Amando Stowers

Amando Stowers
Member of the Legislative Assembly
In office
1948–1951
Member of the Legislative Council
In office
1941–1948
Personal details
DiedApia, Western Samoa
Political partyLabour Party
ProfessionPlanter

Amando Stowers, also known by the Samoan name Vui Tafilipepe Amato,[1] was a Western Samoan politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly from 1941 until 1951.

Biography

Stowers was a part-Samoan descendant of the English trader John Stowers.[2][1] A planter,[3] he held the title of vui in Fa'asaleleaga district.[2] He was a founder of the Labour Party in 1936,[4] later becoming its president.[3]

He contested the 1938 elections to the Legislative Council, finishing fourth in the two-seat European constituency.[5] However, he was elected in 1941, surprisingly defeating Alfred Smyth.[3] He was subsequently re-elected in 1944, topping the poll. In 1948 the Legislative Council was replaced with the Legislative Assembly, to which Stowers was elected as sole elected representative of the Labour Party.[6] He did not contest the 1951 elections.

He died in Apia hospital at the age of 76 around the start of 1963.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b New Zealand Samoa 1944 Centre for Samoan Studies
  2. ^ a b J. W. Davidson (1948) "Political Development in Western Samoa", Pacific Affairs, Volume 21, No. 2, pp136–149
  3. ^ a b c Labour success Auckland Star, 4 December 1941
  4. ^ Samoan native-norn requests to delegation New Zealand Herald, 10 July 1936
  5. ^ Western Samoa Legislative Council: Results of Election New Zealand Herald, 21 December 1938
  6. ^ Samoa's New Assembly Pacific Islands Monthly, May 1948, p7
  7. ^ Mr. Amando Stowers Pacific Islands Monthly, February 1963, p149