Story: Pacific Islands and New Zealand

Marching in support of Tongan workers, 2005 (2nd of 3)

Marching in support of Tongan workers, 2005

Tongan government workers went on strike for more than six weeks in 2005, demanding a pay rise and democratic reform. Feelings ran high. Government cars were torched, schools vandalised and a beach house belonging to the royal family razed to the ground. At an Auckland residence owned by the Tongan royal family, New Zealand- and island-born Tongans gathered, fights broke out and a window was smashed. There was a march (shown here) up Queen Street in Auckland in sympathy with the strikers and supporting their demand for political reform.

Using this item

New Zealand Herald
Reference: 030905NZHGBMARCH15.JPG
Photograph by Greg Bowker

Permission of the New Zealand Herald must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Jon Fraenkel, 'Pacific Islands and New Zealand - Fiji and Tonga', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/36875/marching-in-support-of-tongan-workers-2005 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Jon Fraenkel, published 20 Jun 2012