Tuimaleali'ifano Fa'aoloi'i Si'ua'ana I

Tuimaleali'ifano Fa'aoloi'i Si'ua'ana I (~1854[1] — 14 October 1937)[2] was a Samoan paramount chief, and the first holder of the Tuimaleali'ifano title. He was one of the leaders of the Mau movement.

Tuimalealiifano with Robert Louis Stevenson at Vailima, Samoa, between 1889 and 1894

Fa'aoloi'i was the youngest son of Tuiaana Sualauvi.[3]: 55  He was raised in Afega, but recalled to Falelatai on the death of his father to take up his chiefly title.[3]: 55  In 1889 he was made Kovana Aana (district governor) by the Samoan government.[2] In the 1890s he became a friend of the writer Robert Louis Stevenson.[2][4] He served as a ta'imua under the German colonial administration, and in 1915 was made a fautua (native advisor) under the New Zealand administration.[1][5]

Mau movement

In late 1926 Tuimaleali'ifano attended a meeting with Olaf Frederick Nelson and other independence activists at the home of Samuel Meredith to plan the response to an inquiry into Samoan grievances.[6]: 77  This led to the formation of the citizens committee, which became the Mau. When he attended a public meeting of the committee, he was suspended as fautua by New Zealand administrator George Spafford Richardson.[6]: 82  In August 1927 following the sitting of a commission of inquiry into Samoa he resigned as fautua due to dissatisfaction with the administration.[7] He subsequently became one of the Mau's principal leaders, alongside Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III.[8] He was one of the leaders of the procession on Black Saturday,[9][6]: 139  and attempted to hold back the crowd when the shooting started.[6]: 153–154  He was injured, with a slight wound to the arm,[10] and spent several weeks hiding in the hills with other members of the Mau.[1] He was subsequently arrested and was charged with wearing a Mau lavalava.[11] In March 1930 he was convicted of sedition and fined £3.[12] In April 1930 he was again arrested for wearing Mau uniform and jailed for three months.[13]

In January 1937 he celebrated his "100th birthday"[14] because "he may not live to see it".[3]: 57  He died later that year.[2]

References
  1. Fuimaono Lumepa Hald (27 May 2022). "As we count down to Independence, we remember Tuimaleali'ifano Si'u and Fonoti Ioane". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  2. "LAST LINK WITH OLD SAMOA: Death of 90-years-old High Chief Tuimalealiifano". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. VIII, no. 4. 25 November 1937. p. 60-61. Retrieved 7 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. Morgan Tuimaleali'ifano (2006). O Tama a ʻāiga: The Politics of Succession to Sāmoa's Paramount Titles. Fiji: University of the South Pacific. ISBN 9789820203778.
  4. "STEVENSON IN SAMOA". New Zealand Herald. 12 August 1899. p. 5. Retrieved 8 August 2021 – via Papers Past.
  5. "The Native Petition". Samoanische Zeitung. Vol. 19, no. 14. 5 April 1919. p. 4. Retrieved 8 August 2021 – via Papers Past.
  6. Michael Field (2006). Black Saturday: New Zealand's Tragic Blunders in Samoa. Auckland: Reed. ISBN 0-7900-1103-4.
  7. "VERY SERIOUS". Stratford Evening Post. 4 August 1927. p. 6. Retrieved 8 August 2021 – via Papers Past.
  8. "CONDITIONS IN SAMOA". New Zealand Herald. 17 August 1929. p. 14. Retrieved 8 August 2021 – via Papers Past.
  9. "STORY IN DETAIL". Evening Post. 8 January 1930. p. 10. Retrieved 8 August 2021 – via Papers Past.
  10. "TROUBLE IN SAMOA". Evening Star. 30 December 1929. p. 8. Retrieved 8 August 2021 – via Papers Past.
  11. "ARRESTS IN SAMOA". Ashburton Guardian. 18 January 1930. p. 5. Retrieved 8 August 2021 – via Papers Past.
  12. "SAMOA SITUATION". Evening Star. 14 March 1930. p. 8. Retrieved 8 August 2021 – via Papers Past.
  13. "SAMOANS CHARGED". Evening Star. 10 April 1930. p. 11. Retrieved 8 August 2021 – via Papers Past.
  14. "OLD SAMOA". Auckland Star. 14 January 1937. p. 9. Retrieved 8 August 2021 – via Papers Past.
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