Arthur Williams (died 3 October 1953) was an Australian-born Western Samoan plumber and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Council between 1924 and 1929.

Biography

Born in Australia, as a teenager Williams ran away to

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

, where he worked as a chauffeur for the government.Tales of Time: Williams Family
The Coconet In 1915 he visited Western Samoa and decided to remain in the territory permanently. He subsequently set up a plumbing and tinsmith business in 1917,Mr. Arthur Williams
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', December 1953, p126 and married Telesia Tuala in July 1919. He was a

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and a founding member of the Calliope

masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

, as well as being an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

in the Grand Lodge of New Zealand. When a partially-elected Legislative Council was established, Williams contested the first elections in 1924, and was one of three people elected to the council. Like the other two,

Olaf Frederick Nelson Ta'isi Olaf Frederick Nelson (24 February 1883 – 28 February 1944) was a Samoan businessman and politician. He was one of the founding leaders of the anti-colonial Mau movement. Biography Nelson was born on 24 February 1883 in Safune on th ...

and George Westbrook, he was a member of the anti-colonial

Mau movement The Mau was a non-violent movement for Samoan independence from colonial rule during the first half of the 20th century. ''Mau'' means ‘resolute’ or ‘resolved’ in the sense of ‘opinion’, ‘unwavering’, ‘to be decided’, or ...

. He was subsequently re-elected in the

1926 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1926. Africa * 1926 Egyptian parliamentary election * 1926 Lagos by-election * 1926 Northern Rhodesian general election * 1926 South West African legislative election Asia * 1926 Hong Kong sanitary ...

.Lauofo Meti (2002) ''Samoa: The Making of the Constitution'', National University of Samoa, p19 However, in the 1929 elections he finished last out of four candidates and lost his seat. He ran unsuccessfully again in the 1941 elections.Samoan Council Election
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', December 1941, p8 He died at

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō ...

Government Hospital on 3 October 1953.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Arthur Australian expatriates in Fiji Australian emigrants to Samoa 20th-century Samoan businesspeople Members of the Legislative Council of Samoa 1953 deaths