Territory of Western Samoa Teritori o Sāmoa i Sisifo (Samoan) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920–1962 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||
| Anthems: "God Defend New Zealand" (Samoan:Le Atua Puipui Niu Sila) "God Save the Queen"[a] (Samoan:Faasaoina e Atua le Tupu) | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Status | Mandate of New Zealand (1920–1946) Trust Territory of New Zealand (1946–1962) | ||||||||
| Capital | Apia 13°50′S171°45′W / 13.833°S 171.750°W /-13.833; -171.750 | ||||||||
| Common languages | English (official) Samoan (native) Austronesian languages Papuan languages | ||||||||
| Monarch | |||||||||
• 1920–1936 | George V | ||||||||
• 1936–1936 | Edward VIII | ||||||||
• 1936–1952 | George VI | ||||||||
• 1952–1962 | Elizabeth II | ||||||||
| Administrator | |||||||||
• 1914–1919 | Robert Logan | ||||||||
• 1919–1923 | Robert Tate | ||||||||
• 1923–1928 | George Richardson | ||||||||
• 1928–1931 | Stephen Allen | ||||||||
• 1931–1935 | Herbert Hart | ||||||||
• 1935–1946 | Alfred Turnbull | ||||||||
• 1960–1962 | Jack Wright | ||||||||
| Historical era | British Empire | ||||||||
| 30 August 1914 | |||||||||
• Established | 17 December 1920 | ||||||||
• Trusteeship | 13 December 1946 | ||||||||
• Independence | 1 January 1962 | ||||||||
| Currency | Pound sterling (1914–1930) New Zealand pound (1930–1962) Western Samoan pound (1930–67) | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Samoa | ||||||||
TheTerritory of Western Samoa was the civil administration ofWestern Samoa byNew Zealand between 1920 and Samoan independence in 1962. In 1914,German Samoa was captured by theSamoa Expeditionary Force shortly after the outbreak ofWorld War I, and was formally annexed as a League of Nations mandate in 1920 in theTreaty of Versailles. It was later transformed into a United Nations Trust Territory following thedissolution of the League of Nations in 1946.
At the outbreak ofWorld War IGerman Samoa was aGerman colony. On 7 August 1914, the British government indicated toNew Zealand (which was at this time aBritish dominion), that the seizure of a wireless station nearApia, the colony's capital which was used by the GermanEast Asia Squadron, would be a "great and urgent Imperial service".[2] This was followed by the first action of New Zealand in the war, the sailing of a Samoa Expeditionary Force on 15 August, which landed at Apia two weeks later. AlthoughGermany refused to officially surrender the colonies, no resistance was offered and the occupation took place without any fighting. Despite claims that German Samoa was the first enemy territory to fall to imperial forces, the first seizure of a German colony had occurred four days earlier whenTogoland was captured as part of theWest Africa Campaign.[3]
ColonelRobert Logan, who had commanded the Samoan Expeditionary Force, was the military administrator of the colony for the remainder of the war.[4] By 1918, Samoa had a population of some 38,000 Samoans and 1,500 Europeans.[5] Approximately one fifth of the population died in the Influenza epidemic of 1918–1919.[6] In 1919, The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Epidemic concluded that there had been no epidemic of pneumonic influenza in Western Samoa before the arrival of theSSTalune from Auckland on 7 November 1918, which was allowed to berth by Logan without quarantine precautions. Within seven days of this ship's arrival influenza had become epidemic in Upolu and had then spread rapidly throughout the territory.[7]
On 17 December 1920, theLeague of Nations formally conferred aClass C Mandate over the former German Colony of Samoa to theDominion of New Zealand.[8][9] The mandate was supported by theSamoa Constitution Order, 1920, which had replaced the military occupation with a civil administration on 1 May 1920.[8][10] On 1 April 1922, theSamoa Act 1921 came into force.[11]
Under the Samoa Act theNew Zealand Governor-General appointed an administrator based in Apia to hold executive power and to report to theNew Zealand Minister of External Affairs inWellington; lawmaking power was held by the administrator and a local legislative council, although Wellington had final authority.[8] New Zealand administrators repressed freedom of media, freedom of association, and free speech on Western Samoa, as well as banished those who criticized New Zealand's rule.[12]
After 1945, the classification of the mandate was changed to aUnited Nations Trust Territory.[13]
TheMau (translates as "strongly held opinion") was a popular non-violent movement which had its beginnings in the early 1900s (decade) in Savai'i. It was first led byLauaki Namulauulu Mamoe, an orator chief deposed by the German administration. The 1920s saw the resurgence of the Mau in opposition to the New Zealand administration. One of the Mau leaders wasOlaf Frederick Nelson, a half Samoan and half Swedish merchant.[14] Nelson wasexiled by the administration during the late 1920s and early 1930s, but he continued to assist the organisation financially and politically.
On 28 December 1929, the newly elected leader, high chiefTupua Tamasese Lealofi III, led his fellow uniformed Mau in a peaceful demonstration in downtown Apia.[15] The New Zealand police attempted to arrest the high chief. When he resisted, a struggle occurred between the police and the Mau. The officers began to fire randomly into the crowd and aLewis machine gun, mounted in preparation for this demonstration, was used to disperse the Mau.[16] Chief Tamasese was shot from behind and killed while trying to bring calm and order to the Mau demonstrators, screaming "Peace, Samoa". Ten others died that day and approximately fifty were injured by gunshots and police batons.[17]
That day would come to be known in Samoa as Black Saturday. The Mau grew, remaining steadfastly non-violent, and expanded to include a highly influential women's branch. After repeated efforts by the Samoan people, Western Samoa gained independence in 1962 and signed a Friendship Treaty with New Zealand. Samoa was the first country in the Pacific to become independent.
In 2002, New Zealand's prime ministerHelen Clark, on a trip to Samoa, formally apologised for New Zealand's role in the banishment of Samoan leaders, the failure to quarantine SSTalune, and the Apia shootings.[18][19]
