The giant of German agriculture in 19 th century Samoa , Mr Theodor Weber ( pictured ), was the driving force behind the purchase and planting of the Vailele plantation , on Apia ’ s eastern outskirts , from 1867 . In 1907 the plantation comprised 2,312 acres . He was also the man who appointed Captain Hufnagel as manager in 1881 .
Weber negotiated most of the Godeffroy ’ s / DH & PG land purchases on Upolu and Savai ’ i after his arrival in the Apia office in 1861 as August Unshelm ’ s assistant . He had trained under the personal supervision of Johann Cesar Godeffroy , in Hamburg , and was only 18 when he arrived in Samoa . Unshelm ’ s tragic death thrust him into the top position at 20 years of age .
His business style was reportedly a mix of sledgehammer , velvet glove , cunning , immense tact and charm . But it got results . By the time he died on a trip back to Hamburg in 1889 at the young age of 44 the DH & PG owned massive swathes of Samoa — as much as a quarter of Upolu — much of it on the mountainous central spine which the company hoped to subdivide for settlers .
“ Einhundert Jahre Australienfahrt 1886-1986 ,” Otto J . Seiler , Hapag-Lloyd
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