Samoa won the heart of one of the world’s renowned writers in Robert Louis Stevenson and that is why he made our islands his home for more than four years until his death.
His home is now a museum attraction in Samoa and it is a world class museum.
But it’s not the house that makes this museum a hidden treasure.
"We don’t get much visits from locals. We mostly just receive tourists from cruise ships, charter jets and tourists coming for holiday in Samoa and that’s all there is. They mostly come to learn about the history of Mr. Stevenson and to see the home of the famous author," said Senior Tour Guide for the Museum, Nitrosene Matealona.
Matealona's biggest concern is that in this museum are the pieces of Samoa's history that would enlighten a history class, find inspirations and maybe remind a few locals of how our ancestors treated their relationship with people like Robert Louis Stevenson
"He had 20 workers, but these people, they loved to come spend time here with Stevenson, they loved him and his family loved them just the same," added Matealona.
Despite the house being named after Robert Louis Stevenson, in this same infrastructure, lived the former leaders of Samoa and the tales of its growth lie in the rooms of this one house.
"In this house, lived a man named Mr Gustav Kuntz, who was German trader, in here lived the leaders of the countries that once ruled Samoa," he added.
"Even the great Malietoa lived here.
So how much does this entire infrastructure cost?
"It’s about US$5 million. That was the cost of the reconstruction of this house by the man who is leasing the house for 60 years from Government, Rex Maughan," added Matealona.
What makes this building so inspiring, is how much of the history for Samoa is in this one house. From the tapa room, to the library that holds Robert Louis Stevenson’s books, and to the artifacts that made this house so special for Samoa.
The concern is, this museum is only known to tourists who come to the island. However, this one house contains maybe one of the most important historical documents that even Samoans on the island may be interested to see.
Many Samoans are very proud of their culture but do not care about their history, I can say this because preserving the museum was not high on any Samoan priority list, however high on the list of others outside Samoa which saw that the political hoops and other requirements were satisfied.
RLSM is now high on all lists, Samoan and the outside world.
"We had schools come in last year, and they were surprised to see how much they never knew about these artifacts," added Matealona.
The hope is to ensure that Samoans remain interested in their history just as much as those who visit from other countries and we do hope for the Museum to succeed in preserving the history for the future generations in many years to come.
And what better way to revive the interest in learning the tiny details about one of Samoa’s influential voices than to see his work for one's self.
Our goal is to make a positive contribution to the tourism sector in Samoa and to preserve the memory of RLS and his connection with the Samoan people.