Heritage assessment, Apia, Western Samoa

Abstract

Apia, Western Samoa, has experienced a history since European contact which has been more significant and complex than the capital of a small, remote, island nation might expect. Moreover, the physical environment and indigenous politics have interacted with international political, economic and religious rivalry to produce a distinctive environmental heritage. Prior to partitioning in 1900, Samoa comprised three major islands: Savaii, Upolu and Tutuila with a total area of about 2,900 square kilometres. Apia is located on the north coast of Upolu, 14 degrees south of the equator and about 4,300 kilometres north-east of Sydney. It has a population of about 35,000 which is expected to increase to 50,000 by the year 2000(1). Apia has a harbour frontage of 'hbout 2 kilometres and is centrally located relative to its agriculturally productive hinterland. The island is of volcanic origin, has a tropical climate and dense vegetation cover. Tentative contact was made by European explorers in the late eighteenth century but the first enduring contact was made by beachcombers and whalers early in the nineteenth century, then, more importantly, by missionaries in 1830. The appearance of a beach community at Apia in the 1830's and 40's led to the establishment of consular agencies to support the growing economic interests. The mutual reinforcement of missionaries, consuls and commercial agents provided secure foundations for commercial plantation agriculture and international trade which prospered from the 1850's to the 1880's. Consular rule, supported by naval authority became further entrenched during the 1880's and 90's until German colonial ambitions prevailed in 1900. British annexation in 1914 led to a long period of political control as a New Zealand mandated territory and as a United Nations Trust Territory under New Zealand administration until independence was achieved in 1962. Despite significant progress since independence, Western Samoa retains its "least developed country" status requiring trade subsidisation and a high dependence on external aid. In recent years more than 80% of annual development expenditure has been contributed by external aid. The country's interesting and complicated history has yielded an architectural heritage of particular value and one which is of great significance to the South Pacific region having been subjected to the most tenacious international rivalry in the Pacific and the only German colony to have existed in Polynesia. Paradoxically, although Apia's tropical climate has contributed to the distinctiveness of its architectural heritage, it imposes severe difficulties for its conservation. The susceptibility of the town's predominantly timber and iron buildings to damage by moulds, insects, corrosion, hurricane and fire, meagre funding and misdirection of maintenance projects and potential for redevelopment, all pose serious threats to conservation. It is the objective of this thesis to document the architectural history of Apia, to identify the significant items of its surviving environmental heritage and to suggest some preliminary directions and strategies for conservation policy. Methodologically, the assessment of cultural significance will be related to historical themes identified in the documentation of European settlement such as global political interaction, the development of international trade and commerce and the influence of Christian missionaries. Some difficulties of applying European notions of cultural significance to a native culture which has an indifferent attitude to building conservation and contempt for its colonial past will be evident.