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CHAPTER EIGHT

New Zealand Samoa 1944

Contributors:

Malama Meleisea

Penelope Schoeffel Meleisea

Isalei Va'ai

I'iga Suafole

The First World War 1914-1918

The First World War broke out in Europe in 1914 when the

Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was

assassinated in Sarajevo, by a Serbian student. Austria-Hungary

sent Serbia an ultimatum, which was not met, and Austria-Hungary

declared war on Serbia. The assassination of the Archduke was not

the real cause of the war, however. For a long time, events which

would have resulted inevitably in a war, had been building up in

Europe.

One of these events was the arms race among the European

powers, especially that between England and Germany. Since armed

forces represented national power, each nation wanted a large army

and navy, and each nation tried to keep ahead of the others.

Not only was there an arms race among the European powers,

but there was a race for colonies. Germany, France, and Britain were

all expanding their colonial empires in the nineteenth and early

twentieth centuries. Germany was perhaps the most aggressive of

the imperial powers, and she came into conflict with Russia when

she tried to extend her influence over the Balkans. Austria-Hungary

also had interests in the Balkans. Britain and France, on the other

hand, had interests in the Middle East.

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In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, the

European Powers formed alliances among themselves. In 1882, Italy,

Germany and Austria-Hungary formed the Triple Alliance. In 1894,

France and Russia formed a rival alliance, which was known as the

Dual Alliance. Britain, alarmed by Germany's naval and colonial

policies, formed the Entente Cordiale with France in 1904; Russia

joined in 1907, and the Entente Cordiale became the Triple Entente.

These alliances meant that if one nation declared war, then the other

nations would enter the war in support of their ally. When Austria

declared war on Serbia, Russia mobilised its army to come to

Serbia's assistance. Germany, partly to honour her obligations to

Austria, declared war on Russia. Britain and France later joined the

war. The combined forces of Britain, France, Russia and the United

States were known as the Allied Powers. The rival powers Germany,

Austria and Italy were known as the Axis Powers.

Immediately upon the outbreak of the war in Europe, New Zealand

was invited by Britain to seize German Samoa. An Expeditionary

Force was sent to Samoa, and the Germans in Samoa offered no

resistance. Samoa was the first enemy territory to be seized by the

Allied Forces. New Zealand was very ready to seize Samoa as she

had had designs on Samoa for a long time. New Zealand had always

regarded the Pacific as a British sphere of influence.

Back in the 1870s and 1880s New Zealand and Australia were

British colonies. But, by that period, both countries had nationalist

movements that wanted internal self-government and eventual

independence from direct British rule. The leaders of these

movements were of British origin, for in both countries white settlers

had come to far out-number the native Maori and Aboriginal peoples.

The native inhabitants of both countries had no say in the political

decisions of the time.

In those decades, the nationalists of New Zealand and Australia

wanted Britain to take over all the islands of the South Pacific,

including Samoa. They were motivated mainly by their fear that

French and German colonies would become powerful in a region they

wanted to be predominantly British (see Chapter 3). The New

Zealand Prime Minister of the period wanted Britain to take control of

all the Polynesian islands north of New Zealand. He argued that New

Zealand should be the cultural and trading centre for all the

Polynesian people. This feeling was a factor leading to Britain

annexing the Cook Islands and Niue for New Zealand in the late

nineteenth century.

When Samoa became a German colony in 1900, New Zealand was

unhappy about it. She did not want a major power, such as Germany,

to have a colony so close to her shores. The wish to include Samoa

among New Zealand's territories was still strong in 1914, which is

why the New

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Zealand government lost no time in sending an expeditionary force to capture

Samoa from Germany. The New Zealanders believed they had a special ability

to rule Polynesians, and were proud of their record with the Maori. In the words

of Sir Apirana Ngata, M.P.:

The Samoans may be congratulated that they have come under the

wing of the Anglo-Saxon race, and they are extremely fortunate in that

they have come under the government of New Zealand, because there

is no better representative of the British conscience of administration in

a just way of the native races than the Government of this country. I

can speak with experience, sometimes with a little bitterness, as to the

treatment some of the Maoris have received in New Zealand at the

hands even of our own Pakeha people. But the Maoris have a saying

"That is between you and me", and take it by and large, take it over the

century, no native race has been so fortunate as the Maoris of New

Zealand.

Despite these claims, the Expeditionary Force, which comprised initially 1,413

officers, mechanics, technicians and medical staff, was not qualified to run a

colony. When the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, led by Colonel Logan,

landed in Samoa, they lowered the German flag and seized all buildings and

properties belonging to the German Government. On 31 August 1914, the

British Flag was raised, Logan became the Administrator and issued the

following proclamation:

Dieu Et Mon Droit

Proclamation

1. The New Zealand Government of his Britannic Majesty King George V now occupies for his Majesty all the German territories situated in the islands of the Samoan Group.

2. All inhabitants of the occupied territories are commanded to submit to all such directions as maybe given by any officer of the occupying force.

3. Every inhabitant of the occupied territories is forbidden to assist or to communicate directly or indirectly with the German Government or the German forces, or to molest or to resist, directly or indirectly the occupying forces of any member thereof.

4. All public property of the German Government must be delivered forthwith by those responsible for its safety to the possession of the occupying forces.

5. Private property of individuals will only be taken if required for the purposes of occupying forces and if so taken, will be paid for at a reasonable price at the termination of the war.

6. No person shall except with the written permission of an authorised officer of the occupying force be out of doors on any night between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. nor change his or her present place of residence, nor use any boat or canoe.

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7. All public meetings are prohibited. 8. No circular or newspaper or printed matter of any description

shall be circulated, printed, or issued without the written per-mission of an authorised officer of the occupying forces.

9. No spirituous or intoxicating liquor shall be manufactured or sold without the written permission of an authorised officer of the

occupying force, nor shall liquor be supplied to any Samoan

native.

10. All officials of the German Government who desire to continue to carry out their functions under the present military Government must report themselves forthwith to the commander of the occupying force and such as may be retained in their employment will receive the same rate of renumeration as was received by them prior to the occupation.

11. All inhabitants having in their possession any motor cars, horses, carts or other means of transport must forthwith be delivered at the office of the Provost-Marshall of the occupying force.

12. All arms of every description, whether the property of the German Government or of private persons, must forthwith be delivered at the office of the Provost-Marshall of the occupying force.

13. All persons who quietly submit to the administration of affairs by the occupying force will be protected in their occupations except in the case of such occupations as may be contrary to the best interests of the occupying force.

14. All persons who in any manner resist the occupation force or attempt by violence or otherwise to interfere with or overthrow the military Government now established for his Majesty King George V or who fail to obey the above written or any subsequent commands of any officer of the occupying force will be punished according to the laws of war.

Given at Apia this 29th August in the year of our Lord 1914

Robert Logan, Colonel Commanding the occupying force.

The proclamation established a military government in Samoa. It did not

make any changes in the political organization set up by the Germans. Laws

and policies passed by the Germans were maintained, too. Some minor

officials were asked to continue in their posts but they refused; all German

officials were then deported. The German Governor, Dr Schultz and other

Germans were taken to New Zealand where they were kept as prisoners of

war.

Private German citizens were given the option of remaining in Samoa or

being repatriated to Germany. Most preferred to remain in Samoa, where they

had established themselves. Those Germans who had married Samoans

opposed the deportation of their countrymen.

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The New Zealand Military Government took over D.P.H.G., which it

later (in 1919) renamed the New Zealand Reparation Estates. The new

government retained the German overseers and Melanesian and Chinese

labourers, because it could not supply its own experienced personnel. It

was for this reason also that it did not make any changes to the

established political and economic systems.

This 'ramshackle administration' (as Davidson called it) left Samoans

pretty much to their own affairs and, after Solf's intrusive policies, the

Samoans were able to reassert many of their traditional institutions, such

as the authority of Tumua and Pule.

Export earnings increased during the war, but import prices rose

sharply. This was attributed by many Samoans to the greed of the

merchants. Other grievances were the economic effects of the ex-

propriation of German businesses, export taxes, and stricter labour laws.

Several local merchants were able to buy up the assets of the departing

Germans.

At the end of the war, New Zealand made a major mistake which was

to unite the Samoans, the local-born Europeans and many foreign

residents, against the Administration. The ship Talune arrived from

Auckland with people aboard suffering from pneumonic influenza. This

terrible, infectious disease was sweeping around the world in 1918, and

had killed hundreds of thousands of people in other countries. The ship

had been quarantined in Fiji, but when it docked in Samoa, no restrictions

were imposed, and the disease spread quickly. It has been estimated that

one fifth of the population died; 7,542 persons out of a population of

approximately 38,302. (Another estimate was that by 1919, there were

8,500 deaths from the epidemic.)

Governor Logan ignored an offer from American Samoa to send a

medical team, and closed down wireless communication with Pago Pago.

Local health services were very disorganized. Many people who tried to

help in the emergency were stopped by New Zealand officials. A group of

Apia women tried to establish a temporary hospital but it was closed

down. The doctor at Tuasivi, Savai'i, hid in his house and refused to visit

the sick. There were so many people dying that, after being wrapped in

mats, the dead were collected on trucks and taken for burial in mass

graves.

The awful result was the loss of many lives, from young children to

elderly, widely respected leaders of the Fono of Faipule, of whom only

seven of the thirty four members survived. Of the leaders of Pule, who

had been exiled to Saipan, only I'iga Pisa survived. Every family in

Samoa suffered losses; for example, Taisi O.F. Nelson lost his mother,

his brother and sister-in-law, one of his sisters, and his only son.

Compared to the losses in other countries, Samoa probably had the

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highest casualty rate in the world. For example, New Zealand lost only

five percent (5,471) of its population. Samoa lost almost twenty percent.

One study concluded that the 1918 epidemic in Samoa was one of the

most disastrous recorded this century.

New Zealand's record in the area of public health in Western Samoa

since the epidemic has been very good. In the 1920s, hundreds of

Samoans were crippled with elephantiasis, the advanced form of

filariasis. In addition, almost everyone was afflicted by yaws, and many

people suffered ulcerations to the bone as a result of it. Leprosy,

tuberculosis and other diseases were common. Some of these diseases

were introduced, others were caused by bad sanitation and spread by

introduced and native species of insects, such as flies, mosquitoes, lice

and other parasites. The New Zealand Administration implemented new

health policies in the 1930s. These were carried out by village women's

committees and greatly improved local health conditions.

A pre-occupation of Europeans in the 1800s and 1900s was that

'native races' were dying out as a result of European contact. This belief

was based partly upon incorrect pseudo-scientific theories about

evolution, and partly upon the fact that the Maori and Aboriginal

populations of New Zealand and Australia, and the indigenous peoples of

North and South America and Hawaii, had been declining in numbers as

a result of introduced diseases or starvation. Some groups, such as the

Tasmanian Aboriginal people, had been exterminated violently by

European settlers.

This is why missionaries placed great emphasis on the passage in

Genesis where God told man to 'be fruitful and multiply': they believed

the Samoans might die out too. Similarly, after the Epidemic of 1918,

New Zealand also feared the Samoans might die out.

Logan's response to the discontent of the Samoans and the local

Europeans was so unapologetic that a petition was drawn up, requesting

that the administration of Samoa be transferred to the United States

Government. Logan's response, from New Zealand, was to blame H.J.

Moors, an American merchant, for agitating the Samoans. Logan did not

return to Samoa, but was replaced by Colonel Robert Ward Tate as

Administrator.

New Zealand's plans for Samoa's future were negotiated with the

League of Nations without any reference to those Samoan leaders who

were still alive after the Epidemic. The issue of a New Zealand mandate

over Samoa was challenged by a Labour Member of Parliament, H.E.

Holland, who later became a supporter of the Mau. He advocated Labour

Party backing for internal self-government in Western Samoa. The

majority of politicians wanted the mandate and agreed with the Minister

of Defence, Sir James Allen, that Samoa was of strategic

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importance to New Zealand. It was argued that supporting, and would

cost the New Zealand that the possession of colonies would add to

national prestige.

From 1919, when news of the impending mandate reached Samoa,

there was little enthusiasm for the proposal. Memories of the bungling

incompetence of the Administration during the epidemic were still fresh in

people's minds. New Zealand had only recently rid herself of her colonial

status, and Samoans would have preferred a Great Power, if they had to

be colonized. Another source of bitterness was the laws banning the

importation of liquor which were introduced by New Zealand before the

mandate was established. This very much angered the local European

community.

Legislation for the mandate, including the Samoan Constitution

Order, was passed in New Zealand in 1920. This placed power squarely

in the hands of the administering authorities and gave local Europeans a

minority of seats in the weak local Legislative Council. The Samoans

were given only an advisory role in government. There were protests

from all sides, and when a group of New Zealand politicians came to

Samoa in early 1920, they were presented with petitions from the

Citizens' Committee, on behalf of the local Europeans and Part-

Europeans, and from the Fono of Faipule.

The Faipule asked for legal recognition in government, the power to

make laws, and control local finance, and for representation in the New

Zealand parliament. The Citizens' Committee asked for elective

representation in the Legislative Council, an elected municipal

government for Apia, a free press, removal of restrictions on liquor sales,

and permission to recruit foreign indentured labourers.

These requests reflected the different political concerns of the two

groups, and indicate that, at this time, the Citizens' Committee accepted

New Zealand authority over Samoans but not over themselves. Neither

group received any response from New Zealand, and the mandate was

confirmed by the Council of the League of Nations in December 1921.

The League of Nations had been established after the First World War

in the hope of maintaining world peace and order. A special committee of

the League decided what would happen to the colonies of the nations

which had fought on the losing side with Germany. German territories in

the Pacific were divided among Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.

Australia took German New Guinea, New Zealand took German Samoa,

and Japan took German Micronesia - the islands of the Carolines,

Marianas and Marshalls.

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The Civil Administration and the Mau, 1920 to 1945

Although the War ended in 1918, it took until 1921 and numerous

international negotiations before Samoa was finally given a civil admini-

stration. New Zealand intended her administration to be for the benefit of

Samoans. Writers of that period often claimed that the German

administration had been intended to benefit Germany and the German

plantations, with no thought for the betterment of Samoans. New Zealand

was proud that it had no profit motive in its administration.

In 1919, the New Zealand Government as one of the victors in the

First World War, took over completely D.P.H.G. and renamed it the New

Zealand Reparation Estates. This was compensation for the many New

Zealanders who had been killed in the war. After 1921, the Reparation

Estates were run by New Zealand for the benefit of the Samoan people;

any profits from the estates' were used to offset the cost of New Zealand

Administration.

In 1921, all German nationals who had been living in Samoa as

D.H.P.G. employees or as private citizens were deported; exceptions

were made for those who had Samoan wives. Those being deported had

to leave behind all their assets, and were allowed to take with them only

a few hundred dollars and their clothing. While some Samoans were

happy to see the Germans forced out of Samoa, others were sad and a

large party of Samoans came to farewell the ship on which the Germans

were deported.

One of New Zealand's major priorities was the improvement of the

health of Samoans. There were a number of endemic diseases such as

yaws, filariasis and tuberculosis, which was probably introduced from

overseas. Plans were immediately made for district hospitals at Tuasivi

and Aleipata, and nursing stations were planned for every sub-district.

The other priority of the New Zealand Administration was village

development. The Administration planned to improve the production of

cash crops in villages, as well as promoting order, cleanliness and

industry, according to New Zealand rules.

The native administration, had no power in policy making. Its main

function was to carry out the policies and enforce the rules laid down by

the New Zealand authorities. The structure was very similar to that of the

German Administration in its latter days. There were 3 Fautua; Malietoa

Tanumafili I, Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III, and Tuimaleali'ifano Si'u; 3 1

Faipule to represent the districts; 14 Land Commissioners; 16 plantation

inspectors; about 29 police and 29 Samoan Judges.

The Samoans resented interference in village matters by the

representatives of an outside authority, including the New Zealand

officials and the Faipule. It was not that Samoans did not want peace,

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good health and prosperity. They did, but they felt strongly that they

should have a voice in planning and policy-making. Village authorities

throughout Samoa deeply resented the imposition of rules and

regulations to which they had been unable to make any contribution. The

New Zealand authorities, certain that their plans were in the best

interests of the people, passed an ordinance to control certain Samoan

customs. This was similar to an earlier German law; it forbade Samoan

councils of matai their customary right to banish or exile law-breakers

and trouble-makers from the village. This power, one of the strongest

sanctions of Samoan customary law, was transferred to the New Zealand

Administrator, authorizing him to banish or exile any Samoan to any

place which the Administrator decreed. The Ordinance also authorised

the Administrator to take away the matai titles of Samoans, as a

punishment. Between 1921 and 1926, fifty-three Samoan matai

(including one of the tams-a-'aiga, Tupua Tamasese) suffered banish-

ment and the loss of their titles. The Ordinance was designed to force

Samoan authorities to obey and to support the regulations which the

Administration imposed upon the districts and villages.

The Ordinance enraged Samoan authorities and, by 1926, anti-New

Zealand feeling was strong throughout Samoa. A spirit of rebellion began

to grow among the people. Samoans deeply resented the paternalism of

the New Zealand authorities, the lack of consultation and power sharing,

the apparently arbitrary laws which had been imposed without the

consent or understanding of the people, and, most of all, the interterence

with traditional authority and rights over titles.

Discontent had also begun to develop among the European and part-

European merchants, planters and tradesmen of Apia. The Legislative

Council, established by the New Zealand Administration, permitted only

four representatives from the local resident alien community. These were

initially appointed by the Administrator rather than elected by the

community.

During this period resident aliens with Samoan ancestry began to

experience an increasing conflict between their status as Europeans and

their status as part-Samoans. While proud of their European status,

which gave them many rights and privileges denied to Samoans, they

also felt that their upbringing and ancestry gave them special know-ledge

of the Samoan people. Many leading part Europeans felt that they had a

right to play a more prominent role in the government of the country

because of their understanding of both European and Samoan society,

and because of the success many of them had achieved as merchants

and planters. The part-Samoans also resented the patronising

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racial attitudes of many New Zealand officials towards them, as did local

Europeans who had Samoan wives.

New Zealand officials were not supposed to involve themselves with

the local European community or the Samoans, or to intermarry with

them. This was not merely racial prejudice, but a principle that expatriate

government officials should be neutral and uninfluenced by local politics.

While there was much to be said for such an attitude, it prevented New

Zealand officials from learning much about the country or its people. It

seemed wrong to local Europeans that expatriate officials should have so

much power when they knew so little about the country. They also

resented the common attitude among New Zealand officials that

Samoans needed to be protected from the local European community.

Many New Zealand officials believed local Europeans, particularly the

part-Samoans, would have a harmful influence on Samoans, and would

use Samoans to get more power or wealth for themselves. When, in

1927, New Zealand proposed that a government agency control copra

marketing, local Europeans were irate because copra buying was a major

source of business among the local merchants. They also resented the

implication that they were being unfair to the Samoans in their trading

practices.

The new Administrator, Brigadier General George Spafford

Richardson, who succeeded Tate in 1923, thought of Samoans as

backward children who would, under New Zealand's benevolent

influence, gradually advance until they could live and act like Europeans.

Such an attitude was common among Europeans in the first half of this

century. It was reflected in the British idea that colonial governments

should help native people to 'advance'. The idea of advancement

confused European technical superiority with European cultural

superiority. in other words, because Europeans had access to new,

advanced technical discoveries, they thought their way of life was better

than that of other nationalities and races. Richardson admired the

Samoans and wanted to help them. He did not realize that Samoans were

proud of their own way of life, and did not necessarily want to live or

behave like Europeans. However, Samoans did want some of the

knowledge and tools to which Europeans had access.

By 1926, Richardson's early popularity among the Samoans and local

Europeans had gone. Leading members of the part-European community,

such as Taisi O.F. Nelson one of the most successful businessmen in

Samoa, as well as Samoan leaders, began to openly criticize the

Richardson Administration.

Nelson was a member of the Legislative Council and, in 1926, while

on a visit to New Zealand, he made the grievances of the local

Europeans and Samoans known to the New Zealand Prime Minister.

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When the New Zealand Minister of External Affairs visited Samoa the

following year, Nelson organized meetings at which Samoan and local

European leaders, through their Citizens' Committee, expressed their

complaints against the Richardson Administration. Nelson also founded a

newspaper, The Samoan Guardian, for the expression of public criticism

of New Zealand rule. The Minister, W. Nosworthy, was unsympathetic

and accused the local Europeans of intriguing against the Administration,

and of stirring up the Samoans. He announced that the Administration

would be empowered to deport local Europeans, including part-Samoans,

who stirred up trouble.

Prior to the Minister's visit, members of the Citizens' Committee,

together with a number of leading Samoans, had founded an organization

called the Samoan League, `0 le Mau', to represent local views. This

organization became the focus of local dissatisfaction with the New

Zealand regime, following the unsuccessful appeal to the Minister. It took

the motto, `Samoa mo Samoa', Samoa for Samoans, which had,

ironically, first been proposed by Richardson himself, when speaking

against local Europeans.

Richardson's response to the Mau was to order that it be disbanded;

he also banished two of its Samoan leaders, Faumuina and 'Afamasaga,

to Apolima. This aroused support for the Mau all over Samoa.

The headquarters of the Mau was at Vaimoso. There was a central

committee headed by Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III, with the help of

Tuimaleali'ifano Si'u, and there were representatives of Mau commit-tees

in all the districts of Samoa except Falealili and Manono. These districts

along with some parts of Tuamasaga, had a majority of leaders who

remained loyal to the Administration. Two of the tama-a-'aiga, Malietoa

and Mata'afa, were not strong supporters of the Mau.

The policy of the Mau was a peaceful, orderly programme of non-

cooperation with the New Zealand Administration. Committees and

councils established by the Administration stopped meeting, villages

ignored visiting New Zealand officials, courts of law were avoided by

disputing parties, children were withdrawn from government schools, and

officially-promoted copra and banana projects were abandoned. In many

districts, all New Zealand imposed village regulations, even those which

promoted public health, were disregarded, and, instead of paying taxes,

money was raised and collected for the Mau. The Mau colours, purple

and white, were worn by its supporters as a uniform, especially when

they held public processions and meetings.

The New Zealand Government, instead of reconsidering its policies,

appointed a Royal Commission in 1927, to inquire into the complaints

made against the Administration, with special reference to the question

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of whether banishment should be stopped. The banishment of Tupua

Tamasese in 1924 was thought, by many observers of the period, to have

been the main cause of Samoan support for the Mau. His banishment

occurred because he had ignored an order to remove a hedge from land

over which he claimed ownership. When he returned from Savai'i to get

more information about the period of his banishment he was sentenced to

jail in New Zealand and the Administration took his title away. When he

was released from jail, he was banished again.

The Royal Commission heard evidence from 155 witnesses, but its

findings upheld Richardson's view that the Mau was mainly caused by

Nelson and a few other local Europeans. The Samoan objections were

considered irrational and rebellious. As a result of the findings of the

Commission, O.F. Nelson was deported, along with the local European

residents, E.W. Gurr and A.G. Smyth. Nelson used his influence with the

leaders of the Mau to ask for peace. When he left Samoa there was a

huge Mau procession through the streets of Apia, but no violence.

Nelson's departure, if anything, increased the Mau supporters' will to

resist and when Richardson realized its continuing strength, he called for

two New Zealand warships to come to Samoa. When they arrived, he

passed laws prohibiting many of the Mau's activities. These laws were

then enforced by marines from the ships, who arrested about 400 Mau

leaders. This was completely ineffective, and Richardson was made to

look ridiculous when hundreds more Mau leaders asked to be locked up

as well. Their request had to be refused, because of lack of room in the

jails. The arrested Mau leaders were offered their freedom if they

promised to give up their opposition to the Administration. The Mau

leaders refused.

In April 1928, Richardson left Samoa and was replaced by Colonel

Stephen Shepherd Allen, a lawyer in civilian life.

By 1928, the Mau was becoming well organized and was building up

its own administration in the districts. It was encouraging copra making,

proper care of plantations and the education of children. A. petition to the

League of Nations, stating Samoan objections to the New Zealand

Administration, carried the signatures of nearly 8,000 adult Samoan men

out of a total of 9,300. The petition was presented by Nelson but he was

denied a hearing by the Mandates Commission.

Nelson campaigned for international support for the Mau overseas. He

used a considerable amount of his own financial resources to carry out

this work, which included his publication of a book entitled, The Truth

about Samoa, in 1928. Despite all this, the Mandates Commission of the

League of Nations chose to accept the New Zealand version of the

situation. Many of the powerful voices on the Commission were

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from Imperial powers, and it was inevitable they would support New

Zealand.

In early 1929, a change of government in New Zealand produced

changes to the Samoan Administration which may have been intended

as a concession to the Mau. The unpopular Fono of Faiplue was

suspended, but no other representative body was set up to replace it.

Instead, the Legislative Council had the number of European elected

members reduced from three to two, and the addition of two Samoan

nominated members; these were the two Fautua, Malietoa Tanumafili

and Mata'afa Salanoa. (Tupua Tamasese and Tuimaleali'ifano were

dismissed as Fautua.) In this year a number of prominent Samoan

members of the Mau, including 'Afamasaga Lagolago, had resigned. The

Administrator believed that the Mau was dying out; however, public

demonstrations continued, and Tuimaleali'ifano and Faumuina visited

New Zealand and brought back news of public support for the Mau in

that country.

On Sunday 25 December, violence broke out after four years of peaceful

resistance. A large procession marched through Apia to welcome Gurr

and Smyth from exile. Apparently, some Samoan youths had fought with

the police prior to the procession, resulting in the death of a military

policeman. This incident probably explains why the police were armed

with machine guns, when they waited for the procession, intending to

arrest some of those who were marching. When they tried to arrest the

Mau Secretary, Mata'utia Karauna, his companions tried to protect him.

There was a scuffle, and the police opened fire on the crowd. Among

those killed was Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III. Tuimaleali'ifano and

Faumuina were wounded. The three chiefs were actually trying to

restore peace and order among the crowd when they were shot. Three

others were killed trying to shield Tamasese. A total of eleven Samoans

died from bullet wounds. Before Tamasese died, he spoke to his

followers:

My blood has been spilt for Samoa. I am proud to give it. Do not

dream of avenging it as it was spilt in maintaining peace. If I die,

peace must be maintained at any price.

His brave words can be compared to those of Commodore Blake who

was in charge of the marines who came to crush the Mau:

At the present moment he (the Samoan) is in the position of a sulky

and insubordinate child who has deliberately disobeyed his father, as

the administrator is generally termed, and no peaceful persuasion will

induce him to submit. There is no alternative, therefore, but to treat

him roughly... force is the only thing which will appeal to the

Samoan.... Indirect pressure can be exerted by cutting off food

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supplies to the natives who are in the bush and preventing them from coming

into the village for shelter and food .... Our operations for the past few days

have consisted of day and night raids on villages, excursions into the bush,

chasing parties of the Mau right around the islands and generally breaking

up their concentrations.

New Zealand's violent response caused the Mau to finally declare its goal

of independence from New Zealand rule, and complete self-government for

Samoa.

The New Zealand military forces, which came to destroy the Mau after

the New Zealand government declared it a seditious organization in early

1930s, made the Mau declaration seem only a dream. The New Zealand

marines forced their way into Samoan villages, smashing furniture and

terrifying the old people, women and children who remained there. All the

men had gone into the mountains to try to find ways of resisting the New

Zealand Administration. They had little chance however, because they had

no guns and no food to sustain them during a long siege. Many of the

Melanesian workers on the New Zealand Reparation Estates risked severe

punishment from their bosses, and smuggled food to the Mau men who

were hiding inland.

The women of Samoa took over the work of the Mau in the 1930s. Led

by Alaisala, the widow of Tamasese, Losa Taisi (Rosabel Edith Nelson),

and the wives of Tuimaleali'ifano and Faumuina, the Women's Mau

continued the demonstrations in Apia and went on malaga around Samoa

to encourage the districts to keep up their faith.

When the New Zealand Minister of Defense, J.T. Cobbe, visited Samoa

in 1930, Tuimaleali'ifano, who was by then a very old man, called Cobbe a

liar for defending and indeed praising New Zealand policies.

Tuimaleali'ifano remembered three governments, the Three Powers in the

1890s, the Germans before 1914, and now the New Zealanders.

The leadership of the Mau had been taken over, after the death of

Tamasese, by Faumuina, whom Davidson describes as, 'a reluctant

politician, a man motivated by a sense of public obligation, as the holder of

the high title, and by personal ambition rather than by commitment to a

policy (Davidson 1967: 140).

The Administrator still believed Nelson to be the real villain of the Mau,

and wanted to use taxation to force Nelson into bankruptcy. This idea was

opposed by Cobbe, who sought to negotiate with the Mau, with only limited

success. Many Mau leaders were arrested, but not Fame Faumuina, who

was thought highly of by A.L. Braisby, the Inspector of Police, and by a

number of other New Zealand officials.

In 1933, Nelson returned to Samoa. He had delayed his return, on the

advice of the Mau leaders, until the New Zealand marines had left the

country and a calmer atmosphere prevailed. He feared that violence

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would be used again by military police against the great crowd of

Samoans who came to welcome him.

The new Administrator, Brigadier General Hart, began talks with Mau

leaders, but these failed when he refused to accept Nelson as one of

their representatives. The leaders of the Mau continued to organize their

national administration, and two parties of Mau leaders travelled round

Samoa organizing the appointment of district leaders (ta'ita'i itu), village

wardens (tausi nu'u) and village agricultural committees. The

Administrator arrested the leaders of these parties, and raided Nelson's

house. When they found documentary evidence that Nelson was

continuing to help the Mau, Nelson was arrested and charged with taking

part in seditious activities. In 1934 he was sentenced to eight months

imprisonment in New Zealand, to be followed by ten years exile, despite

an ifoga made by Nelson's wife and daughters at the Administrator's

residence, Vailima. By this time it was clear to some Mau supporters that

one or more Samoan leaders were passing information about Mau

activities to the Chief of Police. The administrative plans and strategies of

the Mau were no secret to the rulers of Samoa.

In 1935, Mata'afa Lealaisalanoa Muliufi was still being ostracised, by

many of his traditional supporters and his extended family. He was living

at Mulinu'u, in keeping with his position as one of the two Fautua. One

day a man from Amaile came to Mulinu'u, broke into the tomb of Mata'afa

losefo, and took away his bones. They were recovered by the police, and

Mata'afa Salanoa had to hold a Liutofaga, a big ceremony to re-

interment. It was attended by all the chiefs and districts of Samoa and

lasted for four days, and it created greater unity among Samoans as a

result of their coming together at Mulinu'u.

Differences of opinion had developed among the leaders of the Mau.

Some, like Faumuina, disagreed with the establishment of an

autonomous government and administration by the Mau; some, like

Autagavaia Siaupiu, felt that political authority should be exercised

through the Mau by Tumua and Pule; and others, like Mea'ole, the new

holder of the Tupua Tamasese title, believed that there should be a

modern, centralized administration similar to that planned by New

Zealand, but under Samoan control.

In 1936, a Labour Government took office in New Zealand. In the

preceding years, support for the Mau had been strongest in New Zealand

Labour circles, and the new Prime Minister, Michael Joseph Savage,

promised a more cooperative attitude towards Samoa. He also promised

to release O.F. Nelson and allow his return to Samoa.

The new Government said that it would repeal the proclamation which

declared the Mau a seditious organization. In June 1936, a

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goodwill mission was received by Malietoa, the Faipule and the leaders of

the Mau. The visiting New Zealanders remained for a month to discuss the

basis of a new relationship between New Zealand and Samoa, and

proposals to reform the administration were discussed.

Before the New Zealand parry left, Nelson arrived home in Samoa to an

even bigger welcome than had been imagined: a fleet of fautasi (long row

boats), one carrying a brass band, surrounded his ship, and Nelson was

brought ashore in an 'alia, escorted by a taupou.

The new proposals for the administration of Samoa included:

The repeal of the ordinance which allowed the Administrator to

banish the Samoans and deprive them of their titles; an increase in

the number of Samoan members of the Legislative Council from

two to four; the selection of a new fono or Faipule; the appointment

of a Samoan associate judge to the high court for cases involving

Samoans; a programme to employ more Samoans and local

Europeans in the Public Service.

This was a greater compromise than the Mau had hoped for, but it seemed

to open the way towards Samoan self-government. Leaders of the Mau were

recognized in the new administration: 33 of the 39 Faipule were members of

the Mau. Tuimaleali'ifano, now 89 years old, was appointed Fautua on the

death of Mata'afa Salanoa. The new Mata'afa, name Faumuina Mulinu'u I,

was appointed supervisor of police. Since the Fono of Faipule had the right

to nominate the Samoan members of the Legislative Council, it seemed that

the Mau now controlled the administration.

After the departure of Hart in 1935, the Secretary to Government became

Acting Administrator, a post he held until confirmed as Administrator in 1943.

He was not a popular figure, but with the Second World War looming, New

Zealand's interest in Samoa was lessening.

During the Mau many patriotic songs were composed and sung by huge

Mau choirs to spread the word and gain support for the movement. This is a

translation of one of those known songs.

Song in Honour of the Mau

Wait and think of me

Care well for our

children

While I am away in Apia with the

Mau, Uncertain if I will return.

Tamasese, you have laboured

to establish a Samoan

government We are uncertain of

Malietoa

who is not here

Tamasese, you have witnessed

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the results of your desires

Samoan blood has been spilled

by the Government of New Zealand

Is it true Safotulafai -

About the talopa'ia of the

Fa'asalele'aga? Who

since returning

Has faced stormy seas

(Translated by Mama Meleisea)

Labour Policy and World War II

The Labour Parry of New Zealand, like that of Australia in the same

period, was racist, particularly against the Chinese. A cartoon published in

the early 1930s in the New Zealand Truth typified the attitude of Labour

supporters to Chinese labour in Samoa. A caricature of a Chinese,

labelled 'indentured Labour' is shown being married to a pretty Samoan

bride by a fat businessman dressed as a clergyman. The caption given to

this racist cartoon by the Labour supporters of the Mau who reprinted it in

a booklet about New Zealand's bad administration of Samoa reads:

Nearly 1,000 indentured Chinese coolies are now working in

Samoa, mostly on the ex-German plantations seized by the New

Zealand Government. They are recruited from the scum of China

to work under semi-slavery conditions. New Zealand does not

protect the Samoan women against these serfs, and reliable

estimates gives the number of Chinese half-breeds now in New

Zealand at over 1,000.

This attitude reflects the ideology of the Labour Movement of the late

nineteenth century which feared that wealthy men in Australia and New

Zealand would promote the importation of Asian labour. It was feared

that, because the Asians worked for low wages, it would lower the pay

and working conditions of all workers because of the competition they

offered. Such fears hardened, over the years, into racial prejudice

against non-Europeans, particularly Chinese, and led to racially

restrictive immigration policies in both countries.

The Labour Government of New Zealand responded to this policy of the

party, with the support of the Samoan Faipule, by sending home the

Chinese indentured labourers as their contracts expired, and refusing to

allow further importation of labourers. The local planters were

discontented. it was believed that Samoans would not work on the

plantations, and that whites could not. The operation of the plantations,

particularly the cocoa industry, had come to depend upon indentured

labour.

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The planters became strongly opposed to the Labour Party of New

Zealand. This was the first time New Zealand parry politics had become

significant in Samoa. A number of part-Samoans, led by Amando Stowers

(Viu Tafilipepe Amato), had formed a local Labour Party which had the

specific goals of obtaining jobs and land, and establishing political unity

among the rapidly growing part-Samoan community. This was offset by the

anti-Labour movement among the planters who included local-born and

Europeans with local-born wives. It should also be noted that, by the late

1930s, significant numbers of people of Samoan-Chinese ancestry were

among the local-born.

The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 was brought about by

the rise of National Socialism (the Nazi Party) in Germany, which began to

overwhelm neighbouring countries by military conquest, and also

threatened the British Isles. The first four years of the War made little

impact upon Samoa. Local-born people who had inherited German

citizenship, and a few German residents of Apia, were imprisoned. Of the

forty arrested, fifteen were deported to New Zealand where they were

forced to live on Soames Island in Wellington Harbour. A local defense

force was formed by New Zealanders and other local people with British

ancestry. They raised $6,000 and remitted it to Britain, to be used towards

the cost of building an aircraft for the British Air Force. As had happened in

the First World War, many local-born joined the British Forces overseas.

These included:

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