Arthur Williams (Samoan politician)
Arthur Williams (died 3 October 1953) was an Australian-born Western Samoan plumber and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Council between 1924 and 1929.
Arthur Williams | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Legislative Council | |
| In office 1924–1929 | |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 3 October 1953 Apia, Western Samoa |
| Profession | Plumber |
Biography edit
Born in Australia, as a teenager Williams ran away to Fiji, where he worked as a chauffeur for the government.[1] In 1915 he visited Western Samoa and decided to remain in the territory permanently.[1] He subsequently set up a plumbing and tinsmith business in 1917,[2][3][4] and married Telesia Tuala in July 1919.[5] He was a freemason and a founding member of the Calliope masonic lodge, as well as being an officer in the Grand Lodge of New Zealand.[2]
When a partially-elected Legislative Council was established, Williams contested the first elections in 1924, and was one of three people elected to the council.[6] Like the other two, Olaf Frederick Nelson and George Westbrook, he was a member of the anti-colonial Mau movement.[7] He was subsequently re-elected in the 1926 elections.[8] However, in the 1929 elections he finished last out of four candidates and lost his seat.[9] He ran unsuccessfully again in the 1941 elections.[10]
References edit
- ^ a b Tales of Time: Williams Family The Coconet
- ^ a b c Mr. Arthur Williams Pacific Islands Monthly, December 1953, p126
- ^ A. Williams Samoanische Zeitung, 5 May 1917
- ^ A. Williams Samoanische Zeitung, 19 May 1917
- ^ Local and General Samoanische Zeitung, 26 July 1919, p6
- ^ Local and General Samoanische Zeitung, 8 February 1924, p5
- ^ Samoan deportations New Zealand Herald, 27 December 1927
- ^ Lauofo Meti (2002) Samoa: The Making of the Constitution, National University of Samoa, p19
- ^ Local and General Samoanische Zeitung, 15 November 1929
- ^ Samoan Council Election Pacific Islands Monthly, December 1941, p8