Captain Fowler went to the Pacific in 1868 as captain of the London Missionary Society vessel JOHN WILLIAMS III. He was dismissed in 1871 because of his treatment of Pacific Islanders. The logbook begins on 12 November 1868 when Captain Fowler left London. It continues to 25 February 1869 when the JOHN WILLIAMS III passed Jervis Bay, NSW. It resumes on 30 March 1869 when the JOHN WILLIAMS III left Sydney for a cruise to the Pacific Islands, which extended to Tahiti, back to the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) and then to Raiatea before returning to Sydney on 31 December 1869. The cruise took in Raiatea, Tahaa, Huahine, Tahiti, Mangaia, Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Niue, Pago Pago, Apia, Aneityum, Mare, Lifu, Uvea, Tubuai and Savai'i. The logbook resumes again on 4 April 1870 when the JOHN WILLIAMS III was at Huahine. Subsequent calls were made at Raiatea, Tahiti, Mangaia, Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Manihiki, Rakahanga, Pukapuka, Mitiaro, Mauke, Atiu, Tutuila, Niue, the Tokelau, Ellice (Tuvalu) and Gilbert Islands (Kiribati), the southern New Hebrides and the Loyalty Islands. The JOHN WILLIAMS III returned to Sydney on 20 December 1870. Captain Fowler returned to England in 1871 in the ship BUCKLEY CASTLE.

Captain William L. Hudson was commander of the US ship Peacock, one of the vessels of the United States Exploring Expedition to the Pacific, 1838-42, commanded by Commodore Charles Wilkes. He later transferred his flag to the Porpoise.

The journal begins when the expedition was en route from Fiji to Honolulu, and gives an account of the PEACOCK's visits to the Hawaiian Islands, Oregon, Southern California, the Line, Phoenix and Tokelau Islands, Samoa, the Ellice and Gilbert Islands (Tuvalu and Kiribati), and the wreck of the PEACOCK at the mouth of the Columbia River on the west coast of North America. After Hudson had transferred his flag to the USS PORPOISE, he crossed the Pacific to the Philippines, Sooloo Islands and Singapore. (The journal is a continuation of that filmed as PMB 146, which covers the Expedition's activities from 20 August 1838 to 8 August 1840)

John T. Arundel (1841-1919) was a leading figure in the Pacific phosphate industry in Kiribati and Nauru from the 1860s until his death. See: Pacific Islands Monthly, April 1874, pp.59-61. For a summary of Arundel's activities from 1865-92, see film PMB MS 494. The National Library of Australia holds a number of Arundel photographic albums. The diaries have been filmed on reels PMB 480 - 492.

Diary 9 June 1870 - 31 December 1872.<BR>See also PMB 14, 498.

Please see reel PMB MS 480 for full entry.

Diary of John T. Arundel, 1873 - 1880. During this period, Arundel managed guano digging in the central part of Flint Island, Kiribati. See also PMB MS 14, 498.

Please see PMB MS 480 for full entry.

John T. Arundel Diary 1881 - 1887. During this period, John T. Arundel & Co were involved in guano mining and coconut plantations in Kiribati. See also reels PMB MS 14, 498.

Please see PMB MS 480 for full entry.

Reel 1: John T. Arundel's Diary - 02/011888 - 01/04/1891; Reel 2: Diary - 01/04/1891 - 31/12/1892. During this period, John T. Arundel & Co were involved in guano mining and coconut plantations in Kiribati.

Please see PMB MS 480 for full entry.

John T. Arundel's Diary 1893 - 1894. During this period, John T. Arundel & Co were involved in guano mining and coconut plantations in Kiribati. See also PMB MS 14, 498.

Please see PMB MS 480 for full entry.

John T. Arundel's Diary 1895 - 1896. During this period, John T. Arundel & Co were involved in guano mining and coconut plantations in Kiribati. See also PMB MS 14, 498.

Please see PMB 480 for full entry.

John T. Arundel's diaries as follows: Reel 1: Diary - 02/01/1888 - 01/04/1891; Reel 2: Diary - 01/04/1891 - 31/12/1892. During this period, John T. Arundel & Co were involved in guano mining and coconut plantations in Kiribati.

Please see PMB MS 480 for full entry.

John T. Arundel's Diary 1899 - 1900. In 1897, John T. Arundel & Co merged its business with trading and plantation firm Henderson and Macfarlane. They formed the Pacific Islands Company Ltd (PIC), which was based in London with trading activities in the Pacific, particularly Kiribati. In 1902, PIC became the Pacific Phosphate Company and began phosphate mining on Banaba, Kiribati in 1901 and on Nauru in 1906. See also PMB MS 14, 498.