ABOUT THE BOOK

Kingdom of Tonga sits on the eastern edge of the Indo-Australian Plate, which is forced us as the pacific plate pushes under it at the Tonga Trench. This long oceanic valley running 2,000 km from Tonga to New Zealand is one of the lowest segments of the ocean floor. Located in the Oceania, Tonga is an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean. Tongan Language is the official language of the kingdom. Tongan is written in a sub-set of the Latin script. In the old, missionary alphabet, the order of the letters was modified. The Vowels were put first and then followed by the consonants. This was still so as of the Privy Council decision of 1943 on the orthography of the Tongan language. However, C. M. Chuchward’s grammar and dictionary favoured the standard European alphabetical order, and since his time that one has been in use exclusively. Tongan Vocabulary generally have a much better knowledge of English than do Samoans.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

S. Rabone (1811-1872) was born near the town of Bilston in the county of Staffordshire. When Mr. Rabone first entered on his labours in the friendly islands, the path of a missionary there was beset by dangers that have gradually passed away with the progress of Christianity and civilisation. He won the esteem and affection of the Islanders. King George of Tonga, and multitudes of his subject, loved and honoured Stephen Rabone. Mr. Rabone left Tonga for New South Wales in 1850. In addition to the ordinary duties of a Wesleyan minister, which are neither few nor light, he fulfilled for eight or nine years the work of secretary to the mission of his church in Polynesia. In 1861, he was made President of the Australasian conference. This high honour he accepted with gratitude and bore without pride.