‘Ata, Tonga’s southernmost island, is a long way away, separated from Tongatapu by 160 km of open ocean. ‘Ata’s place in the history books is well established. It was here, in June 1863, that the whaling ship Grecian under Captain Thomas McGrath anchored off the northeastern shore and only village, Kolomaile. The details of the events that followed are sketchily recorded, but the consequence is notorious. A large number of ‘Ata’s residents were lured on to the ship, captured, and then sold to a Peruvian slaver for transport to Lima. None were to return. In the aftermath of the raid, and under the orders of Tupou I, the remaining ‘Atans were resettled on ‘Eua, in a village they again named Kolomaile. By David V. Burley.
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Results for Lapita
Thursday 19 March 2020
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga's stunning ngatu provide testimony to the considerable antiquity of Tongan artistic designs. Variation of the ngatu patterns, and the way these are organized, had been inscribed on the surfaces of Lapita pottery in Tonga almost 3,000 years ago. By David V. Burley.
Tuesday 5 March 2019
Brisbane, Australia
A recent study of four ancient bone tattoo comb tools, found in Tonga in 1963-64, has revealed they are the oldest confirmed in the world, and surprisingly two are made from human bone, say researchers in Australia. Radiocarbon dating determined the tools to be 2,700 years old
Monday 3 August 2015
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A noted American geo-scientist Professor William R. Dickinson (83) was laid to rest at Mala’e Sia cemetery in the village of Nukuleka, Tongatapu on Sunday, 2 August. Photos by Pesi Fonua and Linny Folau
Friday 25 July 2014
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A team of Canadian archaeologists have excavated the remains of an ancient settlement outside the small village of Nukuleka, located at the entrance of Tongatapu’s central lagoon.
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Tuesday 27 April 2010
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Kelefesia, Ha'apai
The Talisker Bounty and its support boat negotiated a tricky pass through a reef, to take refuge on an isolated island, Kelefesia, in Tonga's Ha'apai Group over the weekend after sailing from Nuku'alofa last week at the start of their recreation of the epic Bounty Boat voyage made by Captain Bligh over 221 years ago. Photos by Shane Egan
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