From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 14, no. 2, May 1999.

Photo and article by Pesi Fonua

Kuo to ‘a e Pulonga ‘e Tonga–"a darkness has fallen over Tonga", was how matapules (talking chiefs) described the death of Prince Fatafehi Tu‘ipelehake K.B.E. (77) in Auckland, New Zealand on April 10. Within hours of the Prime Baron Vaea’s official announcement of the State Funeral on Radio Tonga on April 11, people throughout Tonga wore black clothes and funeral mats or ta‘ovala.

Prince Tu‘ipelehake was a brother of HM King Taufa‘ahau Tupou IV, and the third of the three sons of the late Queen Salote Tupou III.

The official mourning in Tonga did not start until the remains of the Prince arrived at the Fua‘amotu Airport on the evening of April 16 on Royal Tongan Airlines.  The delay allowed the King along with thousands of other Tongans to attend an international Rugby match–an important World Cup qualifying preliminary to be played between Tonga and South Korea at the Teufaiva Stadium. The late Prince, as the Patron of the Tonga Rugby Union, was an avid supporter of the game.

Flags were flown at half-mast. School children sat quietly on the sides of the road the full 20 kilometers from the airport to the Palace, where there was an overnight vigil with 15 choirs from different church groups taking part. Shops, offices, and homes along the route were hung with black and purple drapes.

Saturday April 17 was declared a public holiday to allow the funeral to take place at the Royal Tombs, Mala‘ekula, in central Nuku‘alofa, attended by over 6,000 people.

The state funeral required that all nightclubs be closed from April 16 to 30. Some radio stations restricted their programming to hymns and religious music for the same period, and Television Channel 7 in Nuku‘alofa suspended sports coverage. Some tourism festivals and activities were postponed or cancelled, because they fell within the traditional 100 days of mourning for the members of the Royal Family.

Prince Tu‘ipelehake was born on 7 January 1922, and christened Sione Ngu Manumataongo. On his 21^st birthday in 1943 he was given the title Tu‘ipelehake who was said to be the divine half-brother of the first Tu‘i Tonga, ‘Aho‘eitu.

Prince Tu‘ipelehake was the Prime Minister of Tonga for 26 years from 1965 to 1991. One of the seven founding members of the South Pacific Forum group in 1971, he twice served as Forum Chairman. Forum leaders remembered his desire for countries to tackle common issues from a regional perspective, and to give the views of South Pacific states greater weight in the international arena. This year the Forum will consider the setting up of free trade among the 16 members, and if they go ahead will realize one of the dreams of the founders.

Prince Fatafehi Tu‘ipelehake and his wife Princess Melenaite, who died on 13 March 1993, had six children–four girls and two boys, and fourteen grandchildren.

© Pesi Fonua 1999-2016