The Old German Courthouse was designed and built in 1902, opened in 1903, and was the original seat of German power in Samoa. When Samoa was annexed by New Zealand in 1914, Germans were replaced with Crown-appointed administrators who then extended the original building to its current size. Even with the shift in power from settler to Samoan, the German Courthouse was still in use until a new courthouse opened in Mulinu’u in 2010. Today the building serves as the rehearsal space for the Royal Samoa Police Band who, from this spot, still march down Beach Road to play the anthem and raise the flag each morning.