Built from despair: Maota Samoa celebrates 45-years

Central Auckland 1978 was at the height of Pacific unrest with the Dawn Raids, but amidst the racial tensions the iconic Maota Samoa building was opened.

The first traditional Samoan house built outside of Samoa celebrated its 45th anniversary at the weekend, filling its halls with the familiar sounds, crafts, and smells of its rich Pacific history.

Speaking on 531pi’s Pacific Days, Friends of Samoa committee member Olivia Taouma says a market day held at the heritage building are small steps towards breathing life back into the Samoa House.

“To bring some of our people back into the fale and celebrate her and the magnificence of her history and of her heart that still lies within our communities.”

Among the event's attendees were prominent Pacific women politicians, Labour Party's Jenny Salesa, Anahila Kanongata'a and Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni who says, "it was a wonderful fiafia day".

Taouma says at the time of the forceful removal of Pacific peoples from the buzzing hub of Auckland, the Maota Samoa served as a haven for not just Samoan people but all Pacific cultures and events.

And it was opened by the very same government that carried out the Dawn Raids.

“Funnily, the irony is that the person who opened the Maota Samoa was the Prime Minister at the time, Robert Muldoon who was also the Prime Minister who led the Dawn Raids.

“In some ways it’s a little bit ironic, here he is opening this beacon of hope and gathering of our people at the same time as doing incredibly traumatic events.”

Watch the full interview with Olivia Taouma speaking about the celebration of Maota Samoa on Pacific Days below.