Story: Pacific Islands and New Zealand

Union Jack in Apia, 1914

Union Jack in Apia, 1914

New Zealand’s takeover of German Samoa in 1914 was at Britain's behest. The hoisting of the Union Jack at the Apia courthouse signalled the new order. This ‘great and urgent Imperial service’ was led by Robert Logan, a New Zealand farmer and local politician who had joined the army. Logan was not a successful administrator – he presided over the influenza epidemic that killed thousands of Samoans – but on retirement he would sometimes claim to have won the initial bloodless victory virtually single-handed.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Hackworth Collection
Reference: PA1-q-107-32-1

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Jon Fraenkel, 'Pacific Islands and New Zealand - Samoa', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/36865/union-jack-in-apia-1914 (accessed 16 April 2024)

Story by Jon Fraenkel, published 20 Jun 2012