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Archivistische beschrijving
Samoa Collectie With digital objects
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Photographs from a teacher’s missionary work in Samoa

  • AU PMB PHOTO 123
  • Collectie
  • 1990-1991

This collection depicts the life and work of Australian missionary school teacher Richard Arbon in Samoa, and his work
predominantly on the island of Savaii on behalf of the Uniting Church World Mission – formerly the Central Methodist Mission.

Arbon Family

Robert Norton photographs of Falefa village, Upolu, Samoa

  • AU PMB PHOTO 156
  • Collectie
  • 1975 - 1982

This is a collection of 134 digitised slides of Falefa, on the northeast coast of the island of Upolu, 20 km from the Samoan capital Apia. With a population in recent years of over 1500, Falefa comprises four ‘sub’ villages - Sagapolu, Saleapaga, Gagaemalae, and Sanonu. Its leading matai [chiefly] ali’I titles Leutele and Salanoa and leading tulafale [orator] titles Moeono and Iuli figure prominently in Samoan political history, particularly in relation to the district title Tui Atua, and Tama Aiga titles Tupua Tamasese and Mataafa.

The photographs were taken in Falefa by Robert Norton during four periods of sociological field research - October 1975-January 1976, August-September 1977, December-January 1980, February 1982. Norton was studying aspects of social and political change, particularly influences of the growing remittance economy. The large scale emigration of Samoans to New Zealand for wage employment was encouraged by the hurricane destruction of banana plantations in 1966 and an increasing need for industrial labour in New Zealand. Norton began his research in Falefa just nine years after the commencement of this exodus of young people to earn money to send home.

Many of the photos illustrate the changes in housing underway funded mainly by remittances in the early years of the labour emigration. A family’s success in establishing members in New Zealand’s work force was soon displayed and measured by the construction of modern houses. The change had slowly begun some years before the labour emigration wave, but was greatly accelerated by it.

Some families were a lot more successful than others in their access to remitted funds, having established several members in overseas employment. So the new era of migration and remitting brought a new dimension of economic and social inequality in the village. The inequality was sometimes quite stark in housing contrasts even between different households of the same aiga [land-owning descent group] - Traditional fale [houses] were still common in the village. Some families also used the new income to make a strong showing in their funding of fa’a’lavelave - important and expensive events such as weddings, matai title bestowals, funerals, and church dedications. The new source of economic inequality led to new dependencies between different households within an aiga.

Remittance income to village families was spent to a lesser extent in capital investments in plantation production, copra driers, utility vehicles etc; Vehicles were very few in the village during the 1970s [around half a dozen]. Although some people became successful entrepreneurs on their aiga land with the aid of remittances, more became less interested in their plantations and more contemplative of anticipated regular money gifts from emigrant family members.

Before the labour emigration wave, money income was gained mainly by the sale of produce from the land and sea [taro and other root vegetables, coconuts and copra, fish]. A few households included members with salaried jobs in town or in the village itself [the school, and the health centre], and several maintained small shops with everyday commodities purchased in Apia, Samoa’s main town. Travel to Apia 20 km to the west was mainly by bus - to schools, to visit and attend social events in other villages, or for shopping or visits to government offices, banks, hospital, lands and titles court etc

Norton also gave particular attention to leadership and authority, eventually publishing an academic paper on electoral politics at the village level. To enable him to sit with the matai [aiga titled chiefs] in the village fono [council] meetings he was given an honorary title.

Many of the photos were taken at Fono meetings - at village, sub-village, and inter-village levels. Some photos are of a Fono meeting functioning as a court hearing and judging minor disputes and imposing fines. These photos are restricted access. Norton himself once faced the prospect of attracting a fine that would be levied on the matai head of his host household if he refused to remove his beard. The village fono had for a year or two decreed it an offence for men to grow beards or long hair and for women to wear slacks. The rule expressed tension between the Fa’a’Samoa [Samoan way] and the Fa’a’Palagi [European way] that had strengthened a little with the impact of the labour migration, not just on material living conditions and social competition, but on popular consciousness, particularly in the youths who became accustomed to interactions with emigrants returning to the village for important social celebrations and to display their successes and tell stories about life in New Zealand. Norton didn’t hesitate to shave for the duration of his short stay in 1977. But by his next stay three years later the anti-beard rule had been dropped.

Norton, Robert

Papers

  • AU PMB MS 585
  • Collectie
  • 1928 - 1932

Please see PMB 581 for full entry.

Documents relating to his ambassadorship in Japan, 1928, and papers written in retirement, 1929-32. The latter include 'Refutation' of Count Bulow's memoirs, a proposal to appoint Solf German Foreign Minister, Solf's mission re minorities in Hungary and German committee on Palestine. (Bulow was Foreign Minister of Germany in 1899 when the acquisition of Western Samoa was negotiated as a German colony).

Solf, Wilhelm Heinrich

Correspondence with New Zealand Administration, Samoa

  • AU PMB MS 144
  • Collectie
  • 1915 - 1946

These documents originally formed part of the archives of the Samoan District Committee and later Samoan District Council of the London Missionary Society, and were formerly held at Malua, Western Samoa. The Samoan District Committee was replaced by the Council in 1928.

Correspondence of the Samoan District of the London Missionary Society with the New Zealand Administration, Samoa.

London Missionary Society - Samoan District

Correspondence with LMS agent, Suva

  • AU PMB MS 142
  • Collectie
  • 1907 - 1946

These documents originally formed part of the archives of the Samoan District Committee and later Samoan District Council of the London Missionary Society, and were formerly held at Malua, Western Samoa. The Samoan district Committee was replaced by the Council in 1928.

Correspondence of the Samoan District of the LMS with the LMS agent, Suva (Fiji).

London Missionary Society - Samoan District

Papers re Samoa

  • AU PMB MS 584
  • Collectie
  • 1906-1913

Please see PMB 581 for full entry.

Official and political papers re governorship of Samoa, 1906-13 (7 vols). One volume for 1908-09 concerns the Lauaki revolt.

Solf, Wilhelm Heinrich

Correspondence with German Administration, Samoa

  • AU PMB MS 143
  • Collectie
  • 1905 - 1915

These documents originally formed part of the archives of the Samoan District Committee and later Samoan District Council of the London Missionary Society and were formerly held at Malua, Western Samoa. The Samoan District Committee was replaced by the Council in 1928

Correspondence of the Samoan District of the LMS with the German Administration of Samoa.

London Missionary Society - Samoan District

Papers re Samoa

  • AU PMB MS 583
  • Collectie
  • 1899 - 1906

Please see PMB 581 for full entry.

The documents comprise:

  1. Official and political papers and correspondence re presidency of the municipality of Apia, 1899
  2. Miscellaneous papers and press clippings, re presidency of the municipality of Apia, 1899
  3. -9. Official and political papers and press clippings re governorship of Samoa, 1900-1906 (7 vols). These include an unpublished paper by Dr Erich Schultze on 'The development of the political situation in Samoa'. Dr Schultze was Solf's successor as governor.

Solf, Wilhelm Heinrich

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