About a month or so ago I wrote a couple of posts about the beautiful island of Manono. In one of them I mentioned the mobile phone tower that sits atop the ancient star mound on Mt. Tulimanuiva and the controversy within the community (and elsewhere) its installation caused.
Today's Observer has a report stating that the 30m (not 50m as I guessed wildly last time) tower will be moved. SamoaTel's acting CEO Colm O'Donovan has confirmed that they are in negotiations with a contractor to have the tower removed from its present location. Apparently they have found a new site elsewhere on Manono that meets all relevant parties' criteria.
This is great news. The star mounds of Samoa are some of the oldest human monuments in Polynesia. They have proven invaluable to archaeologists and historians in tracing the spread of human habitation across the region and are of enormous cultural significance to all Samoans. I can only hope that SamoaTel not only removes the tower and attendant equipment shed but also helps restore the site to the condition it deserves.
On the other hand, climbing the tower does afford a rather spectacular view. I might need to head back over there and climb it one last time. ;)
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