Hufnagel-Betham Family Collection , photographer probably Kurt Hufnagel-Betham
Mr Rudolf Berking ( man in white suit on right ) arrived in Samoa in 1900 and was the Collector of Customs in the final German Administration . He returned to his Samoan family from internment in February 1920 . Mr Berking spent the rest of his life in the islands ( apart from a second round of wartime internment in NZ , 1940- 44 ). He passed on in Apia in 1972 at the age of 92 . ( For a fuller profile , see chapter 2 ).
Rudolf was arguably the leading German citizen of Samoa in the half century after German rule ended . This photo shows him to the fore during a wreath-laying ceremony by crew members of the German navy cruiser , “ Karlsruhe ,” at the German memorial in Apia in February 1934 .
Some of the people recognisable in this striking photo appear to be as follows : ( left -to-right ) first man in background in white suit ( and glasses ) Mr Leicester Cook ( NZ Administration ); man in white suit , full length , NZ Administrator , Brigadier General Herbert Hart ; ( to the right of the naval officers ) short man , Mr Fritz Jahnke ; ( behind ) Mr Fritz Stunzner Jnr ; Mr Arno Gurau ( white collar , bow tie ); Mr Berking ; Mr Albert Schaaffhausen , looking to the right .
| To Walk Under Palm Trees - The Germans in Samoa : Snapshots from Albums | Tony Brunt
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