ANZAC Day - Commemorating connections with Samoa...

What many Samoans may not know was that in 1914, New Zealand military head's were told by England's military to take over Samoa from the German powers who'd been there since the late 1800s. This was to be the first act of war for New Zealand away from it's soil (please view 'Tagata Pasifika's' YouTube clip above)

What is sad about that act was that 4 years later, a New Zealand administrator, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Logan (name and shame - post humous) allowed the New Zealand ship with sick people aboard with the deadly influenza virus to disembark in Samoa to which an estimated 8,000+ people died within a couple of months, that's over a fifth of the population.

The following year my late paternal grandma was born but my maternal great grandfather died and was buried in an unmarked grave in Faleula, which I assume was to have the body buried in his home village rather than in a mass grave near Apia.

This ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corp) day for me is not only in remembrance of the many who gave their lives for freedom of our nation but it is also a commemoration of 100 years since that fateful day in which Samoa's history was completely changed forever...