Have you ever had that conversation with your friends that all of you be able to survive a shipwreck, that you got it all planned out in your head? But are you really sure you could? While an unlikely situation, it is certainly possible with the story of the ‘Real-life Lord of the flies.’
Six teenagers (Luke Veikoso, Fatai Latu, Sione Fataua, Tevita Siola’a, Kolo Fekitoa, and Mano Totau),13 to 16 when their unforgettable journey started, manage to survive for 15 months on the deserted Ata Island in 1965.
It started with the classic teenage reason to do most questionable things, they were bored. They attended a Catholic boarding school in Tonga, a small nation in the Pacific Ocean.
Bolstered by teenage recklessness, they ran away and stole a fishing boat out from the harbour at Nuku’alofa hoping to get to Fiji. They took with them just two sacks of bananas, a few coconuts and a small gas burner, but no drinking water. Luck in their favour, one of the teenagers had experience with the same boat and was an experienced sailor but that is where any luck ended.
That night a storm hit. They lost their sail to the wind. The next day it rained. There was no food.
This was when they started to realise the severity of their actions. They had no map, no compass, no food and quickly lost hope.
For seven days this continued, but at around 9:00 am on the eighth day they had found land. Ata Island.
Ata Island was not always uninhabited, but in the 18th century the natives had been captured and sent away as slaves to Tonga. However, the islanders had left behind food staples, such as taro (a type of potato) and chickens, to the great relief of the boys once they started exploring the island.
Mano decided to swim to the land first, cautioning them not to follow him until he made it. He swam through the pain and dizziness of not eating or drinking for eight days but after getting a deep breath in called out to his friends that he had made it. They all made it to land where they cried and uttered prayers of thanks for this blessing before falling asleep out of exhaustion.
The next morning, they climbed to the peak of the island. Mano recounts
“as I climbed I stepped on a piece of wood, which was soaked wet. I picked it up and broke it apart, bit by bit, and squeezed it in my hand then licked it with my mouth. It was the first drink I’d had in eight days.”
If that doesn’t show the desperate situation they were in, they had become so hungry and dehydrated that they could not find the strength to create a fire.
Every day for 3 months, they would walk around the beach for shellfish and fish and would find papayas and coconuts to eat. With their stomach filled and strength regained, they finally created fire.
With water and food sorted, next on the list is shelter. Mano had experience with weaving coconut founds and with this created the walls. A fireplace in the middle and banana leaf beds filled the house. They had assigned a roster of chores and responsibilities, using teamwork to continue to survive.
They created a bench press, homemade ukulele, wooden statues to pass the time. (Quite incredible for any group of kids, especially castaways!)
A month after arriving they built a raft but it was too weak to go out to sea. While they had reserved themselves to the possibility of never leaving, they didn’t stop hoping for a miracle.
As a tragic turn of events, a boy named Stephen fell off a cliff and broke his leg while still on the island. The other boys tended to him and treated him with traditional Tongan medicine and seawater while he rested. His leg would heal while on the island, showing the dedication of care they gave.
If any disputes occurred on the island, they were settled diplomatically. Either through talking or by having ‘time outs’. Fataua often acted as a mediator and a type of spiritual counsellor.
15 gruelling months after, Steven saw the boat and swam towards it, talking to captain Warner with his broken English.
As soon as they arrived back in their home town police boarded the boat and arrested the boys, for the theft of Taniela Uhila’s boat.
Peter paid Uhila £150 for the boat and they were released.
Finally, they could return to their families in Haʻafeva, where the entire population of 900 rejoiced and celebrated for 3 days. They had assumed the children were dead and had held funerals for them.
Thankfully The lord of the flies will stay fiction and humanity still deserves faith.
As a final note, Mano said.
“I realise now that it doesn’t matter who you are; it doesn’t matter what colour you are, what race, or anything like that. Because if you’re in a real problem, you will eventually see what you need to do to survive.”
So do you still think you can survive a shipwreck? How about your friends? Either way, now you know what it truly is like if you happen to end up on an island with nobody but yourself to get yourself out… And the proof to your friends if they ever start bragging about they would totally survive.
Resources:
If you would like to know more on this topic then I recommend you check out the full interview of the experience by Mano:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0pLjRHihvnhkFIhcDrfDts?si=DYAjjH24QtacS8h5oIUUzw
Remember to always ask, are you sure about that when someone makes a claim that is too good or too wild to be true.
Stay curious folks!
