The Diary of an Anonymous Visitor
Black Saturday, which occurred on the 28th of December 1929, was one of the worst days of my life…
I was standing on the balcony on my hotel room in Apia. It was bright, hot sunny day and there was a slight breeze. I decided to go for a walk outside. As I stepped out of the hotel door, I realised there was no one outside. This was because of the New Zealanders.
New Zealand was kind of in charge of Samoa. They made ridiculous rules which the Samoans didn’t like. They had to pay taxes, get to know politicians etc. They were banned from many things such as taking a walk outside and they had to learn to live life the way New Zealanders did.
I decided it wouldn’t be any fun just being outside by myself. I wanted to get to know the public, explore the area and taste exotic foods. I stepped back inside the hotel room and decided to take a nap.
2 hours later I got woken up by something noisy outside. Yes, it was Black Saturday occurring on the 28th of December 1929 and it was only just the beginning…
There were gun shots being fired randomly at Samoans because they were outside. As the mob approached the station, a Lewis gun was being used from someone up in the balcony. It was the NZ police. The Samoans were protesting in a marching parade trying to be free. The Samoan leader Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III was shot at that location and was put into hospital. It was crazy out there. I didn’t know what to do. Many people were shot and killed right there on the spot. I saw people falling to the ground like dominoes. There was blood all over the floor. The next thing I knew, I fell to the ground, blood gushing out of my leg.
The next morning I woke up in hospital. This diary was written during the time. I’m about to have an operation… I hope things go well.