It would appear that files from this system were maintained parallel to the Colonial Administration system for a short while after the annexation on 1 March 1900. Some files in Series 6051 date back to the era of the Consulate but there is no indication that they fitted within this system. In 1955 the German Consuls archives were discovered in Apia with the records of the German Colonial Administration. These were removed and transferred to the National Archives of New Zealand for extensive conservation work and microfilming. The decision was made to document the German-Samoan agencies and record series as if they had transferred the records in 1914 - which is why the Executive Council of Western Samoa, although the true transferring agency, is not fully documented.