The Ofisa o le Mau in Vaimoso has been reopened as Samoa remembers the work, sacrifice and faith of those who carried the country’s struggle for self-government.
Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt opened the restored office on Tuesday, 2 June 2026, during the week Samoa is commemorating 64 years of independence.
In his address, the Prime Minister said the building and its land remain part of the story of Samoa’s search for self-government. He said the office had been rebuilt in the form it first had in 1927, when the Mau established its office on the land, with Mata’utia Karauna serving as its first secretary.
The site in Vaimoso was where the work of the Mau a Samoa was centred, and where the people gathered to support the call of “O Samoa mo Samoa”.
The Prime Minister said the occasion was not only about the completion of a building. It was a return to a place tied to the lives and service of Samoa’s forefathers.
He spoke of the Mau as a movement carried with peace and humility. He said those who went before did not retreat from the work before them, but prepared a Samoa where their children could live freely.
He said their sacrifice was made so that Samoa would not lose its inheritance, its country and its right to stand as a free nation.
The Prime Minister also referred to the pain carried in Samoa’s history, including the blood, hardship and the events of Black Saturday. He said the founding of the Mau, the work taken before the international community, and the courage of those involved are not matters the country can forget.
He said 100 years had passed since the Mau Office was established in Vaimoso, but the sacrifice of Samoa’s forefathers remains alive in the hearts of the people.
The Prime Minister thanked the village and district of Faleata 1 for their decision to rebuild the office. He said the building will help future generations, especially the children of Samoa, understand the value of freedom and service to the country.
He also said the restored office should become a place for learning about Samoa’s history and a site for visitors who come to Samoa.
The reopening of the Ofisa o le Mau places Vaimoso again within the public memory of Samoa’s independence story. It is a reminder that the country’s freedom was not given lightly. It was carried by people who believed Samoa should stand for itself, under God, and for its own children.
The Prime Minister closed by asking God’s blessing upon the work, the village, church leaders, elders, families and the young people of Samoa.
He also extended well wishes for the commemoration of Samoa’s 64th Independence anniversary.
This article is based on the official address delivered by Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt at the opening of the Ofisa o le Mau in Vaimoso on Tuesday, 2 June 2026.
