Piula is the Samoan transliteration of Beulah which in Hebrew means “married”. Isaiah 62:3-4 refers to the land of Israel married to God. The mission theology is that those who are educated at Piula for the ministry of the gospel must experience an intimate relationship with God. The first mention of a training institute by the Wesleyan mission in Samoa is by Martin Dyson in 1859. He wrote of Barnabas (Panapas) Ahogalu, a Tongan teacher who has set up a compound in the village of Satupaitea on Savaii island, with 15 students making up the nucleus of a training institute. It was not until 1864 under the guidance of George Brown that a school was formally established and named the Turner Seminary, or the District Training Institute. In 1868, the 6th District Meeting was held at Lufilufi and Revd. Frank Firth had arranged for land at Lufilufi to be cleared. It was then decided to relocate the Turner Seminary from Satupaitea to Lufilufi because of political unrest (Warfare between Satupaitea and Palauli), and the fact that Lufilufi was a village of political importance. It is a Tumua meaning ‘head’ or ‘first to stand’ in the political and customary protocols of the Samoan chiefly system. In 1900, the institute was named Piula to reveal its new centenary image, and was officially named Piula Theological College in 1968 at its 100th anniversary.
George Brown quickly realised the need to establish an Institution for the
Training of Pastor - Teachers if the Gospel was to be preached and understood
in the village churches.
Land was acquired in Satupaitea and in March 1864, the Training Institute
was opened with 16 students in residence. There were 11 houses and a classroom
on the compound.
At the same time, it was reported that land had been bought at Lufilufi for
the establishment of a Mission Station.
In the next few years Panapasa Ahogalu was the main teacher at the
Institution where George Brown introduced subjects such as - Arithmetic,
Catechism, Theology, Bible Study and Preaching.
In 1868, the Sixth District Meeting was held at Lufilufi where it was
reported that Rev. Frank Firth had arranged for the land at Lufilufi to be
cleared. Fourteen (14) houses and a weather-board school house were built. The
Institute was then shifted to Piula, Lufilufi from its original location at
Satupaitea.
With its beautiful setting, permanent fresh water in "Fatumea",
Piula Theological College (as it is known today) has trained generations of
Pastors and Ministers for the work of the Church at home and abroad.
The Centenary of the College was celebrated in 1968 when the President of
the Conference, Rev. Taeao Tauanuu opened the new Assembly Hall and students'
Wing.
The beautiful College Chapel and Class Rooms is a memorial to the work of
Rev. E. G. Neil and the Samoan builders who carried out its creation between
1911 and 1921.
The College with all its facilities provides an ideal site for conferences,
Youth Groups and meetings of the Society of Piula Old Boys.
R. W. Allardice
Methodism in Samoa - 1828-1984
Malifa - 1984
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