2. Facts about Samoa
• Located in the South Pacific Ocean, ~
halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand
• 99% of land mass is from two main
islands: Savai’i and Upolu
• Upolu is home to 75% of Samoan
population.
3.
4. Where and When?
• RLS first came to Samoa in December
1889.
• Arrived in Apia, the capital of Samoa.
• Stayed for 6 weeks before leaving for
Sydney, Australia.
• Eventually returned to Samoa in 1890
after falling ill in Australia.
5. Vailima, Part 1
• Vailima was the estate that RLS had built
upon his return to Apia.
• The name of the estate translates to “five
creeks” in Samoan.
• The original house was home to five white
inhabitants (including Stevenson and his
family) and twelve Samoans.
7. Vailima, Part 2
• Towards the end of 1892, Stevenson, after
some persuasion, had Vailima expanded.
• The new estate was the largest house on
the island.
13. Writing in Samoa
• Island Nights’ Entertainments (1893)
• The Ebb-Tide (1894)
• Weir of Hermiston (unfinished, 1896)
• Several letters written to The Times on the
Samoans’ behalf.
14. RLS’s Death
• Stevenson died of a cerebral hemmorhage on
December 3rd, 1894
• While struggling to open a bottle of wine, he
turned to his wife and asked, “Does my face look
strange?” before collapsing on the floor.
• He was buried on Mount Vaea on a spot
overlooking the ocean.
15. The Epitaph
• Stevenson had always wanted his
“Requiem” inscribed on the tomb:
Under the wide and starry sky,
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.
19. Vailima Now
• Vailima was purchased in 1900
• Official residence of:
• the German governor
• the New Zealand administrator
• the Samoan Head of State
