Royal Palace Nuku’alofa, Tonga Photo courtesy of South Pacific Division Heritage Centre.

Tonga

MILTON HOOK

Milton Hook, Ed.D. (Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, the United States). Hook retired in 1997 as a minister in the Greater Sydney Conference, Australia. An Australian by birth Hook has served the Church as a teacher at the elementary, academy and college levels, a missionary in Papua New Guinea, and as a local church pastor. In retirement he is a conjoint senior lecturer at Avondale College of Higher Education. He has authoredFlames Over Battle Creek, Avondale: Experiment on the Dora, Desmond Ford: Reformist Theologian, Gospel Revivalist, the Seventh-day Adventist Heritage Series, and many magazine articles. He is married to Noeleen and has two sons and three grandchildren.

Tonga is a Polynesian kingdom of approximately 170 islands divided into three main groups—Tongatapu in the south, the Ha’apai group in the center, and the Vava’u group in the north. Seventh-day Adventists have been resident in the islands since 1895. Introduction The Kingdom of Tonga, otherwise known as the Friendly Islands or Friendly Isles, is a member of the British Commonwealth with a hereditary constitutional monarchy. It gained its full independence in 1970. The capital and royal palace is at Nuku’alofa on the island of Tongatapu. On the western edge lie a number of volcanic islands such as Fonuafo’ou, Tofua, and Kao. The inhabitants are Polynesian who speak their own tongue with English as their second language. The Free Church of Tonga, the Methodists, Roman Catholics, Mormons, and Seventh-day Adventists are the larger religious denominations on the islands.1 Arrival of Seventh-day Adventists and the Early Growth of the Church The first voyage of the missionary ship, the , brought Seventh-day Adventists to the Friendly Isles on June 11, 1891. They first visited Neiafu, Vava’u, and then sailed south to Lifuka, Ha’apai, and Nuku’alofa, Tongatapu. At each of the three stopovers they were warmly received and sold Ladies Guide, Home Handbook, and Man the Masterpiece to Europeans living in the principal centers of population. With each sale they gave away tracts and periodicals.2 Edward and Ida Hilliard were the first resident Adventists, arriving at Nuku’alofa on August 30, 1895, during the fourth voyage of the “Pitcairn.”3 They were joined by Edwin and Florence Butz in addition to Sarah and Maria Young from Pitcairn Island in August 1896 when the Pitcairn called during its fifth voyage.4 The first Seventh-day Adventist missionaries endeavored to be self-supporting. Initially the Hilliards moved into temporary quarters while Edward built a four-room cottage. Alongside his home he constructed a room in which his wife conducted an elementary English school beginning in November 1895 for as many as 28 pupils. Fees were set at 30 shillings per quarter. accepted carpentry jobs to supplement their income. In September 1897, Dr and his wife, Eleanor, arrived to assist Edwin and Florence Butz with medical work. Some of their treatments were given without charge, but other services netted sufficient income to support both families and the nurses Sarah and Maria Young.5 By 1901 the Hilliards, Kelloggs, and Sarah Young had transferred out of the Friendly Islands, leaving Butz as superintendent of the mission. On December 10, 1899, Butz baptized Charles “Ned” Edwards, a European who married Maria Young. In 1900 he baptized William and Alice Palmer and five others, one of them being a Mrs. Stevens, the first Tongan to be welcomed into the Nuku’alofa Church that had been organized on September 16, 1899.6 A decade after entering the Friendly Islands, Edward Gates, in his 1901 report of South Pacific Island mission work, spoke of tracts that were translated into the Tongan language and a church that had been erected in Nuku’alofa. “The work in these islands,” he stated, “is indeed in a prosperous condition.”7 It was not to last. Four more Europeans were baptized in the next four years, but of the 13 admitted to the church up to 1905 only four remained loyal members. More stable results came from the baptisms of Tongans. These included Timoti Mafi (1904), Joni Latu (1910), Epeti Musie (1912), and Finau and Bofaioa Vaimolo (1914).8 Latu married Myrtle Edwards, daughter of Charles and Maria Edwards, and served as a mission teacher for some years.9 Sabbath observance was not a distinctive that Adventist missionaries could press because vexing dateline issues meant that Adventists chose to worship on the same day of the week as other Christians in the islands.10 In Tonga there were no restrictions imposed on mission schools until standards were raised in the 1920s. Adventist missionaries, therefore, seized the opportunity to establish schools wherever they worked. Butz built a little school room alongside his home in Nuku’alofa and Ella Sisley Boyd opened classes there on November 28, 1904. She started with 12 pupils. Each student paid two shillings per week. Her choice of reader, The House We Live In, had a hygiene and health theme that was appropriate for a society that was notoriously unhealthy.11 Boyd spent three terms of service in Tonga, interchanging with Nellie Sisley12 and others until 1911. In 1908 Boyd pioneered a school in the Ha’apai group at Faleloa village on Foa Island.13 Similarly, when Ethelbert and Lily Thorpe pioneered the northerly Vava’u group in 1912,14 they established a mission base near Neiafu that they called Mizpah and eventually opened a school on the property. Thorpe constructed a simple building to serve as both church and school. It was officially opened at a public ceremony on March 28, 1917.15 Thorpe’s niece, Deva Thorpe, taught 51 students in its first year.16 In the 1920s efforts were made to establish a co-educational senior central school with the express purpose of training mission workers. A property was secured near Houma on the south coast of Tongatapu in 1922.17 It was named the Alimoni (hidden) School because of the surrounding bushland. Once again, the Thorpe’s featured in its pioneering stage18 but it proved to be a poor choice of location. It only took one wet season that marooned the site in deep mud to force alternate plans. A self-supporting missionary, Edmund Mitchell, offered his property at its original purchase price.19 It was situated near Vaini on Tongatapu, isolated from the capital and therefore removed from unwelcome influences. Classes in the new premises opened in January 1926 with Bessie Smith in charge and Joni Latu assisting.20 It became known as the Beulah School. After five years of entering successful candidates for public examinations, and official recognition by the government Education Department, the institution was renamed Beulah College in late 1937.21 In its first year, 1938, 100 students attended, 22 of them young women.22 Early in their mission experience the Thorpes recognized the natural affinity that the Tongan people had to enjoy music. They conducted singing classes to break through prejudices.23 Music was featured in the school work. For example, at the Faleloa school students practiced and performed cantatas such as “Under the Palms” and “Daniel.”24 Later, at the Houma school an orchestra was formed of violins, banjos, ukuleles, and guitars.25 The printing of literature in the Tongan language was never neglected. One early convert, William Palmer, translated Bible Readings for the Home Circle26 and was nominated as the editor of a regular periodical titled Talafekau Mo’oni (Faithful Messenger), first published in 1909.27 An initial collection of 50 hymns translated into the Tongan language was published in 1926 and at the same time Elva Thorpe, young daughter of Ethelbert and Lily, translated Steps to Christ.28 Tragedy struck the Tonga Mission with the death of Pearl Tolhurst in 1919. Hubert and Pearl had arrived in 1915 at the Faleloa mission outpost to continue the school work. Their health deteriorated to such an extent that Australian headquarters began the process of finding replacements for them. In hindsight, it would have been prudent to fast track the exercise. In November 1918 Hubert Tolhurst rode his horse into the port of Pangai for supplies, crossing the channel at low tide between Poa and Lifuka Islands. On his return, both he and Pearl soon showed symptoms of the influenza epidemic sweeping the world. No fellow missionaries were in Tonga at the time and their extreme isolation made them vulnerable. They had no boat and no private trading vessel arrived to rescue them. Hubert recovered enough to nurse Pearl, but she grew weaker and passed away on March 14, 1919. Her grave remains by the beach at Faleloa.29 Hubert remarried and returned to Tonga some years later, but he never fully recovered from his grief.30 Tolhurst’s replacement at Faleloa, Bernard Hadfield, moved quickly to purchase a mission cutter for easier access to medical help during sickness. He named it Talafekau (Messenger).31 A survey of results by 1935 reveals that the Tonga Mission had four active churches with a total membership of 62.32 The churches were located at Nuku’alofa, Faleloa, Neiafu, and another on the campus of the Beulah School. Tolhurst observed, “A large proportion of our membership consists of ex-students of our schools.”33 One young baptized woman had attended from Niuatoputapa Island in the far north.34 From 1933 through 1937 the best students at Beulah School were successful in the public examinations, so an application was lodged to upgrade the status of the institution. The application was granted in time for classes in 1938 to open under the name Beulah College.35 Missionary Volunteer Societies with a total membership of 100 young people were also functioning in the four churches.36 The mission was operating effectively, but everything was on a small scale. Tonga was situated outside the conflict area during the Second World War, but some allied troops were stationed on Tongatapu. Their presence did not impact mission activities and expatriate missionaries were not evacuated from their stations. During the period church membership increased to almost 100.37 After the War Australasian church leaders moved promptly to provide the Tonga Mission with its own yacht. It was named Endeavour and was used by Walter Ferris, the mission superintendent.38 In December 1949 Ferris was returning to Tongatapu from Vava’u when he struck a reef at night in the south Ha’apai group. He and his passengers scrambled into their dingy and made it to shore as the vessel broke apart. They found the little dot in the ocean was uninhabited and had no fresh water or coconuts. Fortunately, the following day a passing boat spotted their frantic waving of shirts and rescued them.39 Insurance almost covered the purchase of a replacement boat, the Lao Heni (Messenger), that served throughout the 1950s.40 The fruits of the schools became more apparent after the War. The first Tongans to be ordained were John Kamea and Semisi (James) Moala during the annual meeting at Vava’u in 1947.41 Former students returned to Beulah College as teachers. These included Henele (Henry) Moala, Stephen Fine, and Ilaisa (Elisha) Teaupa. At the same time Petueli Afu was teaching her 40 pupils in the elementary division on campus.42 When mission administration was departmentalized in 1952 other Tongans were given some of the leadership roles.43 Janie Moala, daughter of Semisi Moala, was the first woman to be given departmental responsibility. She led in the Young Peoples and Missionary Volunteer Department during 1962-1963.44 In the 1970s, when transistor radios were popular, the mission used this avenue for evangelism by providing Voice of Prophecy programs to be aired over the powerful A3Z Nuku’alofa station. The speaker was Enimoa Niuafe.45 Not until 1992 did the mission become entirely staffed by Tongans, including mission president Fonua Ofa. At that time in Tonga there were more than 3,000 baptized members among the 13 churches46 despite the tendency of significant numbers to migrate to America, Australia, and New Zealand where they formed their own worship groups. The Church and the Community in Tonga The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Tonga has long had excellent relations with Tongan royalty. For example, His Majesty Taufa’ahau IV was profoundly grateful for the work of blood sampling and typing done in 1983 by volunteers from California and church members in Tonga.47 In November 2017 Queen Nanasipau’u attended a breakfast organized by Alisi Fonokalafi, woman’s ministries leader for the Tonga Mission, at which women in leadership were honored. Both the maternal and paternal grandmothers of the Queen were Seventh-day Adventists.48 The worst cyclone to hit Tonga, Cyclone Gita, occurred in February 2018. It caused extensive damage to Beulah College, but alumni from America came to the rescue and united with local church members to rebuild the classrooms. 49 Education continues as a strong feature of mission work in Tonga with well-funded facilities at Beulah College, Beulah Elementary School, Hilliard Memorial Elementary School at Nuku’alofa, and Mizpah High School at Neiafu, Vava’u.50 The head office remains at Mangaia, suburban Nuku’alofa, where the Hilliards first established themselves in 1895. The latest report from September 2018 numbers the baptized membership at 3,599 among 16 churches, a population ratio of 1:30.51 Conclusion The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Tonga has grown slowly but consistently, especially since World War II. It has made an impact in the country, particularly in education. Many Seventh-day Adventist Tongans have moved to other countries such as New Zealand, Australia, and the United States and there are probably more Tongan Seventh-day Adventist churches and more Tongan Seventh-day Adventists outside Tonga than in Tonga. They continue to support the Church in their motherland as well as nurturing their fellow Tongans of the Tongan diaspora.

SOURCES Boyd, Ella S. “Our Tonga Church School.” Union Conference Record, September 15, 1905. Bridcutt, Tracey. “Classrooms Rebuilt After Tonga Cyclone.” Record, June 18, 2018. Bridcutt, Tracey. “Queen Attends Inaugural Prayer Breakfast in Tonga.” Record, January 27, 2018. Cernik, J. “No Longer Cinderella.” Australasian Record, September 20, 1948. Dawson, A.H. “New Waters for “Lao Heni.”” Australasian Record, January 29, 1951. Ferris, W. G. “The Loss of the “Endeavour.”” Australasian Record, February 6, 1950. Ford, Myra. “Tonga.” Union Conference Record, June 22, 1908. Foster, Sophie and Sione Latukefu. “Tonga: Culture, History & People.” Britannica.com, February 21, 2018. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Tonga. Gates, E. H. “From the ‘Pitcairn.’” ARH, October 20, 1891. Gates, E. H. “The Island Work.” Union Conference Record, July 26, 1901. Graham, John E. “From the ‘Pitcairn.’” ARH, November 17, 1896. Hadfield, V. “Our Work in Ha’apai, Tonga.” Australasian Record, October 17, 1921. Hilliard, E. A. “The Friendly Islands.” Union Conference Record, July 24, 1899. Larsen, Bob. “Trans Pacific Union Mission.” Record, September 8, 2018. Lee, John R. “Walking Blood Bank for Tonga.” Australasian Record and Advent World Survey, December 17, 1983. Nuku’alofa Church Record Book, South Pacific Division of the General Conference Archives, Wahroonga, NSW. Box: 3418. Folder: Tonga. Document: “Nuku’alofa Church Record Book.” Olsen, O. A. “Movements of the “Pitcairn.”” ARH, October 22, 1895. “On Monday, March 22, the first number…” Union Conference Record, April 5, 1909. Palmer, C. S. “Edmund Mitchell.” Australasian Record, September 27, 1965. Palmer, C. S. “Good News from Tonga.” Australasian Record, June 20, 1938. “Pastor G.C. (sic) Stewart of Tonga…” Australasian Record, June 3, 1912. Peatey, N. K. “Radio Outreach in the Central Pacific.” Australasian Record and Advent World Survey, February 7, 1977. Piper, H. E. “Visiting Tonga.” Australasian Record, September 8, 1947. Pretyman, C. H. “The Death of Sister Pearl Tolhurst.” Australasian Record, April 26, 1919. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbooks. Hagerstown, MD.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1904-2014. Sisley, Nellie M. “Nukualofa Mission School.” Union Conference Record, March 15, 1909. Smith, Bessie I. “Our Tongan Orchestra.” Australasian Record, May 11, 1925. Smith, R. W. “Tonga.” Australasian Record, September 27, 1926. Smith, R. W. “Tongan Mission Report.” Australasian Record, October 16, 1922. “Statistical Report of the Mission Field of the Australasian Union Conference for the Half Year Ended June 30, 1934.” Australasian Record, December 10, 1934. [Stewart, Andrew G.] “Another Visit to the Friendly Isles.” Australasian Record, June 7, 1948. Stockton, H. “Advances in Tonga.” Australasian Record, January 18, 1932. Thorpe, Deva. “Vava’u Mission School, Tonga.” Australasian Record, October 22, 1917. Thorpe, Elva E. “The Adventist Training School of Tonga.” Australasian Record, August 25, 1924. Thorpe, E. “First Impressions of Tonga - Part 2.” Union Conference Record, March 5, 1906. Thorpe, E. E. “The Friendly Islands.” Union Conference Record, October 1, 1906. Thorpe, Lily M. “Vava’u, Friendly Islands.” Australasian Record, June 11, 1917. Tolhurst, H. L. “Busy Days in the Ha’apai Mission.” Australasian Record, December 3, 1917. Tolhurst, H. L. “Progress in Tonga.” Australasian Record, May 20, 1935. Tolhurst, H. L. “Progress in Tonga.” Australasian Record, March 14, 1938. Tolhurst, H. L. “Tongan Notes.” Australasian Record, August 26, 1935. Tolhurst, H. L. and P[earl] Tolhurst. “To the Tongan Field.” Australasian Record, April 19, 1915. Watts, A. E. “Joni Latu.” Australasian Record, October 31, 1938.

NOTES 1. Sophie Foster and Sione Latukefu, “Tonga: Culture, History & People,” Britannica.com, February 21, 2018, accessed September 26, 2018, https://www.britannica.com/place/Tonga.? 2. E. H. Gates, “From the “Pitcairn,”” ARH, October 20, 1891, 646-647.? 3. O. A. Olsen, “Movements of the ‘Pitcairn,’” ARH, October 22, 1895, 681-682.? 4. John E. Graham, “From the ‘Pitcairn,’” ARH, November 17, 1896, 736.? 5. E. A. Hilliard, “The Friendly Islands,” Union Conference Record, July 24, 1899, 1.? 6. Nuku’alofa Church Record Book, South Pacific Division of the General Conference Archives, Wahroonga, NSW. Box: 3418. Folder: Tonga. Document: “Nuku’alofa Church Record Book.”? 7. E. H. Gates, “The Island Work,” Union Conference Record, July 26, 1901, 51-52.? 8. Nuku’alofa Church Record Book, South Pacific Division of the General Conference Archives, Wahroonga, NSW. Box: 3418. Folder: Tonga. Document: “Nuku’alofa Church Record Book.”? 9. A. E. Watts, “Joni Latu,” Australasian Record, October 31, 1938, 7.? 10. H. L. Tolhurst and P. Tolhurst, “To the Tongan Field,” Australasian Record, April 19, 1915, 4. For an explanation of the dateline issue, refer to the article, Date Line Issues in the South Pacific.? 11. Ella S. Boyd, “Our Tonga Church School,” Union Conference Record, September 15, 1905, 4.? 12. Nellie M. Sisley, “Nukualofa Mission School,” Union Conference Record, March 15, 1909, 6.? 13. Myra Ford, “Tonga,” Union Conference Record, June 22, 1908, 3-4.? 14. “Pastor G.C. (sic) Stewart of Tonga…” Australasian Record, June 3, 1912, 8.? 15. Lily M. Thorpe, “Vava’u, Friendly Islands,” Australasian Record, June 11, 1917, 4.? 16. Deva Thorpe, “Vava’u Mission School, Tonga,” Australasian Record, October 22, 1917, 3.? 17. R. W. Smith, “Tongan Mission Report,” Australasian Record, October 16, 1922, 42-44.? 18. Elva E. Thorpe, “The Adventist Training School of Tonga,” Australasian Record, August 25, 1924, 4.? 19. C. S. Palmer, “Edmund Mitchell,” Australasian Record, September 27, 1965, 15.? 20. R. W. Smith, “Tonga,” Australasian Record, September 27, 1926, 10.? 21. H. L. Tolhurst, “Tidings from Tonga,” Australasian Record, January 24, 1938, 2.? 22. C. S. Palmer, “Good News from Tonga,” Australasian Record, June 20, 1938, 3; H. L. Tolhurst, “Progress in Tonga,” Australasian Record, March 14, 1938, 2.? 23. E. E. Thorpe, “First Impressions of Tonga—Part 2,” Union Conference Record, March 5, 1906, 2-3.? 24. H. L. Tolhurst, “Busy Days at the Ha’apai Mission,” Australasian Record, December 3, 1917, 2.? 25. Bessie I. Smith, “Our Tongan Orchestra,” Australasian Record, May 11, 1925, 3.? 26. E. E. Thorpe, “The Friendly Islands, Union Conference Record, October 1, 1906, 34.? 27. “On Monday, March 22, the first number…” Union Conference Record, vol. 13, no. 14, April 5, 1909, 7.? 28. R. W. Smith, “Tonga,” Australasian Record, September 27, 1926, 10.? 29. C. H. Pretyman, “The Death of Sister Pearl Tolhurst,” Australasian Record, May 26, 1919, 8.? 30. Athal Tolhurst, interview by Milton Hook, Wahroonga, NSW, August 21, 1988.? 31. Violet Hadfield, “Our Work in Ha’apai, Tonga,” Australasian Record, October 17, 1921, 6.? 32. “Statistical Report of the Mission Field of the Australasian Union Conference for the Half Year Ended June 30, 1934,” Australasian Record, December 10, 1934, supplement.? 33. H. L. Tolhurst, “Progress in Tonga,” Australasian Record, May 20, 1935, 2.? 34. H. L. Tolhurst, “Tongan Notes,” Australasian Record, August 26, 1935, 2.? 35. H. L. Tolhurst, “Progress in Tonga,” Australasian Record, March 14, 1938, 2.? 36. H. Stockton, “Advances in Tonga,” Australasian Record, January 18, 1932, 3.? 37. “Tonga Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1943), 72.? 38. [Andrew G. Stewart], “Another Visit to the Friendly Isles,” Australasian Record, June 7, 1948, 2.? 39. W. G. Ferris, “The Loss of the “Endeavour,”” Australasian Record, February 6, 1950, 3, 6, 8.? 40. A.H. Dawson, “New Waters for ‘Lao Heni,’” Australasian Record, January 29, 1951, 2.? 41. H. E. Piper, “Visiting Tonga,” Australasian Record, September 8, 1947, 4-5.? 42. J. Cernik, “No Longer Cinderella,” Australasian Record, September 20, 1948, 4, 7-8.? 43. “Tongan Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1952), 86.? 44. E.g., “Tonga Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1962), 79-80.? 45. N. K. Peatey, “Radio Outreach in the Central Pacific,” Australasian Record and Advent World Survey, February 7, 1977, 9-10.? 46. “Tonga and Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1992), 296.? 47. John R. Lee, “Walking Blood Bank for Tonga,” Australasian Record and Advent World Survey, December 17, 1983, 1.? 48. Tracey Bridcutt, “Queen Attends Inaugural Prayer Breakfast in Tonga,” Record, January 27, 2018, 5.? 49. Tracey Bridcutt, “Classrooms Rebuilt After Tonga Cyclone,” Record, June 16, 2018, 7.? 50. Beverly Norman, email message to Milton Hook, November 27, 2018.? 51. Bob Larsen, “Trans-Pacific Union Mission, Record, September 8, 2018, 4-5.?

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