Meredith was born in Samoa to a British father and Samoan mother and became a merchant. In 1910 he was part of a group that petitioned the German authorities for the introduction of local government in the territory.[1] During the Spanish flu pandemic, seven members of his close family died.[2] He was later given the Samoan chiefly title Tupua.[3]
A critic of the New Zealand administration of Samoa,[4] he contested the first elections to the Legislative Council in 1924, but failed to be elected. He helped the anti-colonial Mau movement gain formal legal representation from a firm of solicitors in New Zealand in 1927,[3] and ran for election again in 1929, this time successfully, as he was elected in second place behind Alexander W. Johnston.
Following a term in office, his chances of re-election in 1932 were seen as slim,[5] and he went on to finish last out of the five candidates contesting the vote.[6]
He died in 1936 at the age of 59 following a long illness.[7]