Molitoni Fisilihoi "Moulton" Finau (22 March 1883 – 1 December 1965) was a

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

n politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1919 until his death, becoming Tonga's longest serving MP.

Biography

Finau was born in

Nukuʻalofa Nukualofa (; ) is the capital and largest city of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the country's southernmost island group. History First western records of Nukualofa On 10 June 1777, British captain Jam ...

in March 1883, the son of

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

preacher David Finau,''Pacific Islands Year Book 1963'', p42 who translated the bible into Tongan.Background information on Tupou College
Tupou College Sesquicentenary Tour He was educated at

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

in Sydney between 1896 and 1901, where he was known by the anglicised name Moulton, but was also nicknamed Dave. He excelled at sport, representing the first team of the school at cricket, rifle shooting and rugby, becoming the first pupil to be awarded triple colours in 1899.150 Years of Sport at Newington College
Newington College The following year he was part of the cricket and rugby teams that won their respective championships in 1900. He finished his education at Tupou College in

Tongatapu Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the nation ...

, with his final matriculation score of 95% unsurpassed until his death.Molitoni Finau
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', January 1966, p151 He joined the civil service in 1905, initially worked in the Lands Department, before joining the Police Department in 1915 and becoming an inspector three years later. He was also a significant figure in the Free Wesleyan Church. He resigned from the civil service in 1919 to contest the

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

and was elected to the Legislative Assembly. In the same year he also passed the Tongan law exams and began practising as a lawyer, later becoming a founder member of the Tongan Law Society. Finau died at Vaiola Hospital in

in December 1965. Two of his children, Lupeti and Tomiteau, later became MPs.Tomiteau Finau
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', February 1985, p57

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finau, Molitoni 1883 births People from Nukuʻalofa People educated at Newington College Tongan civil servants Tongan lawyers Members of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga Tongan police officers 1965 deaths 20th-century lawyers