Black Saturday - NZ in Samoa

Black Saturday map

On the morning of Saturday 28 December 1929, Mau supporters marched into Apia from their villages. They were gathering to welcome two Mau members who were returning from exile in New Zealand. Mau leaders had been warned that any wanted men would be arrested on sight.

As the procession neared the courthouse, New Zealand police attempted to arrest a wanted man, the Mau secretary. They were vigorously opposed and a struggle developed. As the arresting party retreated, a support party of armed police arrived. In the ensuing fracas, policemen fired shots that may have killed or wounded several Samoans.

The police retreated to the nearby police station, followed by a crowd. During the retreat, Constable Abraham was intercepted and beaten to death. From the station’s balcony, police fired a Lewis machine gun over the heads of the crowd. Three policemen, fearing that the Mau supporters would burn the station down, panicked and fired rifles into the crowd.

Tupua Tamasese lying in state

Fifteen minutes of panic and confusion followed. Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III was fatally wounded as he called for peace amidst the violence; Migao, Leota Auese, Tapu, Ainoa, Faumuina of Savai'i, Vele and Tu'ia were among those who died at the scene or later from their wounds. In all, up to 30 Samoans were wounded and up to 11 died as a result of Black Saturday.

The coroner's report by Chief Justice John Luxford ruled that the Samoan deaths were caused by police rifle fire. He found that the machine gun, fired by the police over the heads of an excited crowd 'for its moral effect', had caused no casualties.

Luxford concluded that the police’s use of firearms was justified. His verdict outraged many Samoans, who interpreted events as armed police firing on a crowd carrying sticks, stones and bottles. The actions of administration officials in the weeks that followed Black Saturday further intensified Samoans' deep sense of injustice.

Pursuing the Mau in 1930 - slideshow

The administration's response

Convinced that the Mau had lost heart, Administrator Stephen Allen adopted aggressive measures to ensure its complete collapse. On 13 January 1930, after the Mau refused to give up its headquarters and surrender wanted men, he declared the organisation seditious and the wearing of the Mau uniform illegal.

Up to 1500 Mau men took to the bush. They were pursued by an armed force of 150 marines and seamen from HMS Dunedin, recently arrived from New Zealand, and 50 military police. A seaplane supported military excursions into the bush to hunt down the fugitives.

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.

Commodore Blake, commander of the marines, in Lagaga: a short history of Western Samoa, pp. 137-8

Samoa's inhabitants supported the Mau by supplying food and shelter, and providing reports on New Zealand operations. Marines attempted to prevent such activities by conducting intimidating village raids in the search for Mau supporters, often at night and with fixed bayonets.

The Mau eluded the marines for two months but, by mid-February, both sides were showing signs of fatigue. In March, aided by local Europeans and missionaries, the Mau met with New Zealand's Minister of Defence and agreed to disperse.

Women's Mau committee

Brigadier-General Herbert Hart (1931-35) replaced Allan as Administrator in April 1931 and an uneasy stalemate ensued. Men were arrested for showing support for the Mau so women continued activities, rallying supporters and staging demonstrations. A surge in support after Olaf Nelson's return from exile in 1933 was quickly suppressed with his re-arrest and deportation the following year. The Mau appeared finished.