Samoa And Tokelau To Skip A Day For Dateline Change
Tokelau is set to join Samoa in taking a dateline leap on 29 December Samoa and Tokelau are set to skip a day and jump across the international dateline to align with trade partners. When the clock strikes midnight (10:00 GMT Friday) as 29 December ends, Samoa and Tokelau will fast-forward to 31 December, missing out on 30 December.
Jane RestureOct 25, 202284 Shares1586 Views
Tokelau is set to join Samoa in taking a dateline leap on 29 December Samoa and Tokelauare set to skip a day and jump across the international dateline to align with trade partners.
When the clock strikes midnight (10:00 GMT Friday) as 29 December ends, Samoa and Tokelau will fast-forward to 31 December, missing out on 30 December.
Samoa announced the decision in May in a bid to improve ties with major trade partners Australia and New Zealand.
Neighboring Tokelau decided to follow suit in October. The change comes 119 years after Samoa moved in the opposite direction. Then, it transferred to the same side of the international date line as the United States, in an effort to aid trade.
But New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly valuable trade partners for the country.
"In doing business with New Zealand and Australia, we're losing out on two working days a week," Samoan Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sailele Malielegaoi previously said.
"While it's Friday here, it's Saturday in New Zealand, and when we're at church on Sunday, they're already conducting business in Sydney and Brisbane."
He added that Samoa also does a lot of business with China and Singapore and the dateline change will make commerce with the region "far, far easier".
Samoa is located approximately halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii and has a population of 180,000 people. Local time up to now has been 21 hours behind Sydney. From 31 December it will be three hours ahead.
Tokelau is a tiny New Zealand-administered territory of three islands. It lies to the north of Fiji, approximately halfway between Hawaii and the Australian coast. Local time is currently 23 hours behind Wellington time.
There is a special magic about Samoa that, for centuries has drawn writers, travelers, romantics, and indeed all kinds of people to her shores. These include the famous writer Robert Louis Stevenson, the trader, writer, and politician, George Westbrook, and the missionaries, including John Williams of the London Missionary Society, who established their churches in Samoa reaching out from there to the rest of Oceania.
Samoa Tsunami
Samoa is rich in Polynesian culture and the people are renowned for their beauty. The islands of Samoa possess their own unique and rare beauty; they are endowed with rich soil and beautiful landscapes complete with their own unique flora and fauna.
The South Pacific Islands of Samoa and American Samoa were devastated by a tsunami that hit the islands on Tuesday, 29th September 2009. An earthquake measuring 8.3 caused waves between 3 and 6 meters and hit the southwest coasts which were heavily populated by many high-end and budget tourist resorts and local villages.
Whole villages were wiped out, with buildings flattened and beaches washed away. Residents had to leave everything behind as they were evacuated to higher ground.
The tsunami had a devastating impact on the beautiful islands of Samoa with a terrible loss of life and property.
Our loving thoughts and prayers are with all the Samoan people and those wonderful friends of Samoa who also have lost their loved ones during their time of loss.
Our heartfelt thanks go to the many wonderful aid agencies and friends of Samoa who contributed so promptly to the rebuilding of Samoa after this terrible tragedy struck. May God's love and blessings be with you all.
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