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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.
126
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
130
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.
132
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,
133
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
134
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.
135
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
136
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
137
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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