Holiday to mark 100 years since start of influenza pandemic in Samoa

Holiday to mark 100 years since start of influenza pandemic in Samoa

On 7 November, 1918, the SS Talune arrived in Apia with sick passengers on board.

The New Zealand administrators allowed the Talune in with no quarantine checks, and the disease spread rapidly, killing an estimated 20 percent of the population - at least 8,500 people - in less than two months.

The bumbling handling of the outbreak and the indifference of the colonial administrator, Robert Logan, marked a catalyst for a movement against New Zealand rule.