Name: Ans Westra and the Petone Congregational Christian Church of Samoa — 'Who’s in this photo?' series
Start: 2026-06-02T07:30:00+12:00
End: 2026-06-02T09:00:00+12:00
Location: Corner Molesworth and Aitken Streets, Thorndon, Wellington, New Zealand 6011

$Ans Westra and the Petone Congregational Christian Church of Samoa \u2014 'Who\u2019s in this photo?' series$

Join us this Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa | Samoa Language Week to view photographs taken in the 1980s of the Petone Congregational Christian Church of Samoa (CCCS). Help us identify the people in these photos by Ans Westra.
E avanoa fo’i lenei fa’amatalaga i le gagana Samoa: https://natlib.govt.nz/events/o-le-pueata-lauiloa-ia-ans-westra-ma-le-ekalesia-faapotopotoga-kerisano-samoa-i-petone-june-02-2026
A community invitation
To celebrate Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa — Samoa Language Week, we warmly invite our Samoan and wider Pacific communities to join a workshop exploring photographs taken by Ans Westra of the Petone Congregational Christian Church of Samoa (CCCS).
Putting names to faces
These photographs hold the face and spirit of the aiga and community who gathered there. Names are central to identity and belonging — they strengthen the vā (relationships) between people, place, and history. Many of the people pictured remain unnamed, and without those connections, their stories risk being lost.
By sharing your knowledge, memories, and fa‘asoa mai (contributions), you help reconnect names with faces and uphold an act of tautua — service to the community.
A living legacy
Your contribution will help honour those pictured and ensure these photographs remain a living legacy for future generations, strengthening the record of Samoan community life held in the Ans Westra collection at the Alexander Turnbull Library.
O tatou nei ata, o atou nei tala | These are our images, these are our stories
Register your interest
To help us prepare, please let us know you’re coming by emailing Suliana Vea at [email protected].
About the speaker
Suliana Vea is the Research Librarian Pacific at the Alexander Turnbull Library. Born and bred in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, she is of Tongan descent with ties to Ha'apai, Kolomotu'a and Hihifo, Tongatapu.
Image: Congregation members of the Congregational Christian Church in Samoan in Petone, by Ans Westra. Ref: AW-4387 Alexander Turnbull Library. Used by permission of Suite Tirohanga.