Twenty-five hand carved canoes were on display for King Tupou VI at HMAF Masefield Navy Base in Nuku’alofa, Tonga yesterday (Tuesday).
The event was one of the activities organized to celebrate the King’s Birthday, officially marked on 4 July.
The King joined his sister Princess Pilolevu Tuita to view the canoes and met the 81-year-old canoe builder Tui’one Pulotu, at the pier.
Tui'one, a renowned Hawaiian-based Tongan canoe builder and woodcarver, is a Living Treasures of Hawaii award recipient, who is currently in Tonga.
He is unable to return to Hawaii due to the closure of borders under the State of Emergency implemented in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Tui’one and his helpers built the canoes using local materials.
Local master carver Steven Fehoko also joined the event with his 41-ft whale shaped vessel, Matamoana.