Post #631407 by TikiTomD on Thu, Apr 5, 2012 11:49 AM

A Samoan mystery: How did the goldfish get into Lake Lanoto`o, also known as Goldfish Lake?

Lake Lanotoo (archaic spelling, *Lanu-too* or Lanutoo) occupies the crater of an extinct volcano in the central highlands of Upolu, south of Apia. It is at an elevation of approximately 2500 feet above sea level and is the largest lake in Western Samoa. Most rivers and tributaries on Upolu are fed from it. It’s been designated a national park, the second largest in Western Samoa. According to a Western Samoa Department of Lands and Environment document, “Goldfish (Carassius auratus) were introduced into Lake Lanoto'o in about 1900 and are thriving.”

Lonely Planet describes the lake thusly...

*Also known as Goldfish Lake, Lake Lanoto'o is an eerie, pea-green crater lake full of wild goldfish (and leeches). It's a great place for a swim, but a little spooky because of alternating warm and cold currents, and the fact that the bottom of the lake has never been found. Very few visitors ever see this lovely and unusual spot.

During the German occupation of Samoa it was a popular picnicking spot. Cavalcades of parasol-shaded young women were escorted to Lake Lanoto'o by German soldiers or courtly Europeans doing the wooing thing.*

Samoan tradition is that the lake has no bottom (apparently the source for the Lonely Planet observation), but an American geologist, James Dana, from the United States Exploring Expedition of 1838 to 1842 determined the deepest point of the lake to be about 60 feet...

The trail to the lake is obscure (local guide recommended) and the climb is steep and strenuous...

On the trail, if fortunate, one might encounter the Tooth Billed Pigeon (Manumea), Crimson Crowned Fruit Dove (Manutagi) or Red Headed Parrot Finch (Manu Ai Pau Laau), all endangered birds endemic to the area. If less fortunate, the encounter may be with leeches, perhaps a certainty if not wearing long pants.

Leilani Burgoyne’s paper, “Going ‘Troppo’ in the South Pacific: Dr. Bernhard Funk of Samoa 1844–1911,” identifies Dr. Funk as the one who released goldfish into Lake Lanoto`o. This was in direct violation of laws forbidding the introduction of alien species into Samoa and came after repeated warnings from Dr. Wilhelm Solf, the Imperial German Governor of Western Samoa, for whom Dr. Funk worked in his post as Harbor Doctor.

Leilani cites George Westbrook as stating that Dr. Funk was the first person to open up Lake Lanoto`o as a health resort and place of recreation. In her letter to the editor of the Samoa Observer, Dr. Heidrun Schmidt, Dr. Funk’s great-grandniece, also noted that at ”Lake Lanutoo he [Dr. Funk] initiated the laying out of a wonderful recreation centre with huts on the top and a wharf ashore and he also put goldfish in the lake, which are still present.” Those huts were presumably in the form of Samoan fale.

Leilani goes on to note in her paper that Dr. Funk was so preoccupied with the construction and operation of his health resort, it likely impeded his ability to effectively perform official duties as a government medical officer. In particular, she cites an early 1903 letter from Erich Schultz on behalf of Governor Solf requesting his immediate return from the lake, having failed to show up for work after six weeks of authorized leave. Dr. Funk evidently missed no opportunity to antagonize Solf, as we shall see in a later post.

Picture this: Dr. Funk’s Crater Lake Sanitarium where one approaches the bar beneath a palm-thatched fale and orders “zwei Arzt Funks“ while native Samoans entertain with traditional songs and dances, and the eyes wander along the verdant misty shoreline of Lake Lanoto`o where lovely maidens frolic among the goldfish...

(photo from the British Museum)

So, the Samoan mystery is solved: Dr. Funk did it.

-Tom