Re-defining "the beach" : the municipality of Apia, 1879-1900

Abstract

Throughout the nineteenth century ‘the beach’ was a term used to refer to the five key portside settlements of the Pacific: Honolulu, Pape’ete, Kororāreka, Levuka and Apia. This thesis considers the relationship between the evolution of this concept and the development of the port town community resident at Apia, Samoa. In this pursuit a particular focus has been given to the signing of the 1879 Municipal Convention of Apia. Through the signing of this Convention the space of ‘the beach’ was re-defined as an international treaty port within the sovereign state of Samoa. In this regard, the port town of Apia was re-defined as both a ‘neutral territory’ and a ‘municipal zone’ and was brought under the jurisdiction of a consular-controlled Municipal Board. In the light of these attempts to ‘control’ the community resident at Apia, this thesis will examine the ways in which the establishment of the Municipality was intimately connected to a desire to re-define both the physical and the ideological landscape of ‘the beach’ at Apia. To illustrate this, particular attention will be given to the concept of ‘the beach’ and its relevance to this community, the establishment of the Municipality, the workings of the Municipal Board, and finally the gradual re-definition of ‘the beach’ that was largely achieved through the relegation of this concept to the past, and the introduction of respectable forms of sociability to Apia. At its heart, therefore, the thesis is concerned with the evolution of an urban space and of a community, and the ways in which its development may be encapsulated within one term – ‘the beach’.