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Mount Vaea is a 472 m summit overlooking
''Dig the grave and let me lie.''
''Glad did I live and gladly die,''
''And I laid me down with a will.'' ''This be the verse you grave for me:''
''Here he lies where he longed to be;''
''Home is the sailor, home from the sea,''
''And the hunter home from the hill.'' The ashes of his wife
Stevenson's memorial on Mount Vaea and more than from the estate are protected by law in Samoa through the ''Stevenson Memorial Reserve and Mount Vaea Scenic Reserve Ordinance 1958''.
Part of the 1958 Law states;
Apia
Apia () is the capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga.
Th ...
, the capital of Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
located on the north central coast of Upolu
Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long and in area, making it the second largest of the Samoan Islands by area. With approxim ...
island. The mountain is situated south about 3 km inland from Apia township and harbour. The settlement at the foothills on the northern side of the mountain is called Lalovaea Lalovaea is a village on the island of Upolu in Samoa. It is situated on the north central side of the island near the country's capital Apia. The village is in the political district of Tuamasaga
Tuamāsaga is a district of Samoa, with a populati ...
(''below Vaea'' in Samoan).
Connections to Robert Louis Stevenson
Mount Vaea is best known as the burial place of the Scottish writerRobert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as '' Treasure Island'', '' Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
, who lived the last four years of his life in Samoa before his death on 3 December 1894. Stevenson, who had lived on the east side of Mount Vaea, had chosen the mountain top as his final resting place. The day following his death, his coffin was carried by Samoans to the summit for burial. The steep path to his grave is called the 'Road of Loving Hearts.' It takes about an hour to ascend by foot. Stevenson was called Tusitala (Samoan language
Samoan ( or ; ) is a Polynesian language spoken by Samoans of the Samoan Islands. Administratively, the islands are split between the sovereign country of Samoa and the United States territory of American Samoa. It is an official language, a ...
: ''tusi'' book, ''tala'' writer) by the people of Samoa.
Inscribed on Stevenson's tomb is his epitaph:
''Under the wide and starry sky,''''Dig the grave and let me lie.''
''Glad did I live and gladly die,''
''And I laid me down with a will.'' ''This be the verse you grave for me:''
''Here he lies where he longed to be;''
''Home is the sailor, home from the sea,''
''And the hunter home from the hill.'' The ashes of his wife
Fanny Stevenson
Frances "Fanny" Matilda Van de Grift Osbourne Stevenson (10 March 1840 – 18 February 1914) was an American magazine writer. She became a supporter and later the wife of Robert Louis Stevenson, and the mother of Isobel Osbourne, Samuel Lloyd O ...
, who died in California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
in 1914, were taken back by her daughter to Samoa in 1915 and buried beside her husband. The bronze plaque for Fanny bears her Samoan name 'Aolele' (''Flying Cloud'' in Samoan).
Stevenson's estate and colonial home, Villa Vailima, is now the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum
The Robert Louis Stevenson Museum is a museum in Samoa, which commemorates the life of the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. The museum displays a curated version of his residence, as Stevenson lived in it. Its establishment was funded by o ...
in his honour. It is situated in the village of Vailima at the eastern foot of Mount Vaea.
Memorial and Scenic Reserve
Stevenson's memorial on Mount Vaea and more than from the estate are protected by law in Samoa through the ''Stevenson Memorial Reserve and Mount Vaea Scenic Reserve Ordinance 1958''.
Part of the 1958 Law states;
See also
* Chanel College, MoamoaReferences
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaea, Mount Mountains of Samoa History of Samoa Robert Louis Stevenson Populated places in Tuamasaga Nature conservation in Samoa Protected areas of Samoa