Along with many other Queenslanders I am stunned by Queensland Health’s failure to detect the $16 million fraud of the fake Tahitian prince until recently. Surely whoever is in Government after the next election will need to commission a forensic review of the Department’s operations and make some serious changes.

By the way, googling “Tahitian prince” earlier, I found out that the great man of the age of wonder, Sir Joseph Banks, had promoted a fake Tahitian prince, Omai, in English society in the 1770s (tahiti guide: the prince who never was):

Omai tried hard to be noticed by James Cook during Cook’s first visit to Tahiti to observe the Passage of Venus.   The botanist Joseph Banks was far more impressed with Tupia and made arrangements to take the priest back to London.   Sadly, Tupia died at Batavia in the Dutch East Indies.   Omai may have been aware that he had not impressed Cook.   Accordingly, on the occasion of Cook’s second voyage, he concentrated his efforts upon persuading Tobias Furneaux, Captain of HMS Adventure, consort ship to Cook’s HMS Resolution, to take him to England.   Fortunately for Omai, it seems that Banks had given Furneaux some kind of commission to return with a noble savage.   Banks had a prince or chief in mind.   Furneaux brought him Omai.   Pragmatic as ever, Banks spread the word in 1774 England that Omai was a Tahitian prince or priest.

I feel sorry for any real Tahitian princes out there, for surely no one will trust them now.