What happened that day?

Black Saturday map

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Mounting tensions between the Mau movement and New Zealand's colonial adminstration in Western Samoa erupted into violence on 28 December 1929, 'Black Saturday'. This map follows the movements of Mau demonstrators and police in Apia that day. It shows the route of the march, the main area of confrontation, the retreat of the police and the trajectory of the shots fired from the Lewis machine gun mounted on the balcony of the police station. The Mau flag, the location of some of the Mau leaders and the place where Constable Abraham was killed are also identified.

Map from 'Coroner's Finding in the Inquest respecting the Fatalities in Western Samoa (28 December 1929)', Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1930, A-4B.

How to cite this page: 'Black Saturday map', URL: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/interactive/black-saturday-map, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 24-Jul-2009