1918 Samoa & The Talune - Ship of Death

The relationship between New Zealand and Samoa is very complex. The pages of our histories are intertwined and blotted with black marks right next to NZ’s name. On the 7th November 1918, the NZ military administration controlling Samoa, led by Col. Robert Logan, made the deadly decision to knowingly allow a ship called the Talune carrying Spanish Influenza to dock in Apia Harbour.  The results were catastrophic, wiping out over a quarter of Samoas population and decimating entire families and villages in what is one of the worst cultural catastrophes in history.