SEPTEMBER

September September 1:  

On September 1, 1872, the Catholic community in Samoa "received its first Samoan 
postulants (later to become Sister Mary St. Vincent and Sister Mary St. André)" of the 
Sisters of Notre Dame des Missions (NDM: Our Lady of the Missions). (Heslin 1995: 93)

On September 1, 1912, the new Samoan Hospital was completed at Malaloa, Tutuila. 
It consisted of a wooden central administration building which contained an examining 
room, dispensary, lavatory and dressing room, with an outbuilding for kitchen, baths, 
latrines and a storeroom. A windmill was erected near the beach to pump water to a 
10,000-gallon tank located 60 feet above the level of the main building. (Bryan 1927: 73)

On September 1, 1914, Western Samoa's Administrator, Lieutenant Colonel Robert 
Logan, informed an assembly of Samoans that his government, for the time being, would 
be similar to the one established by the Germans. (Davidson 1967: 91)

On September 1, 1935, the Feleti School for Boys, named after Frederic DuClos 
("Feleti") Barstow, was opened at Le'ala, Tutuila, American Samoa. (Gray 1960: 236; 
Theroux 1985)

On September 1, 1952, the District and Village Government Board Bill was introduced 
in Western samoa's Legislative Assembly. (Davidson 1967: 309)

September 2:

  On September 2, 1879, a municipal convention was held in Apia between Malietoa 
Laupepa and the "Three Consuls" (of Britain, Germany and the United States). Under 
the terms of this agreement, "the Samoan Government gave up all jurisdiction over the 
town, harbour and neighbourhood of Apia. A Municipal Board was created, consisting 
of the Three Consuls and one nominee of each, with rating powers and a magistrate to 
enforce its regulations and redress complaints. One of its first regulations forbade the sale 
of liquor to a Pacific islander." (Morrell 1960: 223)

On September 2, 1945, the second USS Tutuila (ARG-4) dropped anchor in Buckner 
Bay, Okinawa, en route to occupation duty in Japan, after shepherding 11 smaller ships 
through a typhoon. (Mooney VII, 1981: 367)

September 3:

On September 3, 1900, Commander Benjamin F. Tilley issued his "Regulations 
Nos. 15 and 16: Public Highways in Pago Pago," which established a public highway at 
the U.S. Naval Station Tutuila "from Blunts Point on the southern side of Pago Pago 
Harbor, toward Observatory Point and around the harbor to Breaker[s] Point on the 
northern side of the harbor, along the shore at high-water mark of a uniform width of 15 
feet distant inland from the shore." (Noble 1931: 74)

On September 3, 1945, Captain Samuel Wakefield Canan relieved Captain Ralph Waldo 
Hungerford and began his eight-day term as American Samoa's 32nd naval governor 
(acting: until September 10, 1945). (USNHC: Canan RO)

On September 3, 1981, Rear Admiral Harold Alexander Houser, American Samoa's 
33rd naval governor (September 10, 1945-April 22, 1947), died of natural causes in the 
Bethesda, Maryland Naval Hospital at age 84. (USNHC: Houser RO)

September 4:

On September 4, 1923, Captain Edward Stanley Kellogg succeeded Captain Edwin 
Taylor Pollock, and took office as the 15th naval governor of American Samoa 
(until March 17, 1925). (USNHC: Kellogg RO)

September 5:

On September 5, 1838, August Nilspeter Nelson, founding father of Samoa's Nelson 
family and father of Olaf Frederick Nelson, was born in Sweden. (Field 1984: 66; 
Theroux 1985; Warburton 1996: 61-62)

On September 5, 1888, the German warship SMS Adler ("Eagle") shelled Manono 
and Apolima, which were strongholds of Malietoa's forces. (Gray 1960: 83)

On September 5, 1906, American Samoa's Governor, Commander Charles Brainard 
Taylor Moore, issued his "Regulation No. 7-1906: Births and Deaths," which dealt with 
birth, death and burial certificates. (Noble 1931: 22-23)

On September 5, 1941, ten rounds were fired from each of the newly-situated six-inch 
guns at Breakers Point, Tutuila, at a stationary raft in Pago Pago Harbor. (Denfeld 1989a: 20)

On September 5, 1996, the Aiga Tautai o Samoa (Samoan Voyaging Society) 
successfully launched its repaired 'alia (double-hulled voyaging canoe), formerly 
named Mana o Samoa, and now rechristened as Folauga o Samoa, in Pago 
Pago Harbor. The vessel was dedicated by American Samoa's Governor, A.P. 
Lutali, and was donated to the people of American Samoa. (Enright 1997)

September 6:

On September 6, 1913, American Samoa's Governor, Commander Clark Daniel Stearns, 
established the following government departments: (1) Judicial; (2) Treasury; (3) Interior; 
(4) Agriculture and (5) Public Health. (Darden n.d.: 8)

September 7:

On September 7, 1911, USS Princeton relieved USS Annapolis as station ship for 
the U.S. Naval Station Tutuila and remained until May 5, 1915. (Crose 1912: 4)

September 8:

On September 8, 1900, Thomas Francis Darden, Jr., American Samoa's 35th (and last) 
naval governor (July 7, 1949-February 23, 1951) was born in Brooklyn, New York. (USNHC: Darden RO)

On September 8, 1931, "The first half-caste Sisters [took] the habit [in the Catholic convent] 
at Moamoa," Western Samoa. (Heslin 1995: vi)

On September 8, 1943, USS Arthur P. Gorman, a Liberty Ship converted to an internal 
combustion engine repair ship, was renamed USS Tutuila at Baltimore, Maryland. Her sister 
ships included USS Luzon (ARG-2, ex-USS Samuel Bowles); USS Mindanao (ARG-3, 
ex-USS Elbert Hubbard); USS Oahu (ARG-5, ex-USS Caleb C. Wheeler); USS Cebu 
(ARG-6, ex-USS Francis P. Duffy); USS Culebra Island (ARG-7, ex-USS John F. 
Goucher); USS Leyte (ARG-8); USS Mona Island (ARG-9); USS Palawan (ARG-10); 
USS Samar (ARG-11); USS Kermit Roosevelt (ARG-16, ex-USS Deal Island) and 
USS Hooper Island (ARG-17, ex-USS Bert McDowell). (Mooney VII, 1981: 367)

On September 8, 1962, Father Pio Taofinu'u, who was ordained as a priest on December 8, 1954, 
"was professed as a Marist." (Heslin 1995: 69)

On September 8, 1981, Gerry Speiss arrived in Pago Pago Harbor during his solo trans-Pacific 
voyage in a tiny sailboat/capsule. (Theroux 1985)

September 9:

On September 9, 1927, Captain Steven Victor Graham relieved Captain Henry Francis Bryan, 
and became American Samoa's 17th naval governor (until August 2, 1929). (USNHC: Graham RO)

On September 9, 1964, 70-year-old solo sailor William Willis, aboard his raft Age Unlimited,  
landed on a beach near Tully, Queensland, Australia. He had spent 204 days afloat, and had 
traveled over 11,000 miles. (Willis 1966: 215)

September 10:

On September 10, 1911, Mount Matavanu's volcanic activity ended on Savai'i's northwest coast. 
(Theroux 1985)

On September 10, 1945, Captain Harold Alexander Houser relieved Captain Samuel Wakefield 
Canan and became American Samoa's 33rd naval governor (until April 22, 1947). (USNHC: Houser RO)

September 11:

On September 11, 1914, the New Zealand Expeditionary Force left Apia for 
New Zealand with a contingent of German prisoners, including Governor Erich 
Schultz-Ewerth. (Theroux 1985)

On September 11, 1930, the light cruiser USS Omaha, commanded by Captain 
John Downes, and carrying the American Samoan Commission and Pathé News 
photographer Merl LaVoy, weighed anchor at San Pedro, California en route to 
Pago Pago via Honolulu. The Commission's members included Senator Hiram 
Bingham, Republican of Connecticut, Chairman of the Commission and Chairman 
of the Senate Committee on Territories and Insular Affairs; Senator Joseph T. 
Robinson of Arkansas, Democrat, Senate Minority Leader; Representative Carroll L. Beedy, 
Republican from Maine and Representative Guinn Williams of Texas, Democrat, both members 
of the House Committee on Insular Affairs. The Commission's naval adviser and paymaster was 
Captain William Rea Furlong, USN, who was the Chief of the Policy and Liaison Section of 
the Navy's Office of Island Governments. He subsequently became a Rear Admiral, and, as 
Commanding Officer of the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard, was responsible for salvaging most of 
the ships that were sunk on December 7, 1941, repairing them, and sending them off to war. 
(Moore and Farrington 1931: 5; Anonymous n.d.; USNHC: Furlong RO)

September 12:

On September 12, 1858, Commander Vernon of HMS Cordelia arrived in Apia, and 
succeeded in persuading Malietoa Moli to surrender for trial a chief of Palauli, Savai'i who 
had murdered William Fox, "an oil trader of good repute," in 1856, after Fox had reproached 
him for stealing his tobacco. (Morrell 1960: 211)

On September 12, 1925, Thomas Calloway Latimore, who would become American 
Samoa's 22nd naval governor (acting: April 10-April 17, 1934) married Miss Katharine 
Beach of Rockville, Maryland at Barbary Hill, Rockville, Maryland. (USNHC: Latimore RO)

On September 12, 1927, the New Zealand Government appointed a Royal Commission to 
investigate complaints against Sir George Richardson's administration of Western Samoa. 
(Davidson 1967: 122)

On September 12, 1943, USS Tutuila (ARG-4), formerly USS Arthur P. Gorman, and the 
second U.S. Navy vesselto bear the name, was launched at Baltimore, Maryland. (Mooney VII, 1981: 367)

On September 12, 1995, the Catholic Church began a three-day celebration of its 
150th anniversary in Samoa. (Heslin 1995: vii)

September 13:

On September 13, 1861, John Martin Poyer, American Samoa's 11th 
(and longest-serving) naval governor (March 1, 1915-June 10, 1919), 
was born in Putnam County, Illinois. (USNHC: Poyer RO)

On September 13, 1900, Commander Benjamin F. Tilley, Commandant of the 
U.S. Naval Station Tutuila issued his "Regulation No. 17-1900: Customs Duties." 
(Noble 1931: 32-38)

On September 13, 1902, David Starr Jordan, President of Stanford University, 
wrote to President Theodore Roosevelt about his recent visit to Samoa. He 
commented on former Naval Station Commandant  Benjamin Tilley's court martial 
and acquittal (November 9-12, 1901) by saying that "The virulent attack on Captain Tilley, 
justified by no facts of importance so far as I could find out, was largely the work of local 
gossips, set going by traders. Captain Tilley seems to have handled Tutuila with great wisdom." 
(Thompson 1989: 6)

On September 13, 1960, Western Samoa's Constitutional Convention unanimously approved a 
proposal from the Steering Committee for afternoon sessions. (Davidson 1967: 385)

September 14:

On September 14, 1906, Commander Charles Brainard Taylor Moore, Governor of American Samoa, 
enacted his "Regulation No. 8-1906: Matai Names." This was later amended by Governor Waldo 
Evans on May 10, 1921. (Noble 1931: 64)

On September 14, 1914, the German battleships SMS Scharnhorst and SMS Gneisenau,  
commanded by Admiral Maximilian von Spee, sailed into Apia Harbor, hoping to trap HMAS 
Australia and the other ships which had escorted the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. 
Finding a small schooner, but no warships in the harbor, Spee sailed along the coast to Mulifanua, 
where he conversed with a German planter, Wilhelm Hagedorn. Spee then sailed away to 
glory in the Battle of Coronel, and eventual defeat in the Battle of the Falkland Islands. 
(Field 1984: 14-15; Halpern 1994: 88)

On September 14, 1922, in a letter to American Samoa's Governor, Captain Edwin T. Pollock, 
Secretary of the Navy Edwin Denby wrote that "government aid should be discouraged as far as 
possible, and the people encouraged to do more for themselves." (Olsen 1976: 164 n.57)

On September 14, 1942, "it was announced at company formations that volunteers from Marine 
units stationed in the Samoan area were being sought for the organization of a Raider Battalion. Men 
interested in joining were to turn their names in to their first sergeants. Most of the troops were familiar 
with Colonel Merritt A. "Red Mike" Edson's 1st Raider Battalion and Colonel Evans Carlson's 2nd 
Raider Battalion. We knew that the Raiders were elite units trained for hit-and-run actions and night 
combat. Stories had reached us describing how Edson's Raiders had spearheaded the attack that 
crushed the Japanese defenders of Tulagi. We knew of the daring Makin Island raid made in rubber 
boats from submarines by Colonel Carlson and two companies of his battalion. Here was a chance to get 
a piece of the action and get out of the Samoan area, which had seemingly been thrust into the backwash 
of the war." (Bearss 1978-1981: 70-71)

On September 14, 1946, Captain Otto Carl Dowling, American Samoa's 23rd naval governor 
(April 17, 1934-January 15, 1936), was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. (USNHC: Dowling RO)

September 15:

On September 15, 1845, French Fathers Gilbert Roudaire and Louis Violette of the Society 
of Mary celebrated the first Catholic mass in Samoa at Lealatele, Savai'i. (Heslin 1995)

On September 15, 1887, Captain Eugen Brandeis, a German officer, forced Malietoa Laupepa 
and other chiefs to sign a document declaring Tui A'ana Tupua Tamasese Titimaea as "King of Samoa." 
(Gray 1960: 78-79)

On September 15, 1902, the Navy Department informed Captain Uriel Sebree, Commandant 
of the U.S. Naval Station Tutuila, that the Department saw no need to approve any regulations 
promulgated for American Samoa, "preferring to indicate such as need amendment." Thus Sebree, 
like Tilley before him, had a great deal of freedom for lawmaking. (Bryan 1927: 56)

On September 15, 1928, Father Eduard Bellwald, S.M. reported that construction work had 
begun on the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Lepua, American Samoa. Master builder 
Fepulea'i Ned Ripley of Leone agreed to build the Church for $2,600. (Heslin 1984a, 1984b)

On September 15, 1943, Major General Charles D. Barrett, former Commanding General of the 
3rd Marine Brigade in Samoa, was named to command the First Marine Amphibious Corps at 
Nouméa, New Caledonia. Its mission: to capture Bougainville, the northernmost island in the 
Solomon chain, on November 1, 1943. (Denfeld 1989a: 27)

On September 15, 1944, Navy Scouting Squadron 51 (VSB-1), flying Vough OS2U 
Kingfisher aircraft from the Tafuna Air Base, 'Upolu and Wallis Island, was decommissioned, 
and search patrols were discontinued. (Burke 1945b: 127)

On September 15, 1944, the number of radio personnel at the U.S. Naval Station Tutuila "consisted 
of 43 enlisted personnel and 15 officers. By June 1945, this number had been reduced to 32 enlisted 
men and 4 officers." (Burke 1945b: 150)

September 16:

On September 16, 1901, Dr. Wilhelm Heinrich Solf, Governor of German Samoa, issued a 
proclamation which forbade the Samoan custom of fa'atafea (banishment of wrongdoers). 
The proclamation closed with this statement: "This is my word; everyone must obey it." (Theroux 1983b: 55)

On September 16, 1941, Private Sianava Robert Seva'aetasi, "an interpreter and former 
school teacher," the first Samoan to enlist in the First Samoan Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps 
Reserve (on July 20, 1941), was assigned to active duty. (Anonymous 1945: 4; Hudson 1994: 25)

September 17:

On September 17, 1887, Malietoa Laupepa surrendered to German Captain Eugen Brandeis, 
was taken aboard SMS Bismarck, and was sent into exile aboard SMS Adler, first to the 
Cameroons, then to Germany, and finally to Jaluit in the Marshall Islands. 
"He was accompanied by his brother Moti, Maisake and Alualu (a half-caste German interpreter)." 
(Bryan 1927: 32)

On September 17, 1903, vaccinations were made compulsory in American Samoa. (Theroux 1985)

On September 17, 1930, USS Omaha, carrying the American members of the 
American Samoan Commission, arrived in Honolulu at 8:00 a.m. (Moore and Farrington 1930: 5)

On September 17, 1942, "Sea and Foreign Shore Duty pay of twenty per cent was 
authorized...retroactive to 7 December 1941, for Samoan Marines [in the First Battalion, 
U.S. Marine Corps Reserve], although most of them were serving within 25 miles of 
their own homes." (Anonymous 1945: 16)

On September 17, 1943, "weapons [were declared to be] no longer a required 
part of the liberty uniform for Samoan Marines [in the First Samoan Battalion, 
U.S. Marine Corps Reserve]." (Anonymous 1945: 17)

September 18:

On September 18, 1844, Henry Clay Ide, Chief Justice of Samoa and later 
Governor General of the Philippines, was born in Barnett, Vermont. 
(Theroux 1985; Theroux 1986a: 40)

On September 18, 1931, following the recommendation of the American Samoan 
Commission, the position of Secretary of Native Affairs in the American Samoa Government 
was split up. The Office of the Attorney General absorbed the Secretary's duties, and a 
naval officer was appointed to that position. A civilian Chief Justice was appointed by 
the Secretary of the Navy to administer the Judicial Department. (Darden n.d.: 11)

On September 18, 1943, USS Tutuila (ARG-4; formerly USS Arthur P. Gorman),  
80 per cent complete, was transferred from the U.S. Merchant Marine to the U.S. 
Navy for conversion to an internal combustion engine repair ship by the Maryland 
Drydock Company. (Mooney VII, 1981: 367)

September 19:

On September 19, 1898, Mata'afa Iosefo ended his exile in the Marshall Islands and 
returned to his home on 'Upolu. (Bryan 1927: 39-40)

On September 19, 1918, on Tutuila, the U.S. Government purchased 
"Parcel No. 53: Watershed & Pipeline," 96 acres, from "Mauga, S. Mailo, 
Tiumalu, Savea, Mageo, Gaisoa, Fano, Leti, A. Asuega & Ho Ching" for $450.00. 
(Anonymous 1960: 4)

September 20:

On September 20, 1930, the American members of the American Samoan 
Commission left Honolulu for Pago Pago, aboard USS Omaha. The members 
were joined by Albert F. Judd, legal adviser; William S. Chillingworth, reporter; 
Reuel S. Moore, representing the United Press, and Joseph R. Farrington, 
managing editor of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Merl LaVoy, Pathé News 
photographer, had boarded Omaha at San Pedro, California, along with 
Captain William Rea Furlong, USN, Chief of the Policy and Liaison Section of the 
Navy's Office of Island Governments. (Moore and Farrington 1931: 9)

On September 20, 1932, the new Catholic church at Le'auva'a, 'Upolu, Western 
Samoa was dedicated. (Heslin 1995: vi)

On September 20, 1942, "The 3rd Marine Raider Battalion was organized...in the 
Samoan area, in accordance with authority granted by Confidential Training Force 
Order No. 4-42, dated three days before. The battalion field and staff officers were: 
Colonel Harry B. ["Harry the Horse"] Liversedge, battalion commander; Lieutenant 
Colonel Samuel S. Yeaton, battalion executive officer; Major Michael S. Currin, 
Bn. 3; 2nd Lieutenant DeVere B. Walker, Bn. 1; 2nd Lieutenant William B. Gleason, 
Bn. 2; 2nd Lieutenant Robert C. McMasters, Bn. 4." (Bearss 1978-1981: 1)

On September 20, 1943, the Utah Construction Company "concluded all construction 
which was in accordance with Contract NOy-4173 [the Pacific Naval Air Bases {PNAB} 
contract]. All property which had been leased by them was turned over to the Navy. 
The Contractor's work was taken over by the Construction Battalions [U.S. Navy "Seabees"] 
which had come on the island. To the contractors goes a great percentage of the credit for 
laying the groundwork for the defenses of Tutuila and making the island fairly well protected 
against the enemy." (Burke 1945b: 72)

September 21:

On September 21, 1904, "Mr. C.W. Frederick, assistant astronomer, and Mr. G. 
Harrison, special laborer, to act as assistant and caretaker," arrived to supervise the 
construction of an observatory at the U.S. Naval Station Tutuila. They found the original 
site, at Blunts Point, unsuitable for magnetic work, as the lava rock was "subject to 
magnetic disturbances. The only promising place found was near the village of Tafuna, 
6 miles from the [naval] station, and a mile from lava mountains." (Bryan 1927: 114)

On September 21, 1943, the U.S. Navy's Construction Battalions ("Seabees") 
assumed responsibility for all construction on Tutuila. (Burke 1945b: 72 n.50)

September 22:

On September 22, 1893, Mr. William Lea Chambers of Alabama was appointed 
Land Commissioner in Samoa, replacing Mr. E.J. Ormbee, who resigned. (Bryan 1927: 37)

On September 22, 1910, Dr. Wilhelm Heinrich Solf was succeeded by 
Dr. Erich Schultz-Ewerth as Governor of German Samoa. (Theroux 1983c: 57)

September 23:

On September 23, 1941, on Tutuila, the U.S. Government purchased 
"Parcel No. 54: Utulei Village," 17.475 acres, from "Lutu, Taesali, Afoa & Tupua" for 
$18,245.00, and "Parcel No. 55: Utulei Village," 7.90 acres, from "Tavai, La'ulu, 
Tafao & Tuuaimau, as Matais of the Tavai, La'ulu, Tafao and Tuuaimau family of Utulei Village" 
for $6,320.00. (Anonymous 1960: 4)

On September 23, 1949, President Harry S. Truman approved a Memorandum of Understanding 
recommending that American Samoa and other U.S. Pacific Territories be transferred from Naval to 
Interior administration. He established July 1, 1951 as the transfer date. (Darden n.d.: x; Olsen 1976: 217 n.107)

September 24:

On September 24, 1941, "The Commanding Officer, First Samoan Battalion [U.S. Marine Corps Reserve] 
...pointed out that from 1,500 to 2,000 Samoans were employed by the Public Works Department, Pacific 
Naval Air Bases, Contract NoY 4174 and NoY 3550, and in Island Government positions. These employees 
were generally the most intelligent and best physical specimens in Samoa. Wages of this group were high and 
enlistment in the Samoan Battalion did not compare favorably. It was recommended that a satisfactory arrangement 
be made with the Contractors to permit recruits to attend drills." (Anonymous 1945: 7)

On September 24, 1941, the commanding officer of the First Samoan Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps 
Reserve recommended to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Lieutenant General Thomas Holcomb, 
that his unit be called to active duty for a six-week basic training course in "Mormon" (i.e., Mapusaga) Valley. 
(Anonymous 1945: 6)

On September 24, 1942, Captain John Gould Moyer, Commandant of the U.S. Naval Station Tutuila, 
requested 108 additional men to participate in the construction of a destroyer repair base. (Burke 1945b: 54 n.40)

On September 24, 1945, the second USS Tutuila (ARG-4) dropped anchor at Jinsen (now called Inchon), 
Korea. "She operated there as a maintenance vessel for ships engaged in the repatriation of Japanese prisoners 
of war. She continued this work after moving to Taku, China, where she arrived on 26 January 1946." (Mooney VII, 1981: 367)

September 25:

On September 25, 1844, Reverends George Turner and C. Hardie of the London Missionary Society 
were appointed to take charge of a new seminary at Malua, 'Upolu. (Bryan 1927: 100; Garrett 1982: 125)

On September 25, 1961, a census revealed that Western Samoa's population was 114,427. (Davidson 1967: 415)

September 26:

On September 26, 1850, Emma Eliza ("Queen Emma") Coe, founder of a vast commercial empire in the Pacific, 
was born in Apia. (Day 1969 [1986]: 86; Warburton 1996: 26-27)

On September 26, 1930, the cruiser USS Omaha arrived in Pago Pago Harbor, carrying the American 
members of the American Samoan Commission. They were greeted by the Samoan members: Mauga Moimoi, 
Tufele Fa'atoia, and Magalei, who were appointed to the Commission by President Herbert Hoover. Captain 
William Rea Furlong, Chief of the Policy and Liaison Section of the Navy's Office of Island Governments, acted 
as Naval Aide to the Commission. In the afternoon, formal hearings began at the Poyer School in Anua. (Moore and Farrington 1931: 13)

September 27:

On September 27, 1845, French Marist Fathers Gilbert Roudaire and Louis Violette arrived in Apia, and 
were welcomed by Tui Atua Mata'afa Fagamanu. (Heslin 1995: iii; 24-25)

On September 27, 1904, Commander E.B. Underwood, Commandant, U.S. Naval Station Tutuila, issued 
his "Regulation No. 6-1904: Abortion; Adultery; Fornication; Assault; Assault by Pointing Gun; Bigamy; 
Bribery; Burglary; Carrying Concealed Weapons; Compounding a Criminal Offense; Concealing Dead Body; 
Cruelty to Animals; Destroying Public Records; Disorderly Conduct; Disorderly Houses and Discharging Firearms." 
(Noble 1931: 25-28)

September 28:

On September 28, 1926, Western Samoan Mau leader Olaf Frederick Nelson returned from a lengthy visit to 
Australia and New Zealand, and was accorded a public welcome in Apia. The principal speaker, Major General 
Sir George Spafford Richardson, New Zealand's Administrator of Western Samoa, praised Nelson as one who 
was giving conspicuous service to his country, and as a greatly valued friend. The chairman praised Richardson 
as "a citizen-soldier of the highest humane type," and Nelson added his words of praise for the general. (Davidson 1967: 114)

On September 28, 1930, a Sunday, the members of the American Samoan Commission arose early 
to attend the services of the London Missionary Society at the Society's Pago Pago church, with 
"approximately 300 Samoan worshipers." (Moore and Farrington 1931: 29-30)

September 29:

On September 29, 1902, the third Catholic church at Lealatele, Savai'i was blessed. (Heslin 1995: 57)

On September 29, 1917, four papalagi men arrived in Pago Pago Harbor in an open boat, and reported 
that their schooner was destroyed by by the German raider SMS Seeadler, commanded by the legendary 
Count Felix von Luckner, the "Sea Devil." (Bryan 1927: 51)