Cricket, Kirikiti and Imperialism in Samoa, 1879–1939

311 Pages·2019·3.85 MB·English

by  Benjamin Sacks

PALGRAVE STUDIES IN
SPORT AND POLITICS
Cricket, Kirikiti and
Imperialism in Samoa,
1879–1939
Benjamin Sacks
Palgrave Studies in Sport and Politics
Series Editors
Martin Polley
International Centre for Sports History and Culture
De Montfort University
Leicester, Leicestershire, UK
Daphné Bolz
University of Rouen Normandy, France
Susan Grant
HSS, John Foster Bldg
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool, UK
Keiko Ikeda
Hokkaido University, Japan
Barbara Keys
University of Melbourne
Parkville, VIC, Australia
Iain Lindsey
School of Applied Social Sciences
Durham University
Durham, UK
Ramón Spaaij
Victoria University, Australia
Palgrave Studies in Sport and Politics aims to nurture new research, both
historical and contemporary, to the complex inter-relationships between
sport and politics. The books in this series will range in their focus from
the local to the global, and will embody a broad approach to politics,
encompassing the ways in which sport has interacted with the state, dissi-
dence, ideology, war, human rights, diplomacy, security, policy, identities,
the law, and many other forms of politics. It includes approaches from a
range of disciplines, and promotes work by new and established scholars
from around the world.
Advisory Board:
Dr Daphné Bolz, University of Normandy – Rouen, France
Dr Susan Grant, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
Dr Keiko Ikeda, Hokkaido University, Japan
Dr Barbara Keys, University of Melbourne, Australia
Dr Iain Lindsey, Durham University, UK
Dr Ramon Spaaij, Victoria University, Australia and University of
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/15061
Benjamin Sacks
Cricket, Kirikiti and
Imperialism in Samoa,
1879–1939
Benjamin Sacks
The University of Western Australia
Crawley, Australia
ISSN 2365-998X ISSN 2365-9998 (electronic)
Palgrave Studies in Sport and Politics
ISBN 978-3-030-27267-8 ISBN 978-3-030-27268-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27268-5
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer
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A
cknowledgements
This book began as a doctoral thesis at the University of Western Australia
(UWA). I therefore owe much to the guidance that my supervisors, Jeremy
Martens and David Barrie, provided throughout my candidature. Their
advice was also invaluable in transforming a rather sprawling dissertation
into a more manageable (and, I hope, readable) book. I would also like to
thank others at UWA for their support on the journey: Mary Lyn de Silva,
for her friendship through the writing process; Kieran Dolin, for his coun-
sel about publication and copyright; and both Bec Rey and Sam
Hutchinson, whose assorted hints and tips were invaluable in navigating
the publication process.
The journey to this book began with prompting from Brian Stoddart,
who pointed me towards Samoan sport as a site of potential scholarly
enquiry and followed my progress with interest and kindness. Since then,
I have been fortunate enough to test and refine my work with input from
scholars of both sport and Oceania. I owe a particular debt to Peter
Hempenstall, Malcolm MacLean and Greg Ryan, whose careful readings
of my work provided the impetus for this book. I would also like to thank
Toeolesulusulu Damon Salesa, who graciously invited me to speak at the
‘New Horizons in Samoan History’ conference held at the University of
Auckland. The opportunity to present my research to—and to engage
with and learn from—an audience of Samoan scholars, leaders and the
wider community was an experience I will always cherish. It also gave me
confidence that my research held some value for Samoan people both in
and outside the academy—an important affirmation for a papalagi writing
in Perth, Western Australia.
v
vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am also grateful to the people who supported my research in other
ways. In New Zealand, I wish to acknowledge Safua Akeli, who advised
me at length about kirikiti; Uili Fecteau, who assisted me at the National
Archives; Roger Swanson, who guided my search at the Alexander
Turnbull Library and even sent scans of Samoan newspapers to Perth; and
Christine Liava’a, who helped me source one of the photographs in an
otherwise image-light monograph. In the United States, I offer my heart-
felt thanks to Bill Green, whose efforts were invaluable in navigating the
US National Archives at San Bruno. I also sincerely thank Tolu Fredericksen
for her help in translating several documents.
At Palgrave Macmillan I thank Emily Russell and the editorial team for
their patience and help. I am particularly indebted to Emily for her sober
counsel and accommodating attitude, traits that proved very useful as I
fumbled my way through the publication process. I am also grateful to the
series editor of Sport and Politics, Martin Polley, for his enthusiastic sup-
port and his help in refining the proposal and the structure of the book’s
flow and argument.
My personal debts are fewer in number, though no less significant. This
book owes its genesis to my maternal grandfather, Isaac Katzenellenbogen,
who first showed me cricket’s unique pleasures on a family holiday to
Queenstown, New Zealand, in January 1999. My parents—Sydney Sacks
and Judy Katzenellenbogen—taught me to learn, encouraged me to
explore my own intellectual horizons and supported all my endeavours.
My father’s assistance was particularly invaluable in writing this book, as
he ‘celebrated’ retirement by copyediting the final manuscript. Any mis-
takes are my own, of course. Judy Berman provided a mother-in-law’s
critical eye to the book manuscript at various junctures. Above all, my
deep gratitude goes to Ye’elah Berman for her unconditional love,
ungrudging support and unwavering faith in me. She has helped me meet
every challenge along the way, especially those of my own creation.
c
ontents
1 Introduction: an English game, a Samoan contest 1
2 Transcultural adoption in Samoa (and in sport) 19
3 From cricket to kirikiti 51
4 Colonial officials: play halted “in the interests of industry
and progress” 89
5 Christian missionaries: “much that was distinctly
heathenish” 127
6 Colonists, ‘afakasi and military men: sundries on ‘the
Beach’ 155
7 Navigating colonialism in three contexts: “cricket assumed
a political importance” 189
8 Navigating New Zealand colonialism: “more interested in
playing cricket than in Samoan politics” 221
vii
viii CONTENTS
9 Conclusion: sporting contest at the edges of empire 253
Appendix A: Selected Samoan Titles and Titleholders 261
Appendix B: Select Foreign Officials in Samoa 263
Glossary 265
References 269
Index 293
A
bbreviAtions
ANZ Archives New Zealand
AGCA Archives of the German Colonial Administration—Samoa (Archives
New Zealand)
ATL Alexander Turnbull Library (Wellington, New Zealand)
BMO British Military Occupation of Samoa, 1914–1920 (Archives New
Zealand)
DHPG Deutsche Handels-und Plantagen Gesellschaft der Südseeinseln zu
Hamburg
IT Department of Island Territories (Archives New Zealand)
LDS Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
LMS London Missionary Society
MCC Marylebone Cricket Club
ML Mitchell Library (Sydney, Australia)
MMD Mormon Missionary Diaries collection (Brigham Young University,
United States)
NARA National Archives and Records Administration (San Bruno, United
States)
PMB Pacific Manuscripts Bureau
RG 284 Records of the Government of American Samoa, 1900–1966
(National Archives and Records Administration)
RG 313 Records of Naval Operating Forces, 1849–1997 (National Archives
and Records Administration)
T1182 Records of the Government of American Samoa, 1900–1958
[microfilm] (National Archives and Records Administration)
ix