Series Classification: PG (Parental Guidance) | Watch the series here
In 1915, Samoan independence activist I’iga Pisa was condemned to exile in Saipan by the German colonisers of Samoa.
In an extraordinary feat, he escaped from his 5 year exile sentence by secretly carving out an outrigger canoe and paddling from Saipan to Guam. This was a distance of more than 150 km over a period of several days in which he navigated using the stars.
He had taught himself German during the colonial period of German rule in Samoa, but on landing in American-ruled Guam, he learned that New Zealand had taken over as the new colonial rulers of Samoa.
I'iga taught himself English and travelled by boat from Guam to Hawai’i, another U.S. territory in the early 1920s. In Hawai'i, he worked in a printing firm and improved his English with the aim of returning to his homeland of Samoa and fighting for Samoan sovereignty - this time against the New Zealand administration.
I’iga worked for the Department of Samoan Affairs, under the New Zealand Administration, until 1942.
I'iga was the only one of the exiled Samoan revolutionaries who survived to see Samoa win back its freedom from New Zealand in 1962.
A young I'iga hugs his wife (dramatic recreation). Photo: Tikilounge Productions / Tuki Laumea
NZ On Air Photo: NZOA
