The Lord of the Flies by Nobel prize winner William Golding is a famous classic that has been discussed in schools around the world. The 1954 novel tells the story of a group of British boys who got stranded on an uninhabited island.
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But did you know that the same thing actually happened in real life? Many do not know the story of six teenage boys who were stranded on a deserted South Pacific island. Fortunately, things were not as chaotic as the story in the Lord of the Flies.
Meet Peter
Peter Warner was the son of a wealthy business tycoon. All his life, he had been trained to take over the family business and carry on the family name. But the truth was that Peter’s passion lay somewhere else.
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In fact, he preferred sailing and being at sea more than anything else. When he had time off from work, he was on the water any chance he could get. His latest expedition had brought him to Tonga, a small Polynesian island.
Passing by the deserted island
The year was 1966 when Peter went on an expedition in the South Pacific. He was on the way back to Australia when he passed by a tiny island of ‘Ata. Peter knew that the island was deserted for decades because there was a rumor that it was cursed.
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As Peter passed by the small island, he heard a strange noise. It seemed like it came from a distance. Peter looked around. It looked like the noises coming from the deserted island. Peter grabbed his binoculars to try to get a good view of what was making the noise.
An unexpected surprise
Peter was able to see smoke and a small fire. He assumed that it was a bush fire. Spontaneous bush fires can happen. But then, something else surprised him. A young man had emerged from the bush and was yelling and running to the water, waving his hands.
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Peter was shocked. The young man immediately jumped on the water and swam towards his boat. At the shore, five more boys have emerged and were now swimming also towards him. Peter knew the island was supposed to be uninhabited so it took a while for him to react.
Fearing for the worst
Peter started to panic and feared for his own safety since he was sailing by himself. He thought that the island probably had an indigenous tribe now and that they were upset that he was sailing so close to the island. Some indigenous tribes can be very territorial.
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But as the first boy reached Peter’s both, the boy had spoken in perfect English. Peter would never forget the boy’s first words to him: “My name is Stephen. There are six of us and we reckon we’ve been here for 15 months.”
So many questions
Peter allowed Stephen to climb up his boat and he was soon followed by the five other young men. Once they were all aboard safely, it was pretty clear that they were very happy to see Peter. The scenario seemed too insane to be true.
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How did these young men end up on the deserted island? Who were they? And how did they pull off living in the rocky deserted island for more than a year? Peter had so many questions in his head.
Contacting the authorities
The boys explained that they were students from a boarding school in Tonga. Peter knew he had to report the incident to the authorities so he went to his radio and tried to contact the capital of Tonga, Nuku’alofa.
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When an operator picked up, he told the operator that he picked up six young men on a deserted island and that they claimed to be students in Tonga. There was silence in the line then the operator asked him to stand by.
A miracle made
Peter waited for a response. It was taking a while and Peter looked at the boys who were waiting for any news. What would he do if the operator did not come back? It felt like the longest 20 minutes of his life but he had nothing to do but wait for a response.
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When the operator came back, it was clear that there was excitement in his voice. “You found them! These boys were given up for dead! Funerals have been held! It is a miracle!” Peter was shocked. His expedition officially turned to a rescue mission.
Getting to know the boys
Peter could not believe what he has gotten himself into. It felt like he dropped in the pages of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. The story was very similar. But the story of the boys was very real and started the year before, 1965.
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Peter sat with the boys and asked them about their stories while giving them food. The six boys – Stephen, David, Luke, Mano, Sione, and Kolo – felt bored and were dreaming of leaving their lives and going on an adventure. They planned to go sailing to Fiji but as it turned out, this was a mistake and things did not go as planned.
Off to an adventure
The oldest of the group was 16 years old and the youngest was 13 and they were very ambitious. They even planned to go sailing beyond Fiji and onto New Zealand if things went well. However, none of them had a boat. This did not deter the group from going on an adventure because they knew someone who did own a boat.
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The boys disliked a fisherman named Taniela Uhila and he happened to live nearby their boarding school. So, one day, they decided to steal his boat. The boys picked up two sacks of bananas, some coconuts, and a small gas burner for their trip. They were so excited that they forgot about bringing a compass or a map.
Drifting off to sleep at sea
Since they were stealing the boat, the teenagers decided to do it late at night. The waters were calm that night and they were able to steal the boat and leave the shore with minimal noise. Once they were sailing in the water, the boys were excited.
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In fact, they had been too excited to execute their plan that they were not able to get enough sleep. So they did not plan on a sleeping schedule and everyone ended up sleeping and letting the boat just drift in the open water.
Losing control
While the boys were asleep, a huge wave crashed on the small boat. The boys woke up, startled. It was pitch black and they were in the middle of the ocean – they couldn’t see anything.
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They tried to control the boat but the rudder was broken and the sail was torn. Without the ability to maneuver the boat, they had no choice but to let the boat drift to wherever the tides would take them.
Lost at sea
According to Mano in an interview, they were drifting for 8 days. By then, the food they brought was quickly running out. They had no drinking water as well. The boys used the coconut shells to collect rainwater so that they could drink something. But they also had to ration out the rainwater because it quickly evaporated under the heat of the sun.
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Without a compass, the boys had no idea which direction they were heading. Without a map, they had no idea where they were. On the eighth day, they spotted a small island. The boys immediately felt excited and started to paddle the boat in the direction of the island.
Island landing
But as they neared, they realized it was not the kind of island they were hoping for. The island was not a tropical paradise with sandy beaches and waving palm trees. The shore was covered in rocks and huge boulders.
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The island did not look inviting at all. Still, it was better than drifting in the middle of the ocean with no resources at all. And this is how the boys ended up on the deserted island of ‘Ata, which happened to be 102 miles away from Tonga.
It was a harsh environment
The island of ‘Ata was last inhabited in 1863. That year, the indigenous people that occupied the island left it because of its limited resources. Basically, the six teenage boys were the first people who lived on the island again after a hundred years.
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The boys tried to venture inland but were greeted with nothing but steep cliffs. They could not find a way to climb up the mountains safely so they had no choice but to try to live on the rocky shores of the island.
Realizing their mistake
It was a hot summer and the boys had tried to make a shelter out of the boat. They could not find any water or food on the island and they were starving. In just a few days, they started to feel hopeless. Emotions were running high and fights had ensued.
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The boys tried to make the best out of the situation. They decided to assign duties and work in teams of two so that they could keep each other safe. After all, they were on a mysterious island and had no idea what or who else was in it.
Climbing to the top
It was starting to be clear that there is no telling if a ship would ever pass by to rescue them. They were starting to feel worried knowing they can’t last that long under the hot sun on the rocky shores of the island. They tried to climb the cliffs but the lack of food and water made their bodies weak.
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But soon, the boys managed to find a way on top of the cliff and found that it was a volcano all along. As they stood in the crater, they were able to get a good view of the island and found that it was not as big as they think.
Moving to a new location
From the top, they were able to spot an area where there were coconut trees. The boys immediately headed there hoping they would also be able to hunt birds in the new location since there were fruit-bearing trees around.
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When they reached their new location, they were able to find some things left by the old inhabitants of the island. There were old knives left in the dirt. It seemed like they stumbled into a location of an old tribe. There were even banana and wild taro plants around. The boys decided to set camp in the new location.
An injury in the island
The boys tried to adjust to their new life on the abandoned island as much as they could. They were even able to dig out a freshwater source by boring holes into trees. As the days passed, some of them would go to the shore to fish while some of them would hunt for wild birds. But during one of these duties, Stephen got injured.
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He was chasing after a wild bird when he slipped and fell. He ended up breaking his leg. The boys tried to make a splint out of branches for Stephen. Sione even joked that Stephen now was the king of the island since his injury meant he could not hunt anymore. Thankfully, his leg seemed to have recovered as the months wore on.
Life on the island
Living on a deserted island was not the adventure these boys were dreaming of. But they were able to persevere and set up a shelter. Kolo even made his own guitar and they used it whenever they said their daily prayers.
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But life on the island was not pretty. On the nights that it rained until the morning, rats would rush into their shelter and keep the boys from sleeping comfortably. There was even a night when a big tree crashed just inches away from their shelter. Months had passed and the boys were starting to fear that they will have to live this way for the rest of their lives.
Hope comes in a boat
The boys were about to give up on the hope of being rescued until they spotted Peter’s boat out in the water. Stephen was the one who spotted the boat. He started to run towards the shore screaming “boat coming! boat coming!” to his friends.
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The rest of the boys immediately jumped up and started yelling towards the boat and followed Stephen to the shore. They could not believe it. They were finally leaving the island! And that was how they found their way aboard Peter’s boat.
Visiting the campsite
After hearing their story, Peter was amazed by what the boys had been through. Before making their way back to Tonga. Peter had asked them if he could see their campsite. The boys, although they were excited to leave the island, obliged and showed Peter around.
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Peter was not prepared for what he saw. It was far from what he expected. The boys managed to set up a small community. A route was made from the shore towards their campsite on the cliff. He saw the hollowed-out tree that stored their rainwater, the garden, chicken pens, and there was even a gymnasium where the boys had worked out. He had huge admiration for the boys.
A disappointing homecoming
While they sailed back to Tonga, the boys told Peter that they had left girlfriends and families. They were all excited to see everyone again. Peter also expected a great homecoming. But instead of a happy homecoming, something horrible happened when they landed in Tonga.
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After making contact with the operator, the news had spread in Tonga that the boys who they presumed to be long dead may be alive after all. If you recall, the boys stole the boat they used for their adventure. This greatly upset Taniela Uhila because it was his only boat and their theft took away their livelihood. When Uhila heard the news, he immediately pressed charges.
Justice being served
When Peter and the boys docked in Tonga, the boys were immediately arrested. Peter could not believe what happened as he watched the police take the boys away. He had unexpectedly rescued six young men who had been stranded on an island for more than a year only to watch them be arrested.
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He could not accept that their incredible story of survival would end in a jail cell. It was like going from one prison to another. Life was being unfair. His heart ached for the boys he had rescued. Peter knew he had to do something to help them.
Peter’s plan
Peter thought of a plan. He used his connections and came into contact with people from the film industry. He thought of turning the boys’ story into a film, got the rights to it, and presented it to the government in Tonga.
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Peter then offered to pay for the boat of Uhila as long as the boys would be set free. Of course, the boys had to participate in the film. Peter’s plan worked. Soon enough, the boys were set free and they were reunited with their families.
A celebratory feast
When the boys were released and allowed to go home, the whole community celebrated. All six boys were presumed dead and they turned out to be healthy and well. Almost every person on the small island came out to celebrate.
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A giant feast was prepared and Peter was the guest of honor. After all, he was the hero who saved the boys not once – but twice! It was a whole day of celebration where everyone danced, sang, and feasted. Peter knew then that he would never forget these boys and the people of Tonga.
A royal meeting
Peter then was summoned because the King of Tonga, King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV, wanted to meet him. Peter was shocked. He never thought his acts would end up with a face-to-face meeting with the king. The next day, Peter was brought to the capital to meet the King personally. Peter remembered the king saying “thank you for rescuing six of my subjects. Is there anything I can do for you?”
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Peter took the opportunity to ask the king if he could stay and start a lobster business on the island. The king, of course, granted Peter’s request. The paperwork was immediately processed and Peter could not believe it. This was his chance to live out his dream of being in the sea and forging a new path for himself – far from the shadows of his father’s name and reputation.
The adventure continues
Peter immediately quit his job at his father’s company. He immediately contacted all the six boys and asked them to work for him as his fishermen. All of the boys agreed and signed on to become Peter’s crew members.
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After all, all of them – even Peter – had longed for an adventure in the sea. This time, they would be able to do it right. As they worked for Peter, Peter took the time to teach them all they needed to know about sailing and exploring the world. They worked for Peter for years and Peter’s business was a great success.
An epic story that deserved more
The boys also were able to film their documentary successfully. However, despite their unbelievable story, the documentary did not take off as expected and because of that, the story of the six survivors was forgotten.
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The people of Tonga have also moved on from the events that transpired. The boys had once again, disappeared, in a different way. Nevertheless, their story remained to be an epic one to anyone who gets to hear it.