Apia

Apia is the capital and most populous city of Samoa. It is located in the central part of the northern coast of Upolu Island, the second largest island in the country. Apia is the only city in Samoa and falls within the political district (itūmālō) of Tuamasaga. It also has the main port of the country.

The city lies in the natural harbor at the mouth of the Vaisigano River, on a narrow coastal plain with Mount Vaea (472 m) to the south, the village of Letogo to the east, and a new industrialized area known as Vaitele to the south. west. The urban area of Apia had a population of 36,735 in the 2011 census, representing 19.6% of the country's population. Apia is commonly known as Ciudad de Apia (City of Apia).

Etymology

The etymology of Apia is unknown, it has been related to the Samoan (in common register) api, which means: "accommodation".

History

A high boss, Seumanutafa Pogai, between 1890 - 1910

Apia was originally a small village (in 1800 the population was 340), and has retained its name to this day. The original village still exists in what is now the modern capital area, which has grown into a sprawling urban area with many villages within its territory. Like any other town in the country, the village of Apia has its own leaders (matai) and fa'alupega (Geneaology and customary greetings) according to fa& #39;to Samoa (the Samoan way).

The modern city was founded in the 1850s and became the official capital of the country in 1959.

On March 15 and March 16, 1899, a typhoon hit Samoa and consequently also the port of Apia. In it were three warships from the United States and three from Germany, as well as the British cruiser Calliope. Both the United States and Germany were in Samoa to protect the interests of their nations during the revolts that were taking place in the country. Although it was seen that the storm was approaching, all the ships decided to stay since the local inhabitants thought that the worst was over. The British ship Calliope made it out of port and through the storm, and of the six remaining ships, only the American Nipsic and the German Olga made it. stay afloat and be repaired later.

Samoa has always opposed European colonial rule. During German rule there were two episodes of rebellion, and there were several requests for independence from the New Zealand administration once the islands became dependent on New Zealand. But it was in the 1920s that organized resistance began with two rallies in October 1926 in the city.

On Saturday, December 28, 1929, the incident known as "Black Saturday" took place. During the country's struggle for independence from New Zealand sovereignty, Samoans had organized themselves into the mau movement. That day a parade was held on the Apia waterfront to welcome two Samoan leaders who had been in exile in New Zealand. The New Zealand authorities tried to arrest the secretary of the mau movement and this led to rejection by the protesters and the arrival of a greater number of police. A police sergeant fired to disperse the protesters, but three other policemen, in a panic, fired into the crowd, killing eight Samoans: Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III, Migao, Leota Anese, Tapu, Ainoa, Faumuina de Savai' i, Vele and Tu'ia. The New Zealand authorities considered that the tragic event had been caused by the Samoan reaction and that the use of the weapons had been justified, but the Samoan view was opposed, accusing the New Zealanders of firing indiscriminately causing the massacre.

Geography

Apia view.

Apia is situated in a natural harbor in the estuary of the Vaisiagano River, on a narrow coastal plain, with Mount Vaea, 472 m s. no. m., the burial place of writer Robert Louis Stevenson, directly to the south. Two main ridges run south on either side of the Vaisigano River, with roads on each. The westernmost of these is the Cross Island Road, one of the few highways running north-south through the center of the island to the southern coast of Upolu.

Climate

Apia has an equatorial climate with consistent temperatures throughout the year. The dry season is from July to August when there is an average of 8 mm of rainfall. The rainy season that goes from November to March can easily present average rainfall greater than 30 mm. The average temperature of the city throughout the year is 26 degrees Celsius.

Average climatic parameters of Apia, Samoa
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	32	33	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	33	33	32	33
Average temperature (°C)	30	29	30	30	29	29	29	28	28	29	30	29	29
Average temperature (°C)	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	25	25	26	26	26	26
Temp. medium (°C)	23	24	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	20	21	21	20	19	19	17	18	18	18	20	21	17
Rains (mm)	450	380	350	250	160	120	80	80	130	170	260	370	2850
Days of rain (≥ 1 mm)	19	18	17	15	13	11	8	9	12	14	16	17	173
Relative humidity (%)	81	80	80	78	77	75	76	75	75	77	77	78	77
Source: Weatherbase

Administration

Government buildings in Apia

Apia is part of the Tuamasaga political district and the Vaimauga West and Faleata East constituencies. There is no urban administration for the city, and for the purposes of the census by the Samoa Bureau of Statistics, Apia encompasses the districts of Vaimauga West and Faleata East. Apia is made up of some 45 independent and individual villages. The city, itself, is just a small town between the mouths of the rivers Vaisigano to the East and Mulivai to the West; bounded by the villages of Vaigasano and Mulivai, which together comprise Downtown Apia.

The Urban Planning Management Authority (PUMA) Act 2004 (as amended in 2005) was passed by Parliament to better plan for the urban growth of built-up areas in Samoa, with special emphasis on the future urban management of Apia. The city's historic haphazard growth from a village to a colonial trading post to the country's great financial and business center has led to significant infrastructure problems for the city. Flooding problems are common in the rainy season, given the low floodplain on which the city is built. In the village of Sogi, in the center of the city, there are significant problems of shoreline and effluent pollution, since the village is situated on swamps. The disparate administrations between the different villages of Apia has resulted in the lack of a unified and systematized legislative approach to waste disposal. The relatively high growth in vehicle ownership has given rise to traffic congestion on inner-city streets and the need for major projects in road widening and traffic management. The PUMA legislation created the Urban Management Planning Authority to better manage the specific planning issues facing Apia's urban growth.

Characteristics of the city

Mulinu'u, the former ceremonial capital, lies to the west of the city and is home to the Parliament House (Fale Fono) and the historic observatory, which is now the meteorology office.

The name of the old Catholic cathedral of Apia was the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, but in mid-2011 the old cathedral was demolished due to structural damage caused by the 2009 earthquake, and a new one was built new cathedral. Due to this earthquake, of magnitude 8.3 on the Richter scale, the entire population of the city was evacuated to higher areas.

The port is an area that has recently been put in value and recovered, on an adjacent piece of land reclaimed from the sea is the Fiame Mataafa Faumuina Mulinuu II, the multi-story government building named in honor of the Prime Minister of Samoa, and the Central Bank of Samoa. A clock tower erected as a war memorial serves as the center of the town. Apia has a certain number of buildings of recent construction but there are still some buildings scattered around the city that are made of wood, dating from the colonial era. The most notable is the courthouse, which has a museum on the first floor. After many years of neglect, this building was restored in 2004. Also in a revalued area is the main bus station, near the old fish market, where souvenirs are now sold. The new market (maketi fou) is inland at Fugalei, where it is more sheltered from the effects of cyclones. The ACC building (2001) houses the Accident Compensation Board, the National Bank of Samoa, and some government departments. The mall below it houses shops and restaurants. The Samoatel building (2004) which is the site of the operations center for Samoa's international telecommunications was built inland at Maluafou, again to protect it from the effects of seasonal cyclones. The DBS building (2007) in Savalalo houses the Development Bank of Samoa and the new court complex in Mulinuu houses the district, supreme, and land and title courts (2010). The Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese building (2012) in Sogi, houses the government ministries. The most recent addition to Apia's urban landscape is the SNPF Molesi shopping center (2013), as is the new hospital in Motootua.

In terms of architecture, there is a mix of old colonial buildings and more modern western-style houses, along with some traditional Samoan houses (fale).

Writer Robert Louis Stevenson spent the last four years of his life here and is entombed on Mount Vaea, which overlooks the city and the house he built himself, Vailima«, which is now a museum in his memory.

The city is home to the country's only university, the National University of Samoa.

Economy

Polyniesian Airlines has its headquarters in the Samoa National Provident Fund building in Apia, as does the telecommunications company SamoaTel. Fish and copra are the country's largest exports, while cotton products, motor vehicles, meat and sugar are its main imports.

Transportation

Airplane at the airport.

The port of Apia is the largest and busiest of all ports in Samoa. International shipments with containers and fuels arrive there. Ferries to Tokelau and American Samoa leave from there.

Apia has a good road network which is generally in a good state of maintenance. Most of the roads are paved, and those that are not are rarely used. Vehicles have been driving on the right side of the road since September 7, 2009. Speed limits are 25 mph (40 km/h) near the city center and 35 mph (56 km/h) in the rest of the country with a limit of 15 mph (24 km/h) in special circumstances.

The Samoan government began the second phase of a major modernization of arterial routes throughout the Apia urban area in 2012, with the gradual widening of the city's main roads.

Samoa has no rail or tram but has a large privatized bus and taxi service. It is common for people to walk around the city or even walk to some places outside the city. There are few bicycles and motorcycles, but traffic congestion due to a large increase in vehicle ownership has required a major modernization of road infrastructure.

Fagali'i Airport, a small airstrip located in the suburb of the same name, is used for domestic flights and international flights to Pago Pago, American Samoa. The city's main international airport, Faleolo International Airport, is located 40 minutes' drive west of the city. The largest airlines in the country, Polynesian Airlines and Samoa Air, serve this airport.

Communications

Telephone services are efficient with local, trunk and international dialing. Both BlueSky SamoaTel and Digicel operate mobile telephony services, with a high rate of cell phone ownership in the country. Broadband Internet services are available at various Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the city.

International Internet services are served by fiber optic cable thanks to America Samoa Hawaii Cable. A submarine fiber optic cable that links American Samoa, Samoa and Hawaii, as well as the Samoa-American Samoa Cable, which links the different islands. These cables came into use on May 28, 2009, and one of the cable's three land stations is located in Apia, called Apia Cable Landing Station. It has a backup satellite link. Several Internet service providers offer broadband and dial-up services. Previous reliance on satellite links meant that there was brief service interruption caused by the sun passing behind a satellite, or longer periods during high winds when antennas had to be parked to secure them. In addition to private service subscriptions, multiple internet cafes are present in Apia.

Education

Apia is home to numerous pre-school, primary, secondary and post-secondary educational institutions, including the country's only university, the National University of Samoa. In addition, the School of Agriculture of the University of the South Pacific has a campus in Alafua, on the outskirts of Apia.

Universities

• National University of Samoa
• University of the South Pacific
• University of Oceania Medicine

Schools

• Avele College, Avele
• Church College of Samoa, pesega
• Faatuatua Christian College, Vaitele Fou
• Leififi College, Leififi
• Leulumoega-fou College, Malua
• Malua Theological College
• Maluafou College, Maluafou
• Saint Joseph's College, Alafua
• Assemblies of God Harvest Bible College, Lotopa
• Saint Mary's College, Vaimoso
• Samoa College, Vaivase Tai
• Fia Malamalama-i-Siulapa College (School for students with special needs)
• Samoa Adventist College, Lalovaea
• Robert Louis Stevenson College, Tafaigata
• Wesley College, Faleula
• Nuuausala College
• Paul Six College
• Chanel College, Moamoa

Elementary schools

Most villages have their own primary schools but churches own most of the primary schools in central Apia.

• Marist Brother's School, Mulivai
• Saint Mary's School, Savalalo
• Peace Chaapel School, Vaimea
• Apia Baptist School, Aai or Niue
• Seventh-day Adventist Primary School, Lalovaea

Sports

Pacific Games

Apia hosted the Pacific Games for the first time in the history of the city and the country in 1983. The Games returned to Apia in 2007, where Samoa finished third in the medal table. Twenty thousand spectators attended the closing ceremony that was held in Apia Park.

Association Football

Apia was the venue for the Oceania qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. Thus, Apia was the first place where a goal was scored for the qualifiers, scored by Pierre Wajoka of New Caledonia against Tahiti. Qualifying matches began on August 27, 2007 and ended on September 7, 2007. All matches were played at the Toleafoa JS Complex Blatter, named after FIFA President Sepp Blatter.

Judo

The city also hosted the 2010 Olympic Judo World Cup qualifiers in November of the same year. The competition saw judokas from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA participate.

Cricket

Apia hosted the 2012 ICC Cricket World League Division Eight tournament at the Faleata Oval, consisting of four cricket grounds. The national teams of Samoa, Belgium, Japan, Suriname, Ghana, Bhutan, Norway and Vanuatu participated. It was the first time that a tournament was officially sanctioned by the International Cricket Council that had been held in the region.

Sister Cities

• Compton, California, United States (2010)
• Engineer Budge, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.