The pound was the currency of Tonga

Tonga

Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...

 until 1967. It was subdivided into 20 shilling

Shilling

The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...

s, each of 12 pence

Penny

A penny is a coin or a type of currency used in several English-speaking countries. It is often the smallest denomination within a currency system.-Etymology:...

.

History

Initially, British currency circulated. This was supplemented, from 1921, by banknotes issued by the Tongan government. The notes were marked as sterling

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

 and included the rather unusual 4 shilling

Shilling

The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...

s denomination. When the Australian pound

Australian pound

The pound was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 13 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.- Earlier Australian currencies :...

 devalued relative to the pound sterling

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

 at the beginning of the Great depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

, this caused considerable confusion on the smaller islands of the British Western Pacific

British Western Pacific Territories

The British Western Pacific Territories was the name of a colonial entity, created in 1877, for the administration, under a single representative of the British Crown, styled High Commissioner, of a series of relatively minor Pacific islands in and around Oceania...

. In the mid-1930's people in these islands were asking whether or not their sterling

Sterling

Sterling may refer to:* Sterling silver, a grade of silver* Pound sterling, the currency of the United Kingdom- Businesses :* Hotel Sterling, a former hotel in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States* Sterling Airlines...

 accounts were to be considered as the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 unit, or the Australian unit. Clarification was sought. In 1936, the Tongan pound was devalued to £1 5s = 1 pound sterling, thus setting the Tongan pound equal to the Australian pound

Australian pound

The pound was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 13 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.- Earlier Australian currencies :...

. Later issues of banknotes had the word "sterling" crossed out, then removed all together. In 1967, the pound was replaced by the pa'anga

Tongan pa'anga

The paanga is the currency of the Tonga. It is controlled by the National Reserve Bank of Tonga in Nukualofa...

 at a rate of 1 pound = 2 pa'anga.

For a more general view of history in the wider region, see The Pound Sterling in Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania.

Banknotes

In 1921, 5 pounds notes were introduced, followed, in 1933, by notes for 4 and 10 shillings and 1 pound. These four denominations were issued until 1966.