Vailima is the name of a village about four miles south of

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 ...

, the capital of

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

. The population is 769. Vailima is part of the electoral political district

Tuamasaga Tuamāsaga is a district of Samoa, with a population (2016 Census) of 95,907. The geographic area of Tuamasaga covers the central part of Upolu island. History & Politics Malie & the Malietoa The paramount ''matai'' title of Tuamasaga is the M ...

Origins

The name Vailima means "water in the hand", according to an old Samoan tale. A woman gave some water (vai) in her hand (lima) to help her thirsty companion. A widely quoted misinterpretation states that the name means "five waters", as the word "lima" means both "hand" and "five" in Samoan.

Connections with Robert Louis Stevenson

The village is most known as the location of the last residence of

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

, named "Villa Vailima", which is now the

Robert Louis Stevenson Museum The Robert Louis Stevenson Museum is a museum in Samoa, which commemorates the life of the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. The museum displays a curated version of his residence, as Stevenson lived in it. Its establishment was funded by ...

. The estate has had a varied past with it functioning further as the residence for the governor of

German Samoa German Samoa (german: Deutsch-Samoa) was a German protectorate from 1900 to 1920, consisting of the islands of Upolu, Savai'i, Apolima and Manono, now wholly within the independent state of Samoa, formerly ''Western Samoa''. Samoa was the last ...

, the administrator of the New Zealand mandatory authority and the Samoan head of state. It is now a museum in honour of Stevenson and has been substantially restored. Stevenson is buried in a tomb on

Mount Vaea Mount Vaea is a 472 m summit overlooking Apia, the capital of Samoa located on the north central coast of Upolu island. The mountain is situated south about 3 km inland from Apia township and harbour. The settlement at the foothills on ...

overlooking Vailima. He had two wishes for his burial, to be buried on the top of Mount Vaea and to be buried with his boots on as he used those boots to walk on the Samoan lands.

References

Populated places in Tuamasaga {{Oceania-struct-stub