The Tongan castaways were a group of six Tongan teenage boys who, in 1965, shipwrecked on the uninhabited island of ʻAta. They survived there for 15 months until their rescue. The boys had run away from their boarding school on the island of Tongatapu, stealing a boat to make their escape. However, after a storm damaged their boat, they were washed ashore on the remote island of ʻAta. Despite the challenging conditions, they managed to take care of themselves during their time on the island. Long thought to be dead, they were finally discovered and rescued in September 1966 by Australian lobster fisher Peter Warner.
The six boys, Luke Veikoso, “Stephen” Tevita Fatai Latu, Sione Fataua, “David” Tevita Siolaʻa, Kolo Fekitoa, and “Mano” Sione Filipe Totau, aged between 13 and 19, ran away from St. Andrews Anglican boarding school in Nukuʻalofa, located on Tongatapu. They stole a 24-foot (7.3 m) boat with little preparation and on short notice.
After anchoring for the night about five miles (10 km) north of Tongatapu, a storm broke their anchor rope, and strong winds quickly destroyed the boat’s sail and rudder. Over the next eight days, the boys drifted nearly 320 km (200 mi) southwest, bailing water from their disintegrating boat. Eventually, they sighted the island of ʻAta. At that point, the boys abandoned their boat and swam to shore over the next 36 hours, using planks that they salvaged from the wreck.
At first, the boys were desperate for food and water. Their situation improved after three months when they discovered the ruins of the village of Kolomaile, located within the island’s volcanic crater, following a challenging two-day climb. They utilized the remnants of 19th-century habitation, surviving on feral chickens, wild taro, and bananas. They collected rainwater for drinking by hollowing out tree trunks. When they didn’t have enough water, they drank blood from seabirds. The boys divided the labor among themselves, pairing up to take on tasks such as gardening, cooking, and guarding the area. One of the boys, Stephen—who would eventually become an engineer—successfully used two sticks to start a fire. They managed to keep this fire burning continuously for more than a year while they were marooned.
At night, they sang and played a makeshift guitar to lift their spirits, composing five songs during their time in exile. At one point, they tried to escape on a raft they had constructed, but it fell apart about 1 mile (1.6 km) offshore, forcing them to return. In hindsight, the raft’s breakup was fortunate because the boys mistakenly believed they were heading toward Samoa and had begun sailing south into the open ocean.
On September 11, 1966, Captain Peter Warner was navigating the boat Just David home when he passed near ‘Ata and noticed patches of burned grass on the island’s cliffsides. After spotting the unkempt, naked boys through binoculars, Just David approached cautiously, as Warner had been told that serious criminals were sometimes marooned on remote islands. When the ship was close enough, Stephen dived in and swam to the boat, explaining himself in English.
To verify their story, Warner radioed their names to Nuku‘alofa and, after a 20-minute wait, received the reply, “You found them! These boys were believed to be dead, and funerals had already been held. If it’s truly them, this is a miracle!” That’s when they became famous as the Tongan Castaways.
After a grand celebration, the group was hired by Warner to serve as the crew for a lobster boat. During the festivities, the families of the castaway boys promised to teach Warner the secrets of fishing for Pacific spiny lobster. As a reward for rescuing the group and befriending King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV, Warner was granted exclusive rights to trap spiny lobster in Tongan waters.
However, when the Tongan castaways failed to attend a party Warner was hosting in their honor, he discovered that they had been arrested after the owner of a stolen boat pressed charges against them. Warner quickly arranged for Channel 7 in Sydney to film their story. He used £150 (USD $203) from the sale of the film rights to compensate the owner of the stolen boat, and in return, the owner agreed to drop the charges.
Watch the 1966 documentary available on Youtube: