This story took place in the mid-1960s in Polynesia. Six boys aged 13 to 16 from the island of Tonga, having stolen a boat, decided to travel a little around the Polynesian islands.
The guys took a minimum of food with them: only a bunch of bananas and a few coconuts. They had no maps or compasses.
Very quickly, the boys lost their way. The native coast has disappeared on the horizon. They spent several days at sea, huddled on a small boat. Only eight days later, the teenagers saw land.
The island of Ata turned out to be uninhabited. Despite their young age, the guys were not left out. They agreed and arranged shifts.
Someone was gathering food (luckily there was abundant vegetation on the island), someone was cooking, and someone was keeping watch.
The boys learned to fish, hunt and make fire by rubbing together two pieces of wood.
There were no accidents. One of the boys broke his leg. But the others gave him a splint of sticks and vines. The bone fused almost perfectly. The teenagers were even able to make a “gym”.
But there was no way they could make a raft. The guys were afraid to leave on the boat they arrived on the island. The boys spent a year and a half in Ata. At home, they were already considered dead.
One day, an Australian fisherman Peter Warner and his team sailed to the island. At first the Australians mistook the boys for pirates.
It was only when Peter radioed authorities in Tonga and discovered the missing children that he believed little Robinsons.
However, the guys’ adventures did not end there. At home, they went to prison for theft. To get the fisherman to withdraw his statement to the police, the same Warner bought him a new boat.
It was only afterwards that the teenagers were able to return home. After a while, Austrian television made a documentary about the guys.
