Occupation of German Samoa

The Occupation of Samoa – the takeover and subsequent administration of the Pacific colony of German Samoa – started in August 1914 with landings by an expeditionary force from New Zealand called the "Samoa Expeditionary Force". This represented New Zealand's first military action in World War I.

Background

On 7 August 1914 the British government indicated it would be a great and urgent Imperial service if New Zealand forces seized the German wireless station near Apia, one of several radio stations used by the German East Asia Squadron. Since the days of Richard Seddon (Prime Minister of New Zealand 1893–1906), Wellington had aspired to control Samoa, and in 1913 the Commandant of the New Zealand Military Forces, General Godley, had discussed the seizure of German Samoa with British military authorities.

Prelude

A 1,370-man force sailed from New Zealand on 15 August 1914. The convoy stopped in Fiji to collect guides and interpreters and to rendezvous with the battlecruiser HMAS Australia, the cruiser HMAS Melbourne and the French cruiser Montcalm. The escorting "P" class cruisers Philomel, Pyramus and Psyche were no match for Admiral Maximilian von Spee's East Asia Squadron with its armoured cruisers SMS Scharnhorst and SMS Gneisenau. New Zealand Defence Minister James Allen recalled that his Reform Government in Wellington had concerns about the German squadron, but McGibbon denies any basis for the assertion in the 1923 history (subsequently also denied by Michael King) that the force narrowly escaped disaster, with the German cruisers sailing well to the north at the time rather than only 15 miles (25 km) distant.

German Samoa

German Samoa (German: Deutsch-Samoa) was a German protectorate from 1900 to 1914, consisting of the islands of Upolu, Savai'i, Apolima and Manono, now wholly within the independent state Samoa, formerly Western Samoa. Samoa was the last German colonial acquisition in the Pacific basin, received following the Tripartite Convention signed at Washington on 2 December 1899 with ratifications exchanged on 16 February 1900. It was the only German colony in the Pacific, aside from the Kiautschou concession in China, that was administered separately from German New Guinea.

Expansion of German influence

In 1855 J.C. Godeffroy & Sohn expanded its trading business into the Pacific following negotiations by August Unshelm, Godeffroy’s agent in Valparaiso. He sailed out to the Samoan Islands, which were then known as the Navigator Islands. During the second half of the 19th century German influence in Samoa expanded with large scale plantation operations being introduced for coconut, cacao and hevea rubber cultivation, especially on the island of 'Upolu where German firms monopolized copra and cocoa bean processing.

Samoa

Coordinates: 13°35′S 172°20′W / 13.583°S 172.333°W / -13.583; -172.333

Samoa (ⁱ/səˈmoÊŠ.É™/; Samoan: SÄ?moa, IPA: [ËŒsaË?ˈmoa]), officially the Independent State of Samoa (Samoan: Malo Sa'oloto Tuto'atasi o SÄ?moa), formerly known as Western Samoa, is a sovereign state in Polynesia, encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and Savai'i, one of the biggest islands in Polynesia. The capital city, Apia, and Faleolo International Airport are situated on the island of Upolu.

Samoa was admitted to the United Nations on 15 December 1976. The entire island group, which includes American Samoa, was called "Navigator Islands" by European explorers before the 20th century because of the Samoans' seafaring skills.

Official languages are English, and Samoan (Gagana Fa'asÄ?moa) which is also spoken in American Samoa.

History

The oldest date so far from remains in Samoa has been calculated by New Zealand scientists to a likely true age of circa 3,000 years ago from a Lapita site at Mulifanua during the 1970s.

American Samoa

American Samoa (ⁱ/əˈmÉ›ráµ»kÉ™n səˈmoÊŠ.É™/; Samoan: Amerika SÄ?moa, [aˈmɛɾika ˈsaË?mÊŠa]; also Amelika SÄ?moa or SÄ?moa Amelika) is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Samoa.

American Samoa consists of five main islands and two coral atolls. The largest and most populous island is Tutuila, with the Manuʻa Islands, Rose Atoll, and Swains Island also included in the territory. American Samoa is part of the Samoan Islands chain, located west of the Cook Islands, north of Tonga, and some 300 miles (500 km) south of Tokelau. To the west are the islands of the Wallis and Futuna group.

The 2010 census showed a total population of 55,519 people. The total land area is 199 square kilometers (76.8 sq mi), slightly more than Washington, D.C. American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the U.S. and one of two U.S. territories (with the uninhabited Jarvis Island) south of the Equator. Tuna products are the main exports, and the main trading partner is the United States.

Samoa national Australian rules football team

The Samoan national Australian rules football team and represents Samoa in the team sport of Australian rules football. The team is selected from the best Samoan born players, who are currently mostly players from the Samoa Australian Rules Football Association.

Samoa debuted internationally at the Arafura Games in 1999, where the team won the Bronze medal.

Between 1999 and 2002, Samoa played the occasional test match against other countries, most of them with loose eligility rules, allowing Melbourne based Samoan players to participate.

Samoa competed against Nauru in 2001 during Nauru's tour of Australia. Among the Samoan representatives was a young Aaron Edwards.

Samoa sent a team to the inaugural 2002 Australian Football International Cup. The International Cup nation team was nicknamed the "Bulldogs" and wore the colours of the Western Bulldogs (who had donated the jumpers) which happen to be the same colours as the Flag of Samoa. Samoa finished 7th overall in the cup.