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, 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, p126A. Williams Samoanische Zeitung, 5 May 1917A. Williams Samoanische Zeitung, 19 May 1917 and married Telesia Tuala in July 1919.Local and General Samoanische Zeitung, 26 July 1919, p6 He was a freemason and a founding member of the Calliope masonic lodge, as well as being an officer 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.Local and General Samoanische Zeitung, 8 February 1924, p5 Like the other two, Olaf Frederick Nelson and George Westbrook, he was a member of the anti-colonial Mau movement.Samoan deportations New Zealand Herald, 27 December 1927 He was subsequently re-elected in the 1926 elections.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.Local and General Samoanische Zeitung, 15 November 1929 He ran unsuccessfully again in the 1941 elections.Samoan Council Election Pacific Islands Monthly, December 1941, p8
He died at Apia Government Hospital on 3 October 1953.
References