Wendy Pond and Garth Rogers Kingdom of Tonga recordings

Dr Wendy Pond is a New Zealand academic and author. Dr Garth Rogers (1932-1989) was an anthropologist and educator who taught at the University of Auckland from 1976 until his death in 1989.

Garth and Wendy’s collaborative research on Tongan materials began in 1967 when they undertook a research expedition to Tonga, sailing from New Zealand aboard Garth’s 18-foot yacht “Caprice”. Although they were often working on different projects, they had brought with them a limited supply of magnetic tape and two tape recorders to be shared, and recordings were fitted in wherever they had space.

Garth studied political action in the re-established communities of the outlier Niuafo'ou, which had been forcibly evacuated in 1946-7. After completing his master's thesis he returned to Tonga in 1969 for doctoral research in the rural islands of Niuatoputapu and Ha'apai. He conducted an extensive survey of prehistoric sites on Niuatoputapu, and finished his dissertation, ‘Kai and Kava in Niuatoputapu: Social Relations, Ideologies, and Contexts in a Rural Tongan Community’ in 1975.

Wendy’s research included Tongan song and dance. From 1967 to 1971, she resided in various locations throughout Tonga, working with a number of collaborators including Tupou Posesi Fanua, record keeper for the Royal Palace. She went on to publish several essays in Faikava: A Tongan Literary Journal. In 1995 she earned a PhD from Victoria University of Wellington, for her thesis titled ‘Faiva: Trials of Skill: the Song and Dance of Tongan Politics, 1773-1993.’ Its multidisciplinary study of Tongan performance art engages Pacific anthropology, history and music.