Barkcloth, or tapa, has a long history in the Pacific. It is regarded as a symbol of wealth and its ceremonial functions are associated with gift offering and exchange, as well as with major events in the lives of individuals, including birth, marriage and death. Large pieces, such as the Presentation tapa by Langa Fo Noa (Women's Association of the Royal House of Tonga), are usually presented as gifts.

This tapa was presented at the 'Exhibition of the 7th Women's Conference of the South Pacific Commission' (Noumea, June 1997) by the Tongan delegation, led by the Princess Salote Pilolevu Tuita. The conference provided a major forum for issues related to the education and position of women in the South Pacific region. The presentation of tapa (or ngatu in Tongan), which is traditionally created by women working collectively, acquires a special significance in this context of a contemporary women's convention.

Tonga is the most prolific producer of tapa in the world. Although tapa is no longer used for clothing, it remains a very significant part of ceremonial practice in the life of Tongans, both on the islands and in diaspora. This Presentation tapa was made in the Tongan tradition, in which hand-beaten mulberry bark is worked on collectively by a group of women. The cloth is made of numerous long strips of tapa that the women join using half-cooked arrowroot tubers as a bonding agent. They then place them over a long convex bench, to which the rubbing tablets (made of leaf strips) are attached to form a raised pattern that acts as a stencil, and rub them with a wad of pigmented tapa. This process continues for days until the tapa reaches the required length. The tapa is then dried in the sun and placed under a sleeping mat to flatten. When ready, the rubbed designs are highlighted with natural pigments. The design for Presentation tapa was inspired by the emblems of the Tongan Royal House and the inscription 'KOE KALAUNI' means 'the crown'.