In the late 1970s, over drinks at the Barefoot Bar owned by Dick MacFall and his wife Bessie, two young men would sit at a small table and listen as Dick spoke about the state of the country. He warned about corruption and the need for a newspaper that would stand up for ordinary people. More than once he challenged Ieti Lima and Sano Malifa to start one themselves. What may have sounded like bar talk slowly grew into an idea neither of them could shake.

At the time, Ieti was working at the Health Department, where he helped amputees learn to walk again with artificial limbs. The work was demanding and emotional, but he carried it with quiet patience. That was the kind of man he was. Even after long days on the job, he always made time for conversation and ideas. Many who knew him say the same thing: if you needed help, he did not ask questions, he simply made space for you.

That spirit of the old Samoa, where neighbours showed up without being asked and families shared what they had, shaped the beginnings of what would become the Samoa Observer. One afternoon, in the cookhouse of Ieti’s home in Vaimoso, while his wife Carol prepared the evening meal, Sano mentioned how empty life felt without work. Ieti asked him plainly what he wanted to do. When Sano said he had been thinking about starting a newspaper, Ieti did not hesitate. His simple words, “Alright, let us do it,” were enough to turn talk into action.

From that moment, their experiment took shape inside the Lima family’s cookhouse. Food simmered on one side while pages of the newspaper were typed and assembled on the other. Ieti opened his home freely, never once holding back. With his support, credit was secured from Jack Warner at Armstrong and Springhall, and printing was arranged through Jeff Marfleet. Slowly, what sounded impossible began to look possible.

On 28 September 1978, the first edition of the Observer went on sale. It was Carol, Ieti’s wife, who stood under the balcony of the Post Office selling each copy by hand. By noon, every paper was gone. The response from ordinary Samoans showed something important: even in a small place, when people care deeply enough, a dream can become a reality.

As the paper grew and moved into town, more names joined its early life, including the late Tate Simi, Mika Kelekolio, Geoff Pritchard and Uaea Apelu. But through all the changes, Ieti remained steady. He worked on advertising, layout and whatever else the young newspaper needed. His presence helped give the Observer its backbone in those uncertain early years.

In later years, he moved to New Zealand so his children could pursue their education, but the foundations he helped build remained strong. His contribution stayed woven into the Observer’s identity as it grew into the paper it is today.

Through his belief in the dream and his early push to make it real, Ieti helped an experiment stay alive. Over the years, the Samoa Observer has had the privilege of voicing thousands of Samoan voices. It has stood the test of time by allowing ordinary people to be heard, by supporting those less fortunate and by remaining true to its mission. Today it is still here because of beginnings like his.

With those simple words “Alright, let us do it” and by offering his humble family home as the birthplace of this newspaper, he helped create a voice for generations and a platform that has given opportunities to many sons and daughters of Samoa.

On behalf of the Samoa Observer, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Carol, Ieti’s wife, and to their children. We will always hold a special place for him. His generosity, belief and quiet strength helped turn a cookhouse experiment into a newspaper that has served Samoa for generations. His memory remains part of who we are and will always be part of our story.