Reception Held by the NSW Tongan Community for the King and Queen of Tonga

Dancers wearing the Tongan national dress with the Yeoman Bedell, Mr Ray Coxhead, on hand to assist the Tongan organisers.

See The University of Sydney News Vol 11 No 25 (p. 179).

A Pacific Tableau

As part of a state visit to Australia, the King and Queen of Tonga, King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV and Queen Halaevalu Mata'aho, visited the University on 29 October 1979. The 19 November 1979 University of Sydney News reported that, "The Great Hall...was transformed into a Pacific tableau...when a reception was held by the Tongan community of New South Wales...Several hundred Tongans who live in Sydney and others from Canberra and elsewhere in the state, gave them an enthusiastic welcome. Following the opening ceremony, guests enjoyed a lavish Tongan-style feast which included 30 sucking-pigs, large baked fish, water melons and a traditional dish, normally of taro leaves, but for which spinach was substituted. Singing and traditional dancing with audience participation following the feast until late in the afternoon...As a mark of respect, the Tongans adorned the aisle of the Great Hall with a ceremonial Tapa cloth, two metres wide and several layers deep...The ante-room of the Great Hall was all but camouflaged by a wall-to-wall covering of Tapa, and a frieze of Tapa arranged about two metres up the walls - a marked contrast to the formal portraits usually adorning the walls". [Ref 1].

Siaosi Taufa'ahau Tubouto'a, the King as he was known then, graduated from the University in 1940 with a Bachelor of Arts and then in 1943 with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours), conferred on 15 June 1940 [Ref 2] and 22 May 1943 [Ref 3] respectively.

This item is part of the University Archives' 70 Years, 70 Stories series, created to celebrate our 70th birthday on 3 May 2024. To discover more stories, explore the 70 Years, 70 Stories collection.

Ref 1: The University of Sydney News Vol 11 No 25 (19/11/1979), p. 179, [REF-00038872]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 2: Conferring of Degrees/Graduation Ceremony 15 June 1940 (15/06/1940), [REF-00077312]. University of Sydney Archives.

Ref 3: Conferring of Degrees/Graduation Ceremony 22 May 1943 (22/05/1943), [REF-00077479]. University of Sydney Archives.