Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette

The first newspaper in Samoa was published by the London Missionary Society, a biannual publication called the Samoan Reporter, which appeared during the 1840s to the 1860s reporting missionary news and well as some general items.

The first attempt at a commercial newspaper was the Samoa Times [and South Sea Gazette] which was owned by George Lyttleton Griffiths, who also was owner of the Fiji Times which began publishing in 1869 in Levuka, Fiji. The first issue of the Samoa Times was published on 6 October 1877, its editor being William Edgar Agar, who remained editor until 1880, when he resigned for health reasons. His place was taken by Andrew Speirs until the newspaper folded in 1881. The final issue of the paper was published on 27 August 1881.

It was seven years before another attempt at a newspaper for Samoa was made. This was the Samoa Times and South Sea Advertiser, owned and edited by Stephen J Cusack of Apia. The first issue was published on 29 September 1888 and continued, with changes in ownership and editors, until the final issue on 26 December 1896.

Some competition for readers arrived when the Samoa Weekly Herald appeared on 26 November 1892. It was owned and initially edited by James Rattray MacFarland, a New Zealander. However MacFarland was bankrupt within six months and the newspaper was bought by a German trader E A Grevsmuhl, but within a short time it was sold to H Denvers. At the end of 1896 Denvers bought out the competition, the Samoa Times, but was forced to sell the paper in 1898 to W A King to pay for his debts. The last issue published of the Samoa Weekly Herald was on 28 August 1900. The newspaper was sold to German financial interests in 1901 when it was revived and renamed as Samoanische Zeitung, a change which reflected the new German administration of Samoa.

The Samoanische Zeitung’s first issue was on 6 April 1901. The first half of the paper was published in German and the second half in English. Emil Lubke edited the German text while F Muller, from Queensland, edited the English section. When Muller left in January 1910 his place was taken by James Ah Sue of Chinese-Samoan heritage.

With the New Zealand occupation of Samoa on 29 August 1914 changes to the ownership and content were bound to follow. James Ah Sue effectively took over the editorship of the paper and the newspaper’s name changed to The Samoa Times as from January 1915. The paper became an English language newspaper with a German language supplement, which continued into 1916. In July 1916 the paper was bought by James Ah Sue who edited the paper until his death on 21 November 1918 from influenza.

The Samoa Times continued until 28 February 1930. It was replaced by the Samoa Herald, which ran until 27 March 1936 and was continued by the Western Samoa Mail, which ceased publication on 28 March 1942 due to the war.

Information for this short introduction has been largely referenced from two publications written by Dirk H R Spennemann, ‘The heritage of nineteenth century Samoan newspapers : a bibliographical documentation’ and ‘Gedruckt in Samoa : a bibliographical analysis of German colonial printing (1901-1914)’ .

O le nusipepa muamua lava i Samoa sa saunia ma lolomiina e le London Missionary Society, ma sa lolomiina ta'ilua tausaga, sa faaigoaina o le Samoan Reporter, lea sa i ai mai le 1840 i le 1860 sa lipotiina ai tala i galuega faamisionare faapea ai foi ma nisi tala ma mataupu faalaua'itele.

O le taumafaiga muamua lava i se nusipepa o faasalalauga faapisinisi o le nusipepa Samoa Times [and South Sea Gazette] lea sa faia e George Lyttleton Griffiths, o lana lava pepa, o ia foi lenei e ona le nusipepa Fiti o le Fiji Times lea sa amata ona lolomiina i le 1869 i Levuka, i Fiti. O le pepa muamua lava na lolomiina o le Samoa Times sa lolomiina i le aso 6 o Oketopa 1877, ma o le faatonu o William Edgar Agar, lea sa tumau ai lava o le faatonu se'ia o'o i le 1880, ina ua ia faamavae ona ua faaletonu tulaga o lona soifua maloloina. O lona tulaga na avea loa e Andrew Speirs se'i o'o ina tapunia le nusipepa i le 1881. O le nusipepa mulimuli lava na lolomiina i le aso 27 o Aukuso i le 1881.

E fitu tausaga ona toe taumafai ai foi lea e fai seisi nusipepa mo Samoa. O lenei la pepa o le Samoa Times and South Sea Advertiser, o Stephen J Cusack o Apia e ona, ma o ia foi o le faatonu. O le pepa muamua lava na lolomiina i le aso 29 o Setema i le 1888 ma faaauau ai pea ina ua fai fesuiaiga i e e ona ma pulea faapea ai foi ma faatonu, se'ia o'o ai i le pepa mulimuli lava na lolomiina i le aso 26 o Tesema i le 1896.

Sa i ai ni tauvaga i le 'au faitau nusipepa na taunuu i ai ina ua aliali mai le nusipepa lenei o le Samoa Weekly Herald i le aso 26 o Novema i le 1892. O le pule ma le e ona lenei pepa o James Rattray MacFarland, ma o ia foi o le ulua'i faatonu, ma o se tagata Niu Sila. Ae peita'i sa gau le pisinisi ua leai se tupe a MacFarland i totonu o le ono masina ma sa faatauina ai loa le nusipepa e le tagata faatauoloa Siamani o E A Grevsmuhl, ae i totonu o sina taimi pu'upu'u lava sa faatau atu ai loa ia H Denvers. I le faaiuga o le tausaga e 1896 na faatau ai loa e Denvers le tauvaga atoa lava, o le Samoa Times, ae na faamalosia o ia e toe faatau atu le pepa i le tausaga e 1898 ia W A King ina ia totogi ai ana aitalafu. O le pepa mulimuli lava o le Samoa Weekly Herald sa lolomiina i le aso 28 o Aukuso i le 1900. O lenei nusipepa sa faatau atu loa i tagata faipisinisi tupe Siamani i le tausaga e 1901 lea na toe faaolaola ai loa ma toe faaigoaina o le Samoanische Zeitung, o se suiga na atagia mai ai pulega fou a Siamani i totonu o Samoa.

O le pepa lenei o le Samoanische Zeitung na lolomiina muamua lava i le aso 6 o Aperila i le 1901. O le afa muamua i luma o le pepa sa lolomiina i le Faa-Siamani, a o le afa mulimuli sa Faa-Peretania. O le alii o Emil Lubke sa ia faatonuina le Faa-Siamani, a o F Muller, mai Kuiniselanai, sa ia faatonuina le vaega Faa-Peretania. Ina ua alu ese Muller i a Ianuali i le tausaga e 1910 sa avea loa lona tulaga e James Ah Sue, o se alii Saina ma Samoa lona tupuaga ma lona faasinomaga.

Ina ua taunuu mai Niu Sila ma avea loa Samoa i le aso 29 o August i le 1914, ua i ai loa suiga i pulega ma aiaiga ia pei ona mulimuli mai. Ua avea loa James Ah Sue o le faatonu sili o le nusipepa ma na sui ai loa ma le igoa o le nusipepa The Samoa Times amata mai i a Ianuali i le tausaga e 1915. Ona avea loa lea o le pepa o le nusipepa Faa-Peretania, ae i ai ma faaopoopoga Faa-Siamani i le gagana Siamani, ma sa faaauau ai lava i le 1916. I a Iulai i le 1916 sa faatauina loa e James Ah Sue le pepa lenei ma o ia lava o le faatonu se'ia o'o i le aso na maliu ai, aso 21 Novema i le tausaga 1918 i le faama'i fulu - influenza.

Sa faaauau pea le Samoa Times se'i o'o i le aso 28 o Fepuali i le 1930. Ona toe suia loa lea i le Samoa Herald, lea sa i ai lava se'i aulia le aso 27 o Mati i le 1936 ma sa faaauau pea ai lava o le Western Samoa Mail, lea na faamutaina le lolomiina i le aso 28 o Mati 1942 ona o le taua na mafua ai tapuniina.

O faamatalaga mai lenei faatomuaga pu'upu'u, o le tele lava na aoina mai i tusitusiga ma faasalalauga e lua na tusia e Dirk H R Spennemann, ‘The heritage of nineteenth century Samoan newspapers : a bibliographical documentation’ ma ‘Gedruckt in Samoa : a bibliographical analysis of German colonial printing (1901-1914)’ .