The future consort of Queen Sālote Tupou III was born on 1 November 1887 as the son of Siaosi Tukuʻaho and Lady Mele Siuʻilikutapu.
From an early age, he was accustomed to being in command. As was usual with high-born children, he was carried around by his personal matāpule. When he was eight years old, his future father-in-law arranged for him to attend Newington College in Sydney. However, he was recalled to Tonga the next year following the death of his father. He moved in with his grandparents, and his grandmother sent him to the Catholic School, where French priests taught the children. His uncles later enrolled him at Tupou College, the Wesleyan School. He graduated in 1905 and became a tutor at the college.
In 1900, his grandfather died, but he could not be installed in the Tungī title until he was 21 years old. His installation as Tungī happened in 1909, and he was soon praised for his leadership. He became known as Tungī Mailefihi. Two years later, he represented the King of Tonga at the coronation of King George V in London. His mother wept at his departure, worried that she would never see him again. He learned to speak excellent English and safely returned home in 1912. Upon his return, he was appointed as Governor of Vava’u (an island group), which would help him gain experience in administration.
It is not clear when exactly he came into view as a candidate for the hand of the future Queen Sālote. She had been born in 1900 and was eligible to marry at the age of 16. However, her father could not ignore him as a possible candidate. Any potential match would have brought both opponents and supporters. Sālote later said that she would have married anyone her father chose for her, but she was lucky enough to be genuinely in love with her husband. The same could not be said exactly for Tungī Mailefihi, but he did care deeply for his young cousin. His experience in leadership would prove to be very valuable for her. They had only met a few times as Sālote was growing up, and they were never left alone together.
They were married on 19 September 1917 in a European-style wedding followed by a Tongan ceremony two days later. When he left two months after the wedding to return to the governorship of Vava’u, Sālote was already pregnant with their first child. She spent much time with her father, who was already quite ill. Sālote celebrated her 18th birthday in March 1918, and her father died the following month on 5 April 1918. Tungī arrived with the other chiefs and nobles on 8 April to swear allegiance to Sālote as Queen.
Just three months later, Sālote gave birth to Crown Prince Tāufaʻāhau. Tungī was not in the room when his son was born, and the European doctor rushed out to tell him.1 The first Opening of Parliament of her reign was the week after the Crown Prince’s birth, and so Tungī and two others deputised for her. A second healthy son, named Uiliami Tuku‘aho, was born on 5 November 1919, followed by a third healthy son named Sione Ngū Manumataongo, who was born on 7 January 1922. Sālote also had at least three miscarriages.
At the end of 1918, Tonga was hit by a deadly strain of influenza. Tungī became seriously ill, and Sālote was struck down as well, although she did manage to feed her son. Luckily, both survived, but Sālote’s stepmother ʻAnaseini Takipō had died of the disease on 26 November 1918. Sālote would now also have to take care of her six-year-old half-sister, Fusipala and the country was devastated by the epidemic.
Sālote and Tungī made a good team. He took care of the day-to-day practicalities while Sālote’s mere appearance made an impression. He always deferred to her in public and stood to the side. In 1924, Tungī became Premier (Prime Minister) of Tonga and Minister of Lands and Agriculture, and he was excited to try out various crops. As Prime Minister, he also met with the Agent & Consul every morning. The Agent & Consul, James Scott Neill, later wrote about Tungī, “During my term in office I saw much of Tugi [sic]… and we became close friends. He was a leading figure in the Western Pacific, a statesman wise in counsel, generous and charitable in his views. The people loved him as much as they respected him. […] Tugi was a short, powerfully built man. He was always calm and unperturbed, and his sense of humour was infectious.”2
In 1936, tragedy struck. Tungī and Sālote’s second son, Tuku‘aho, had always been sickly; as a child, he had rheumatic fever. Sālote began to take care of him personally and delegated her duties to Tungī. He was diagnosed with dropsy and died on 28 April 1936 at the age of 16. Tungī and Sālote personally supervised the ceremonies surrounding the period of mourning. Queen Sālote was exhausted, and she and Tungī went to Sydney for a medical checkup and rest. It did them a lot of good.
On 3 September 1939, Tonga, along with other allies, declared war on Germany. Tungī was appointed as colonel-in-chief of the Tonga Defence Force.
It was in the midst of these duties that Tungī suffered a heart attack. Queen Sālote was sent for, but it was already too late. Tungī died on 20 July 1941 at the age of 52. Queen Sālote did have his body lie in state, but he was taken upstairs to her own room. His body remained there until 22 July, when it was brought down just before the funeral so the chiefs could pay their respects. Queen Sālote was too grief-stricken to follow in the funeral procession, but she did decide on every detail of the funeral. He was laid to rest at Mala‘e Kula, the royal burial ground, where Sālote would eventually join him. Their sons were not present as they were at school.
Harry Maude, a British Colonial Service administrator, wrote, “This terrible blow which has struck Tonga has caused us all to realise, what one was apt to take for granted at that time, that everything in the Kingdom revolved round Tungī and that it was his engaging personality and ability to ‘put things over’ with the Tongans which caused the local administration to work so easily… Tungī was equally at home in European and Tongan circles, and discussions with him were a real pleasure. I don’t believe that I have ever felt the death of anyone so keenly – for Tonga it is a sheer tragedy…”3
Queen Sālote wrote a lament, which ended with the words, “This love of mine may never end.”4
Be the first to comment