Tesimoni Fuavao and his father moved to New Zealand in May 1975 through a medical visa, as Fuavao needed to undergo medical treatment. He was 19-years-old. His mother and the youngest of six siblings came soon after on the same medical grounds, while Fuavao’s other siblings stayed back in Tonga with their grandparents.
They lived in a five-bedroom house in Grey Lynn, Auckland with three families from the Tongan community who were New Zealand residents.
Fuavao had his operation and was in hospital for two weeks. “I continued to received outpatient care,” he said.
