about US
Brisbane Tongan Community Inc. (BTC) is a Brisbane-based not-for-profit organisation incorporated under the Association Incorporation Act 1981 (Qld), IA Number IA58304. BTC is a network of members of the Tongan community who celebrate their cultural, faith and are passionate about their community, family, church and country, both the Kingdom of Tonga and in the Diaspora, Australia.
BTC is open to working with members of the community who share the objectives of the organisation and vision.
VISION: To ensure Tongans in Australia and the Kingdom of Tonga are fully connected, professionally represented, have a voice and foster development to grow and excel.
PURPOSE: To bring together the Brisbane Tongan Community and broader Tongan society. This includes individuals, families, extended kainga families and the community, Government representatives and non-governmental representatives.
Koe Kakala ia ‘o e Tonga
From a young age, many Tongans are taught the fā’i kave’i koula – the core values that we carry in the inside and the defining elements that make Tonga – “Tonga.”
To be Tongan is to carry: faka’apa’apa (reciprocal respect), lototō (humility), mamahi’i me’a (a sense of loyalty, passion tied to responsibility) and tauhi vā (valuing relationships and in so doing maintaining them). These are bound by ‘ofa (love) within the context of kainga (extended family), without ‘ofa all else falls.