capacity to be a maritime economic power. But the loss of the Teiko (bought from Japan for deep-sea fishing) with all its Tongan crew in a hurricane on its maiden voyage was a grievous blow to the country.

The king was sometimes a target for scheming foreigners. Some of the schemes, such as the selling of passports, were opposed by his subjects. He was also persuaded to invest $40 million of the proceeds of overseas real estate in an insurance scheme that turned sour. And, Tonga's name came into disrepute when foreign ships were licensed to sail under the Tongan flag; some were used to carry weapons and illegal immigrants.

AS MORE Tongans were educated, there was quiet criticism, expressed eventually in the formation in 1987 of a pro-democracy movement - supported by the leaders of the two main churches - that manifested itself in a news-sheet titled Kele'a, which criticised not the king (that would have been treason), but his advisers. During the 1990s and early 2000s a number of petitions seeking reform were presented by the people but, under the constitution, the king was not required to answer.

Other indicators of dissatisfaction were the high rate of emigration, and that pro-democracy candidates usually won handsomely in the triennial elections. But the nine people's representatives were in the minority in parliament, so the pro-democracy movement had little impact.

In recent years, the Government attempted to silence criticism of the political system by censoring publications. These attempts at censorship, initially successful, were eventually thwarted through legal cases, which affirmed that the constitution of 1875 guaranteed freedom of speech, religion, and the press "for ever".

The king began to take better care of his health in the 1970s, cycling, rowing, exercising in gyms and having regular medical check-ups. He encouraged his chiefs and people to adopt a healthy lifestyle, and introduced and supported a number of sports.

The monarchs of the Tupou dynasty have been Christians, indeed the only Methodist monarchs in the world. The king was the temporal head of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, appearing every Sunday in the royal box in the main church in Nuku'alofa or in the village church near his summer palace. He was also a lay preacher.

Tupou IV had a complex personality and a great variety of interests. Few of his subjects ever came close to him intellectually, due largely to the fact that he could not be contradicted. But the chiefs and people of Tonga had a great affection for him.

Significantly, he believed in his own ability to do great things, and was always optimistic that the next scheme would enrich the kingdom.

Tupou IV is survived by Queen Halaevalu Mata'aho; his sons Crown Prince Tupouto'a, a 58-year-old bachelor who was proclaimed King George Tupou V yesterday; Prince 'Ulukalala-Lavaka-Ata; his daughter, Princess Pilolevu Tuita; and 11 grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter. His second son, Ma'atu, predeceased him.

Elizabeth Wood-Ellem is an honorary senior fellow in the history department of Melbourne University, and author of Queen Salote of Tonga: the story of an era 1900-1965, and editor of Songs and Poems of Queen Salote.

© 2006 The Age

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