Week Four
Wednesday 28th June
It’s another scorcher, glad I got my yoga done and dusted early. I had a low key day tweaking my blog and working on the transcription of my diaries. Nothing riveting so far. My 1978 diary measures 5cm by 5cm. so not a great deal of space to write a lot, plus I don’t go into a lot of detail being twelve years of age. Hopefully my 1979 & 1980 diaries will be more fruitful!
In the late afternoon I popped down into town to take some photos and go for a swim. I decided to try a different place. I parked by the sea wall along from the entrance to the marine reserve, Palolo Deep, which was one of the first marine reserves to be established in the South Pacific; in 1974. I plan to go snorkelling there soon.
https://www.samoa.travel/plan-book/activities/palolo-deep-marine-reserve/
My understanding is that Palolo Deep was formed as a result of dredging, to create the reclaimed land in town where the Cultural Centre, Government Building 4, Matagialalua Friendship Park and the Eleele Fou Pond are now located.
We used to park down the far end of Beach Rd (past the Vaiala Beach Cottages) and either wade out or swim across (depending on the tide) to the drop off. We would spend hours snorkelling around the perimeter, the coral reef and the fish back then were a sight to behold.
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| Palolo Deep Marine Reserve |
The lagoon where I chose to swim had a sandy bottom and was not very deep but it was still good to get wet and cool down. I contemplated walking out to the drop off but it was close to dusk and I didn’t have my goggles. I was also unsure of protocol, now that you are required to pay to enter the reserve.
I know that many of you may be wondering what bought our family to Samoa in the first place? So I figure this might be an opportune time to give you a bit of backstory.
I am the eldest of Colin and Grace Nicholson’s three children. I am two years older than brother David and seven years older than sister Erana. We grew up on a dairy farm in a small rural community called Springdale, on the Hauraki Plains of the Matamata-Piako District in the Waikato Region.
My mother was a “townie”, raised in a small country town at the base of Mt. Te Aroha (The Mountain of Love), 15kms from Springdale. Her dad was a builder and her mother loved to paint and crochet. My dad’s parents had worked hard and were successful farmers in Hunga Hunga, a farming settlement half way between Te Aroha and Matamata. They loved to garden.
Before marriage Mum worked for a bank and a jeweller, while Dad did his motor mechanic apprenticeship and became a milk tanker driver. When my parents married they purchased and moved to one of my grandparent’s family farms on Wiseman Rd, Springdale and Dad became a farmer.
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| Nicholson Homestead - Springdale |
It was intensive farming back in those days, unlike today. Our farm was only 120 acres and we ran a herd of approx 130 cows. It was an amazing place to grow up and I loved helping Dad feed out, as I got to drive the old Bedford Truck or the Massey Ferguson tractor, from quite a young age (maybe as young as five).
Mum, a gifted pianist initially gave music lessons, at our home after school, to the kids of local families. As her business grew, she eventually purchased a little caravan that became her mobile music studio. She would tow this to teach at neighbouring schools in the district. (One of these students, Kristen Rigter (nee Van den Heuvel) later became a great mate from Perth days).
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| Kristen Rigter & I being cows |
Dad had to cut out the shape of a piano to get it in the caravan door then weld it up again. The upright piano was bolted to the floor. I will never forget when we had a big storm one night, it blew the caravan over. It was the funniest sight, seeing the piano suspended in mid-air, still attached to the floor.
Springdale was a very small village (population today less than 250) where everybody knew everyone. Back then it consisted of a Primary School (with a swimming pool and tennis courts), a Four Square, a garage, a community hall and two churches, one Catholic and the other Presbyterian, where our family worshiped.
These days the Four Square and Catholic church have gone. The school and community hall remain, the Presbyterian church is an art gallery, my nephew Matthew owns the garage and our old homestead has been demolished.
In 1977, when I was eleven, Dad went with a work party from the local church to the New Hebrides (Vanuatu), as it was known then. There were forty in the group and they went for three weeks. Based in Onesua, on the island of Efate, they worked on school buildings, houses and equipment. One of the ladies he met, Monica Fry, also worked in Samoa during our time there.
On his return from this trip, Dad reckoned he had found his calling in life and wanted to do more work in other Pacific Nations. He started looking for employment and applied for the job with the SMLD through the ‘Joint Board of Mission Overseas'. As part of their application, Mum and Dad had to attend a two week training course in Sydney, Australia.
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| Sydney Training Group |
Initially it was a bit of shock to be leaving our life in NZ behind. My world had been quite small and I didn’t know anything different. I had always assumed that I would become a farmer’s wife who tugged tits and made hay while the sun shined.
I guess the move was made a bit easier because Maree Nicholson (no relation - nee Strachan), who had been my best friend like forever (since age three), had moved in 1978 at the end of term one. Her father Peter Strachan had been the Headmaster at Springdale School for years and had accepted a new position in Thames. I would also miss my other friends Afke Bath (nee Symonsma), Anne Matherson (nee O'Grady) and Erin Murphy.
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| Primary School Friends - Afke, Maree, Anne & I - (Erin missing) |
Dad hired a share-milker to manage the farm in our absence. Hans Voschezang, wife Hermione and three kids Bill, Rene & Jackie moved into the cottage on our farm. They were charged with keeping an eye on our old cat, Momma-puss (a Tortoiseshell the same age as me). She lived pretty rough in the hay-barn for those years we were away. However on the night we moved back into the farmhouse in 1981, Mum called her and she returned until her death three years later, aged eighteen.
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| Erana & Fonzie. Mt Te Aroha in distance. |
The Lindeman’s from the garage took our Persian kitten, Sandy. The Hyde’s on Whakahoro Rd took our pregnant goat Emily, who later bore triplets. One kid died and the remaining two were called Starsky & Hutch. Not sure what happened to Fonzie, the father of the kids. And Mum sold her caravan to a lady called Carol (?) Craddock.
We eventually left NZ on Monday 23rd October, (Labour Day) and our family arrived in Western Samoa on Sunday 22nd October 1978. And my world as I knew it changed irrevocably, for the better I might add.
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| Nicholson Family in Samoa |
Thursday 29th June
I was up at sparrow fart for a walk. When Michael came to clean the apartment I buggered off into town to run a few errands. First stop Rivaiv Cafe. I had bought one of their Tumeric beverages the other week but do you think I could get the lid off, so I took it to them to open for me. It is quite strong but okay in small doses.
https://www.facebook.com/rivaivsamoa/
I did have an early lunch there and opted for a chicken burger with eggplant fries, cost $14 tala. I caught up on some email communication while I waited for my food, which was yum. However, I think they may have had fleas because I got bitten by something and was a bit itchy for the rest of the afternoon.
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| Amanda Lam & I |
From there I stopped in at the Pickled Lam to buy more chia seeds and I met Joe’s wife, Amanda. A lovely kiwi lady who hails from Colyton, out the back of Feilding and Palmerston North in the Manawatu. With three grown children they have been living in Samoa since 2009.
https://www.pickledlamscalinis.com/
I bought a kombucha and we sat and had a great chat. Turns out she knows Margaret McGregor, who was in my third form class, one of those “cool kids” from SamCo (as everyone calls Samoa College these days).
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| Margaret McGregor |
Margaret had an older sister Heather and brother Morrison, who also attended SamCo. Their parents are Helen and John McGregor, who were elders at the Apia Protestant Church . From Whangarei, they lived in Samoa from 1975-1979 as John was there to install the automatic telephone exchange. They lived at #70 Centipede Alley, near the hospital in Moto’otua.
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| McGregor Family & Fred the dog |
Photo credits: Margaret McGregor
Amanda also happens to know my friends Tony and Melissa Callaghan, who if you recall assisted in my finding accommodation with Pablo. Tony is afakasi (half-caste) but grew up in Wellington with a Samoan mum and palagi dad, but didn’t know much about his Samoan culture, until after a couple of holidays to Samoa, Tony and Melissa decided to relocate.
They arrived in 2011 and got married at the Le Lagoto Resort & Spa in 2013. Initially they had a two year contract managing the Savai’i Lagoon Resort before branching out with their own business. Tony became The Samoan Wedding Photographer while Melissa did the bridal make-up. Oddly enough a new friend from Wellington, Gina Beecroft (tall woman in blue next to the bride) attended their wedding.
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| Melissa & Tony Callaghan |
Tony’s photography talents saw him take images for a series of first edition stamps in 2013 plus he took on the presidency of the Apia Rotary Club for two years. He also received his Matai title, Lealatagomoa at the village of Faleletai. Meantime, Melissa was involved with marketing for ANZ, Digicel and the Cancer Society of Samoa, raising $15,000 tala for shaving her head.
Photo credits: Tony & Melissa Callaghan
They returned to New Plymouth in 2017 when Melissa’s mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer. They plan to eventually retire and build on family land here in Samoa. And just to add two more degrees of separation, they also know Ariane and Courtney Stevenson.
After leaving the Pickled Lam, I exchanged some more dosh, I managed to stick to my budget this last fortnight! Then checked out Lucky Foodtown to do some grocery shopping. I finally found pork buns and pineapple pies. I got a phone call from Ariane in the evening cancelling Sunday’s lunch plans, but inviting me for drinks tomorrow night instead. I also never heard from Tafito about going to Savai'i tomorrow, so I guess that's not a happening thing.
Friday 30th June
My body is really appreciative of the yoga stretches in the morning and I had just finished my practice when Tanya Grey arrived with a food delivery for me. She advertises on the Apia Expats page and for $25 tala (including delivery) I got two meals, a chicken stroganoff and a Moroccan chicken with rice, pasta and roasted vegetables. I will get at least three meals out of that last dish alone, it’s huge and it saves me cooking!
Tanya, besides being a fantastic cook, also happens to be the great-grand daughter of the legendary Aggie Grey; who was born in 1897 to an English father and Samoan mother. She was a pioneer of the Samoan hotel industry and founded her hotel, The Aggie Grey in 1933.
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| Aggie Grey & her hotel |
She hosted many notable actors in her hey day, such as Marlon Brando, William Holden, Raymond Burr and Gary Cooper, as the hotel was involved with the production and housing of crew for the ‘Return to Paradise’ film. She was also friendly with James Michener and many believe he based his character Bloody Mary from ‘Tales of the South Pacific’ on Aggie and her sister Mary.
I remember seeing Aggie on the rare occasions that we went to her hotel, where her grand-daughters, Tanya and Aggie (Tanya’s mother), would perform the siva on their fiafia nights. I also remember watching ‘The Sound of Music’ for the first time at the hotel and bawling my eyes out. Plus mum and dad were involved with the local Apia Repertory and put on a show there.
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| Apia Repertory Group |
Aggie died in 1988 but her legacy lived on until the hotel became part of the Sheraton Chain in 2013. Unfortunately the hotel was damaged in some floods a short time after that, when the nearby river outlet into the port burst its banks. Sadly, it has not re-opened since Covid.
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| Aggie Grey Sheraton Hotel & Casino - Now |
Located next to the Pualele Outrigger Canoe Club, their property is pretty special and overlooks Taumeasina Island resort. Courtney’s parents Trevor and Ana Stevenson (who currently reside in Rotorua), have a long-term lease on the land, which has eight dwellings. Courtney’s sister Ladesha (a lawyer like her dad) and family reside in 7 & 8, right next door to Ariane and Courtney, who live in 5 & 6.
Rapi was already there when I was led outside to sit on their verandah, a massive outdoor living space with views over the water and a pool table. It was great to reconnect with Rapi, who remembered our family very well. I had forgotten that the Vaai, Groom & Graham family's had come to stay with us at our farm in NZ for Christmas 1981. Another teacher from Levaula, Doug Couter a Canadian, also came for Xmas plus my dad's parents were in attendance that day.
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| NZ Xmas 1981 |
Photo credit: Chris & Anne Groom
It was great to catch up on all that has happened with their family over the last forty odd years. Rapi went on to marry a couple more times and father four more children. He has done very well for himself in the field of law and prior to his current position, he was doing a lot of work with the Australian judiciary in Nauru of all places.
In his mid-seventies now, Rapi was witty and charming and I discovered something about our shared past that I did not know. Dad had had the opportunity to stay on longer with the SMLD (and I really wish that he had) but one of the main reasons why he turned down the offer was due to me.
I have always found it irritating having my face & hair touched, so you can imagine how torturous it was when the locals constantly tried to stroke my hair. Being tall, blonde, blue-eyed and well developed for my age (I was my full height at age thirteen), meant that I stood out like a lone pimple in a sea of blackheads. As a result I had to fend off many men, all vying to be my "special friend".
One of these admirers was a taxi driver, who would have been in his mid-late twenties, by the name of James Key. He would drop his sister Eleanor at SAMCO, which is how I probably came to his attention. He would often follow our pick-up truck on the morning school run. I remember that he tried to accost me at our school sports day at Apia Park, where I was competing in athletics.
It got to the stage that he would ring our house in the middle of the night, drunk, wanting to speak with me. This did not go down well with my parents. Dad even rang his folks to get them to warn him off. Towards the end of our tenure, mum and dad were travelling to Pago Pago in American Samoa for the weekend to perform their repertory show.
They were concerned that I had a stalker and were hesitant about going. They considered sending me to stay with some people they knew out near the airport, but our new neighbour’s, the Schmidts and the Groom's rallied around and said they would keep an eye on me.
And yep, you guessed it, James showed up at our place in Levaula that very weekend. The neighbour’s immediately locked me in their bathroom while they went to deal with him. James took off in the opposite direction (to Apia), so a number of local men sat on the roadside with stones, waiting for him to turn around and drive back again.
What I did not know, until Rapi told me this evening, was that my parents had approached him about the situation, to ask for his assistance. Apparently Rapi then contacted the police who subsequently arrested James. I had no idea that that had even happened.
We left Samoa not long after this incident. Mum and Dad felt that it might be safer for me to return home. Besides which I was to be in the fifth form and they felt it would be better if I finished my schooling in NZ.
Out of curiosity I googled James Key to see what might have become of him. The only item that came up was about a fishing captain of that name, a father of five in his fifties who was killed with two other men on a fishing trip during a tropical cyclone in December 2013. If that was him, my condolences to the family.
It was lovely to meet Ariane again after many years. It is not surprising that she does not remember me, as she was only two when we left Samoa and three when she visited us in NZ. As we chatted over bubbles and an excellent poke, she filled me in on her life.
After her parents separated she grew up in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. She completed her schooling there then finished her education at the University of Queensland. Kaye now lives in Nambour with her partner Geoff and where brother Alesana lives close by.
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| Ariane, Rapi & I |
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| Rapi & Stevenson family |
Ariane has been with Courtney for about twenty years and they have three beautiful daughters, Jasmine (15), Isabella (13) and Summer (11). Courtney has worked in hospitality for many years and previously owned Cocktails on the Rocks, a bar on Apia’s waterfront.
He and Ariane were both working at their hotel, Stevenson’s at Manase until Covid hit. Working in tourism myself I know what sort of impact that can have on a business like theirs and why Ariane had to change direction and find other work. Thankfully tourism is picking up in Samoa, so that can only be good for their business.
https://www.stevensonsresortsamoa.com/en/
Saturday 1st July
It was stinking hot very early this morning so I flagged the exercise regime. It was way to hot to go anywhere, besides which I didn’t need any supplies so I stayed put to be creative until I went out in the early evening.
For the first week of our family's arrival in Samoa we were invited to meals with the Kamu’s and the Oliver’s, until our tea-chest arrived with our belongings. One of the things that I came to dislike early on were the creepy crawlies. I can remember coming home after these dinners and our front door would literally be a crawling mass of cockroaches. Black Flag bug spray became our friend.
Also while lying in bed at night, you would hear the cockroaches scuttling over the woven mats on our floor. There was nothing worse than waking up to find one on your body, in your mouth or on your face. Actually there is one thing worse and that is having a centipede getting under the covers and biting you on the bum. That’s not a helluva lot of fun!
I remember another time in the bathroom, I found a small scorpion in the paper as I unwrapped a toilet roll. That was scary. But not as scary as the huge spiders that would sometimes find their way onto the walls of our bedroom. If dad couldn’t catch or destroy them, I would take my bedding and sleep out on the dining room table.
The other insect to be wary of were the big green ants. Their bites were fiery and always hurt like hell. Thankfully I haven’t seen any ants, cockroaches, centipedes. millipedes or scorpions so far, touch wood.
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| Our house before our arrival |
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| Where our house used to be - Now |
One critter that I quite liked was the pili (gecko). The original part of our house (mum and dad’s bedroom and the dining/sitting room) was made with a coral sand concrete and as a result those walls were very crumbly. We would often find pili eggs laid in the holey nooks of our walls and before long there would be lots of babies running around.
I was quite distraught the first time I tried to catch one as I ended up holding its tail in my hand. I didn’t realise that this was a defence mechanism to escape predators. Their tails can grow back, but not always perfectly.
I also got a bit of a fright the other morning after my shower, when one scuttled over my foot as I dried myself. Thankfully they are harmless, cute and eat bad bugs like mosquito’s. Their chirp is remarkably loud in comparison to their size.
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| Our House plan (not to scale) |
Before our arrival in Samoa a concrete slab and wooden extension was added to our house, which included a kitchen, two bedrooms for us kids and a bathroom, located out the back door. I don’t think the timber was treated because there were signs of borer. We had running water from a tap but only cold, not hot plus our oven was gas, which we had never used before. We also stood our food safe in little bowls of water to stop the ants from getting in.
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| David, back of house |
I will never forget one incident involving our washing machine that could have had fatal consequences. My sister Erana was fascinated, having never seen a wringer machine in action before. While gripping the bowl and peering over the top she started screaming and couldn't let go. She was literally being electrocuted (explains a lot - joke!). Mum grabbed hold of her, couldn't let go and got shocked too. She screamed to dad to cut the power. Someone had failed to earth something in the installation.
Up at Vaoala Heights we had some drama at dusk just as I was headed out for the evening.
Two of the dogs (Snowy & Lady) had inadvertently been locked out of the property and as I opened the gate to leave, Snowy sauntered slowly across the road. I hadn’t realised Lady was out too, until moments later I heard a speeding car (that didn’t stop I might add), a sickening thud and a dog squealing in pain. Celine and Gabriel came running. Poor little Lady had been hit. I gave Celine some rescue remedy and arnica to administer to her as they won’t be able to take the pup to a vet until Monday.
I couldn't stick around, I didn't want to be late. I parked at the EFKS Vaivase Tai Pre-School down the road from the Galumoana Theatre. I was there to see Sia Figiel perform her one actor play with 23 characters, ‘O Tusitala - Tellers of Tales’, that she is taking to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August. Entry was $100 tala, with all proceeds going to the relief fund for victims of the recent Savai’i floods.
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| Galumoana Theatre - Sia Figiel in action |
The story was told from various staff POV’s about Robert Louis Stevenson’s arrival and eventual death in Samoa. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance which was hilarious in parts. It was an intimate venue, roughly forty in the audience, including notable’s such as the PM Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, Selina Tusitala Marsh (the NZ Poet Laureate 2017-2019) and Zita Martel (Samoan women’s right’s activist, athlete and honorary counsul of France).
Sunday 2nd July
Both studio apartments downstairs are occupied at the moment. I had briefly crossed paths with Amy Thomas, an Aussie lass on Friday, as I was leaving for the Stevenson’s. After my yoga practice I went and knocked on her door. It was looking to be a scorcher and I wanted to take a day off from writing.
I asked if she had any plans for the day. Amy was scheduled to fly back to Brisbane at 8pm that evening and had to check out of Vaoala by noon. I asked if she’d be keen to take a trip out to the south coast, for lunch and a swim at Coconuts Beach Club Resort & Spa in Maninoa Village, a half hour drive from here.
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| Amy Thomas |
She readily agreed and even offered to take her rental car. We arranged to leave in an hour and I suggested Amy leave her luggage upstairs in the apartment. We took a wee detour en-route to check out the village of Siumu, where we smiled and waved to lots of villagers in their Sunday whites.
Coconuts Resort was founded by Americans Barry & Jennifer Rose. They had a very high-powered lifestyle as lawyers in Hollywood, when they decided to cash everything up in the early 80’s and began their search to live a simple life on an island paradise with a 3-stool bar.
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| Coconuts Beach Club Resort & Spa |
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| Coconuts Beach Club Resort & Spa |
There was quite a stiff SE breeze but it was very pleasant to sit in the big outdoor chairs, in the shade of their restaurant and wile away the hours watching the water and chatting. I shouted Amy a smoothie, as a thank you for taking her rental car and ordered myself a beer. We both ate the chicken club sandwich for lunch.
I got the impression that Amy (early thirties) is pretty intrepid and a seasoned traveller, who has had to deal with some serious health issues in her short life (Cystic Fibrosis and Diabetes). But I totally admired her attitude as she has not let these illnesses define her and she continues to live life to the fullest. (I sensed a kindred spirit).
Amy teaches English & History (casual/part-time) at a high school level plus has a small business on the side - Nature Soul Photography. In a few weeks, she and her long-term partner Louis are relocating to a place called Seventeen Seventy (where Capt. James Cook set foot on Australian soil, for the 2nd time), to trial living in their camper bus. Exciting ventures ahead for them both.
https://www.naturesoulphotography.com/
After lunch I went for a snorkel. It was good to get wet but to be honest, the water being the temperature of a tepid bath was not exactly refreshing or invigorating. The lagoon was a bit shallow (tide was out) and full of sea grass. I did see half a dozen large silver fish (species unknown) but that was about it. I swam through and under the pylons of the over the water fales and on the other side was a beautiful deserted beach.
We headed back to Vaoala a little after three. Amy was feeling antsy and wanted to return the rental car and get to the airport in plenty of time. After she went I checked in on Lady, who I could hear whimpering. Celine ground up some panadol to put in her food. Then I spent the rest of my afternoon reading Lani Wendt's book, enjoying so far but think there might be a prequel?
Monday 3rd July
This morning I got up and went for a walk. Apart from the dawn chorus of birds in the morning, I can’t get over how much quieter it is up here on the hill. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we don’t have too many neighbours. There are a few dwellings in a small settlement across the road (behind the shop) but behind us is a large deep valley.
I remember that living on the Levaula compound was always noisy. If it wasn’t roosters crowing at all times of the day or night, there would be yelling and yahooing from the impromptu games of cricket on the malie or volleyball at the SMLD across the road.
The church bell toll was a regular presence - calling people to religious services or classes. People would chatter as they walked past our house on their way and soon after you would hear singing. The Samoan's have incredible voices and I loved to listen to the harmonies, often without accompaniment; the foreign language merging to become another instrument. And if you didn't hear song then you heard a ton of giggling and raucous laughter.
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| Maifea & Kamu's fale |
We literally had a small village in our backyard. Maifea and Kamu lived in a fale a few meters away from our back door, which we had to access to get to our bathroom. It was not uncommon to see them showering in their lavalava’s in the mornings or at night, otherwise they were cooking or living the life.
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| Maifea |
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| Kamu |
Next door to their fale (to the left, closest to the road) lived a family with lots of daughters. One of them became my friend Olofa. Her older sister taught at George Brown Junior High. While her younger sisters played dolls with Erana (and gave her nits).
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| Erana & Village Kids |
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| My friend Olofa |
On the other side of Maifea and Kamu's fale (to the right) behind the Groom's house was a minister called Mavaeao, his wife Susana and children Mila, Laolao and Loama, who would constantly hang around, like a bad smell, to play with David.
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| Mavaeao Family |
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| Village kids |
Photo credits: Chris & Anne Groom
Those fales, along with our house have all disappeared. I have heard that Maifea is now an elder in the church and a minister somewhere in Savai’i, while Kamu has a ministry in NZ, unsure where. I have a lead that Mavaeao might be in Solo Solo but I have no idea where Olofa and her family have gone and sadly I can’t recall her family/father’s name.
We also had palagi neighbours on the compound. To our left was Ralph Gamble. An older South Australian man who was there alone. His project at the SMLD was building the cowshed. He was a funny old codger. David and I literally pissed ourselves with laughter one night at dinner. Ralph was walking around his house naked, unaware that we could see him.
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| Ralph - opening of SMLD Cowshed |
When Ralph left at the completion of the cowshed construction, new neighbours moved into his place. Ray and Elvie Schmidt from Australia, who were only visiting Samoa for a short stint. They had three kids Margie, Rachel and David. We stayed with them in Melbourne on our way back home to NZ, after a holiday in Fiji first, with Chris and Anne.
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| The Schmidt family |
The neighbours to our right were Joanne & Robert (Bin) Mochizuki. American Peace Corp, Joanne taught Maths at the College while Bin worked for WHO, at the Moto’otua Hospital to do Filariasis research, specifically on the entomology of mosquitoes in Samoa. They had a Levaula College student called Koroseta living with them.
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| Joanne, Bin, Koroseta, Erana & I |
Bin was also part of the morning car pool run as the hospital was not far from Apia Primary and Leifiifi Intermediate. I will never forget the time he was doing some gardening with a bush knife and his hand slipped, severing his fingers and tendons. From memory I think he had to be airlifted to Hawaii for reconstructive surgery. He was lucky not to lose them completely.
I have kept in touch with Joanne & Bin and we have visited each other over the years. They have decided to come and visit me here in Samoa, which is fantastic and will arrive on 21st July. I last saw them for Thanksgiving in Hawaii 2019, which incidentally was my last international trip before Covid!
There will be an overlap of a few days with Kate but the more the merrier, I say. They will stay in one of the downstairs studio apartments at Vaoala Heights, which is perfect as it will give Pablo some much needed space from the influx of (my) visitors!
On the other side of Joanne & Bin was Bruce & Maeve Stevenson, with their toddler son Sam (who had a potty mouth), from Christchurch, NZ but they left a month or so after we arrived. Next to them was the last house in the row, Levaula College Vice Principal Seilala and family. Seilala’s house was very popular with the locals in the evenings because they had a television.
The Stevenson’s were quickly replaced by Chris and Anne Groom, who were with Australian Volunteers Abroad (AVA), now Australian Volunteers International (AVI). Chris taught accounting, book-keeping and social studies, while Anne taught English.
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| Chris & Anne with a village boy |
I love this excerpt from a story they sent me about their time here:
We were met at the Samoa airport by the school vice principal Seilala, expatriate Methodist missionaries Gordon Askew (an ex-postmaster from Buninyong) our sort of boss and his wife Mavis, Ian McKenzie (our principal), his wife Val and the Nicholson family; who looked very pleased to see us and were to be our neighbours.
We were driven first to Ian and Val’s house to be treated to the New Zealand delicacy, tinned spaghetti pizza. We were then shown our house which was a square concrete box, a converted classroom. Not quite the airy tropical house we were hoping for, that could catch the breeze.
The next day we were driven into the town, Apia, and Gordon set out the dos and don’ts. Not being experienced in these matters, we didn’t realise this was our one and only chance to complain about our housing and get things fixed. We did manage to say that we would like some floor covering on the dirty bare concrete kitchen floor and were presented with some tins of paint to do the job. The house had an electric hotplate and a small fridge and we were the only volunteers to have an antiquated oven. There was a cold water shower.
Gordon told us our salary would be $11 per week which was a bit of a shock and we wondered how we could survive on that. At the time it represented about 1/20th of our Australian salary. As it turned out there was very little to spend money on and we got by quite well. Through no intentional effort we were able to save enough to have a trip to Hawaii at the end of our first year (using standby airfares from American Samoa of US$90 each way) and trips to Fiji and Tonga.
The school was a bit of a shock. The building was in poor condition and the classrooms were very shabby. At one point during our stay the school was closed because the toilets were unusable and the only way to force the Methodist church to do something about it was to close the school down until something was done.
The staff were also a motley lot. The principal, Ian McKenzie was a New Zealand Methodist minister who had come to Samoa to teach at the theological college but finished up as the high school principal, which didn’t particularly please him. The expatriate staff were a mix of volunteers from the US, NZ and Australia. We were the only ones with teaching experience. The local Samoan staff were mainly Methodist ministers who had not been given a church or had done something wrong, including interfering with children.
Our school was part of a big landholding of the Methodist Church, which was a very significant organisation in the society. Across from the school was the Land Development, a big coconut plantation with a dairy herd donated from New Zealand. Most days in the late afternoon I would go across to the dairy and come back with a jug of fresh milk topped with cream which we would often put on paw paw and passionfruit for dessert.
Further up the road were 3 more Methodist schools and the compound of the senior Methodist hierarchy. We were regarded as part of the President’s entourage and on Sundays we would get dressed up in our whites and go to the compound church followed by a to'ona'i, a traditional Sunday meal consisting of taro, palusami, breadfruit, bananas, fish and other meat baked in an umu (ground oven). Everyone would then go home to sleep it off.
At first we were very energetic and wanted to make a difference. We stripped out the library, painted and reorganised it and got Grace Nicholson installed as a librarian. New books were ordered and some progress made. After a while we realised no one, particularly the Methodist Church hierarchy, appreciated our efforts and we focused on what we could control, teaching our students.
There must've been something in the water in 1980 because that year our friends and neighbours became baby factories. Kay & Rapi had son Alesana, Joanne & Bin a boy baby called Nathan while Chris & Anne popped out a girl, daughter Chloe.
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| Joanne, Bin & Nathan |
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| Chris, Anne & Chloe |
Went down to the lagoon for a dip in the late afternoon. This time I met an Irish lady called Clare. She and her Samoan husband Leni run the screen printing business, Siva Afi 100% Samoa, which also has a restaurant and ice cream bar attached. Their daughter Jade lives in Fiji and works as a dive instructor for American Survivor, the reality TV show. Cool gig.
https://www.facebook.com/sivaafidesigns/
Tuesday 3rd July
Did yoga this morning, dropped my laundry then went for a cruise out to Avoca. I had been misinformed. The Methodist Conference actually started yesterday (not last Monday). This week is all about the women and next week will be for the men.
I arrived as everyone poured out of the large encosed fale, hopped in their cars and drove away. The ladies were all decked out in white dresses with blue trim. I spoke with a very helpful woman called Geraldine, (taking orders for photos) who usually works at the Amanaki Hotel, who suggested I return next Monday.
Methodist Women's Conference - Avoka
From there I stopped for a quick looksie at a cool lighting shop called Pearl, in Vaitele, next to the Metro store before going to Kings's Fish Market. I bought a $6 tala pottle of their spicy oka for my dinner tonight. I bought a few other groceries from Farmer Joes and some fruit and veggies from the drive through market before heading back up the hill.
I'm happy to report that Celine took Lady to the vet yesterday and she is going to be okay. No broken bones or internal bleeding, just a bit tender and bruised. Vet bill $13 tala. Already I can see a massive improvement in her.
My new neighbour, Rebecca Hoar, the British High Commissioner's wife rang me today. I had emailed Gareth and passed on my contact details after our meeting the other morning. We have set up a coffee date for tomorrow.
I also got a message on facebook from Leanne Eloff, the principal of Kaitoke School on Great Barrier Island to say that she and her hubby have arrived in Samoa for a holiday. They are staying at an exclusive adults only resort on the south coast called Seabreeze for a few days before heading to Jim's House at Le Lagoto Resort & Spa, Savai'i. I hope to meet up with them for a meal in Apia before they fly home.
https://seabreezesamoa.com/ https://www.lelagoto.ws/accommodation2.html
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| The Poets |
PS and I hope you like this weeks quotes
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