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Story: Tongans

Auckland Secondary Schools Cultural Festival

Video file

An important forum for the new Pacific Islands cultural identity which has developed in South Auckland is the annual Secondary Schools Cultural Festival or Polyfest. In this clip we see St Paul’s College students performing the kailao (war dance) on the Tongan stage in 2003. They won the competition that year.

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TVNZ Television New Zealand

Reference: P271213h

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How to cite this page

Melenaite Taumoefolau, Tongans – Pacific Islands identity, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/1267/auckland-secondary-schools-cultural-festival (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Melenaite Taumoefolau, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 July 2024.