Louise S.R. Waterhouse, Honorary Consul-General for the Kingdom of Tonga in Australia, came to speak at the AIIA Queensland on Tuesday 6th October, to reflect on her experience representing the nation for the last three decades. While Louise has formalised her relationship to Tonga in a consular capacity, her enduring connection to the Pacific Island nation extend to family ties going back to the 1960s.
Adorned in her signature British military style uniform and jewel encrusted 200-year-old sword (if you’d like to hear more about this, head to our Instagram page), Louise revealed to members, the friendship her father shared with the King of Tonga since the mid-late 20th century. Louise’s father also served as Australia’s first Consul-General for the Pacific. Now with her own milestone to contribute to this important bilateral relationship, Louise is the only person to have driven all three modern-day Tongan kings during their visits to Australia. This feat is highlighted in the title of her recently published book, Driving Three Kings, which also serves as a clever nod to the role that Louise and her family have played in driving the relationship between Australia and Tonga forward.
One point stood out to audience members throughout the evening: Tonga is the only Pacific nation to have never been formally colonised.
Why?
Through reflecting on Tongan history and her diplomatic experience, Louise offered some insight into the values which helped shape the Kingdom’s independence.
One story that stood out was that of the Ata Boys. Having decided to steal a boat and make for Fiji, six boys soon found themselves struggling in bad weather with no provisions and eventually ended up stranded on the southernmost island of Tonga, Ata Island. Louise asked if the audience knew the novel, Lord of the Flies, and the crowd grimly chuckled in anticipation of the story’s direction. But Louise surprised us all and revealed that the opposite occurred. Rather than turning on each other and fighting to stay alive, the boys organised themselves and delegated tasks, with each boy responsible for a different role: chief, musician, religious leader, farmer, hunter and fire keeper. They carried on this way for over a year before they were fortuitously rescued.
Louise highlighted that the story of the Ata Boys reflects a trait embedded within Tongan culture: they help each other, in any circumstance.
A second story of Louise’s, translated this strength to a broader emergency with the volcanic eruption and tsunami in 2022. Louise recalled waking to a call from the High Commissioner with news that 80% of Tonga had been affected, including their critical infrastructure. The only working telephone reportedly belonged to the Australian High Commission, which was readily made available to the Kingdom throughout the recovery process. Louise reflected on her role in coordinating the donations of clothing, equipment and money in Australia, to send to those affected.
When the waters began to recede, Louise received a WhatsApp message from King Tupou VI reflecting on how if their ancestors had survived such disasters without modern technology, how should they not be able to go on too? This resilient sentiment reflected Louise’s emphasis on the Tongan desire to stand proud and persevere.
While these beautiful stories offer some insight into the values and culture of the Tongan people, they are not unique to this part of the world. So why has the Kingdom retained its independence amidst historical European desires to colonise it?
Even today, Tonga exists in what Louise described as a “dance of wanting to learn from the West but not wanting to be taken over from the West.” The Kingdom remains committed to multilateralism and open to learning new ways of doing things. Louise shared with us her time driving around King Tupou IV during one of his visits to Australia, where he sought to learn about the use of shark nets on Australian beaches.
Tonga, it seems, understands one thing that Louise has also demonstrated: “Diplomacy is about understanding people. Their culture, their history. What makes them tick,” Louise explained.
As a fellow monarchy, Tonga has maintained a longstanding relationship with Australia and Louise’s reflections highlight the depth of these bilateral ties. But how long will this relationship last and what will it take from each country to sustain it?
How Tonga responds to an increasingly complex world of cyber threats, development pressure and climate emergencies remains to be seen. But for Louise, her passionate connection offers hope that Australia will endure alongside Tonga for whatever the future holds, just as she and her family have for generations.
Written by: Tayla Linton-Smith
