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Independent State of Samoa
(formerly Western Samoa)
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other South Pacific islands
Tahiti   American Samoa

Slide Show
ProShow Slide Show of Tahiti and Samoa

 

Geography
Samoa, formerly Western Samoa (when I visited it in 1986), is a Polynesian South Pacific 10 island group about 2,300 miles southwest of Hawaii. The islands are volcanic in origin with the highest point on Savai’i at 6097 feet.  Its two main islands are Upolu and Savai'i .  The largest and highest (6097 feet) of these is Savai'i, which covers 622 sq miles of tropical verdant terraine.  The second largest is Upolu, 8 miles southwest across the Apolima Strait.  Upolu Island is the home of Samoa’s capital – Apia.  The grave site of Robert Luis Stevenson, Falefa Falls and Aggie Grey’s Hotel is the one I visited and shown on this web page

History
Polynesians (possibly from Tonga) first settled in the Samoan islands about 1000 B.C.  Dutch and
French traders first explored the region in the 18th century.  In an 1899 treaty the sphere of influence
was divided between the USA over American Samoa and Germany over Western Samoa.  In 1914
New Zealand seized Western Samoa from Germanyand in 1946 it beaame a United
Nations Trust Territory administerd by New Zealand. A resistance movement known as the Mau helped to steer Western Samoa toward independence and it became a self governing constitutional monarchy on
January 1, 1962.  In 1997 Western Samoa’s official name was changed to Samoa.

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samoa
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/letters/pac/wsa_pc.htm

http://www.samoa.co.uk/samoa.html
http://www.greatestcities.com/Oceania/Samoa/Apia_town_state_capital.html

 

(Western) Samoa Photos
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Aggie Grey's Hotel in Apia, Samoa (1986)


 


The fale is the basic structure in Samoa


 


An inviting beach seen on my visit to (Western) Samoa in 1986. Quite a contrast to the crowded beaches of California and Hawaii.


 


Falefa Falls


 


Large tree and dense foliage near Robert Luis Stevenson's former home


 


A small village on Western Samoa