A new ornate gilt throne for the king arrived last week, while the rest of the shipment remained stranded.

The throne and most of the cargo, was made in China, and Tongan officials were concerned that it would not arrive in time for the August 1 coronation.

Today's arrival of the first of two special DHL 727 cargo flights with about 11,000 kilograms of furniture and decorations for the Centenary Church was a big relief.

The Free Wesleyan Church Centenary Church has been stripped, awaiting the arrival of new furniture and decorations from China. Last week the ushers, who have to seat between 1,000 people inside the church and 2,000 outside had no chairs to put names on.

The DHL agent in Tonga Sam Vea said that a second 727 aircraft would arrive on Tuesday July 29 with the final load of about 12,000 kilograms.

Sam said that during the past four weeks they had been uplifting about two tonnes of cargo on every Air New Zealand flight to Tonga.

"But by the end of last week it was obvious that we would not be able to get all the furniture and other coronation related materials to Tonga on time, and the only solution was to charter the two aircraft." Sam estimated that each flight would cost about $150,000 pa'anga.

This is the first time for DHL aircraft to come to Tonga and he believed that this exercise could open up the way to use charter cargo aircraft at times when there is a demand for cargo air space.

DHl had to divert its Trans-Tasman aeroplane, The Jedi, to Tonga for the urgent delivery of the ceremonial supplies. In a statement the company said they received a call from the Tongan government to assist when it was discovered that there was not enough cargo capacity on commercial flights from New Zealand to Tonga.

Nick Taylor, General Manager, DHL Express for Fiji and the Pacific Islands said, "The shipment originated in China and its delivery has required close collaboration between the government officials in Tonga and DHL in China, New Zealand and Tonga. We are honored to leverage our extensive network in the region and transport this shipment for the King's coronation."

Thrones and The Jedi

The DHL plane is called "The Jedi", a name best known for a fictional order of warriors in "Star Wars". The last of the Jedi dueled Darth Vader in a famous laser battle in the emperor's throne room.

Celebrations

Nuku'alofa is in a celebration mood with entertainment and sporting events held every day and night since July 15. People are still giving the final touch ups to their homes, cleaning up the villages and business premises, and welcoming relatives, friends and relatives to the festivities surrounding the coronation of King George Tupou V on August 1.

The Lord Chamberlain's office and royal secretaries were busy today giving out invitations to the coronation, ball and royal luncheons.