From Melbourne
29.5.85
Dear Alan,
We
returned a few days ago from our trip to Tonga and Fiji and are still trying to
sort it out in our minds. Tonga is a delightful place but certainly not as
complex as South Africa. If you wanted a place to go and forget the rest of the
world then Tonga would be hard to beat. While we were there the weather was
perfect, the food in plentiful supply and the people extremely friendly and
hospitable. Through Pamela we were able
to meet many of the local people and get out into the villages. We had the
privilege of partaking in the preparation of a traditional feast (pigs, yams,
chicken, and fruit) and then helped demolish the food at a meeting at their
church. Most of the Tongans belong to the Wesleyan Methodist Church and our
visit coincided with their annual conference, attended by delegates from all
parts of the country. Pamela works in one of the church’s schools and the
delegates occupied the dormitories of the school as the girls s were on
holidays. This enabled us to attend one
of their services where the feature was the performance of about eight choirs
and three brass bands. They are great musicians and it was a memorable
experience.
Another
great experience was a boat trip to a small island off the main island. It was
possible to walk around the island in about half an hour but what a paradise!
The
whole kingdom of Tonga (it’s still a monarchy) is almost idyllic; good climate;
no tension; virtually no politics. Unlike most third-world countries it is not
short of food although the people have very little material goods.
They do
have free medical services and at the hospital they have several dentists one
of whom was a graduate of Melbourne and I think he would have been on your
course.
Pamela
is in charge of the library at the school and I think is doing a good job. She
has poor facilities but is doing her utmost to encourage the girls to read. She
finds it hard to interest the girls in good literature but is happy if they are
reading, even if it is only sloppy romances. The Tongans are amiable and
easy-going and rather hard to motivate. But maybe they have the right attitude
for there is little evidence of high-blood pressure and ulcers among the
people.
On the
way back we spent three days in Fiji, a beautiful country but more geared for
tourism. About 100,000 Australians visit Fiji each year and most spend all of
their time at the beach resorts and learn little about the country. Duty-free shopping is a big thing and the
plane home was full of people laden with everything from watches to color TV
sets. Not a pretty site.
Parts
of Fiji reminded me of very much of Natal particularly in the sugar-growing
areas. The capital, Suva, is very like Durban although much smaller; even the
shopkeepers are Indians.
The
Indians went to Fiji to work in the canefields and, just like Natal, now have a
stranglehold on the commerce. They now compromise over 50% of the population.
All in
all we thoroughly enjoyed the trip and it was good to see Pamela again. Two
overseas trips in one year and for my part I hope it’s not the last!
We
received a letter from Lorna when we arrived home and your mother will reply
when we have our photos developed. Hopefully there will be some suitable ones
to send over.
Everybody
is well and we are trying hard to get back into the normal routine.
Good
luck in the marathon,
Kindest
regards
Dad
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