Nukuʿalofa, Tonga

Jan. 30, 2023

Nuku’alofa, capital and chief port of Tonga, on the northern shore of Tongatapu Island, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Its deep-draft harbor is protected by reefs. Landmarks include the Royal Palace (1865–67, home of the Tongan royal family),

on the seafront at the end of the old wharf, and the Royal Tombs. The town has several secondary schools (called colleges), a teachers’ training school, Vaiola Hospital, government offices, and a large Wesleyan church. Modern buildings include the broadcasting studio, a convention center, and a development outside the town comprising housing, joinery works, and Copra Board enterprises.

Commercial activities center on the export of copra, (the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted), bananas, squash, and vanilla and the sale of traditional handicrafts.

Tongatapu Group, the southernmost island cluster of Tonga, in the South Pacific Ocean, is about 1,400 miles north-northeast of Auckland, N.Z. Its administrative headquarters is at Nukuʿalofa, the national capital, on the northern coast of Tongatapu Island.

Tuna and snapper fishing fleets operate out of the harbor, and the city is Tonga’s main market for fishery products.

Tongatapu Island, the largest island (100.6 square miles) of Tonga, dominates the group. Its name means “sacred south”: the word taboo is derived from the Tongan term tabu, meaning “sacred.” Because of its coral formation, there are no surface streams, and all fresh water must be collected in rain catchments or taken from wells. Copra and bananas produced on the island are exported from the deepwater wharves of Nukuʿalofa. The island has schools, a hospital, and, at Fuaʿamotu, an international airport.