The only living link with Captain Cook is a tortoise, which once belonged to the famous navigator, and now, at the age of 156, is the pride of Nukualofa, the seat of government in Tonga. When Captain Cook visited Nukualofa on one of his voyages he left a young tortoise with the king as a souvenir. King and captain are long since dead, but the tortoise is still ambling round—going strong after 156 years of life. It is so sacred to the Tongans that when it wanders away from the. Queen’s palace no one is permitted to molest it, and it must be politely shown the way home. Sir Thomas Henley, who recently returned to Australia from the Islands, saw the tortoise, and. posed for his picture with iL
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Otago Witness, Issue 3888, 18 September 1928, Page 80
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129Untitled Otago Witness, Issue 3888, 18 September 1928, Page 80
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