Isobel Whippy was born at Wiluna, Western Australia, in 1939. After teaching Aboriginal children in the Kimberley area of W.A., and Maori children in northern Aotearoa/New Zealand, she went to Fiji in 1963 and married at Levuka in 1966. She wrote several short plays for school children from 1968 onwards. 'Pritchard', her first major drama, won a $100 prize in a drama contest for the South Pacific Festival of Arts in Suva in May 1972.

Missionary in India, 1842-1857. On his return to England he was, on several occasions, acting Secretary of the London Missionary Society.

Isaac Neilson Whyte was born on 28 November 1919 in Ulster, Northern Ireland. His family moved to Australia in 1927 and had a dairy farm in Victoria. Neilson served with the Australian Army in 1940-1945 and fought with the Rats of Tobruk. He was captured by the German forces and spent four years as a prisoner of war. He read a lot in custody and began to consider studying theology. On his return to Australia, he studied for a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne and theology at the Presbyterian Theological Hall at Ormond College. He was ordained on 10 March 1952 and commissioned for missionary service.

Neilson married Dr Mary Grace Asche in February of 1951 and in December 1952 they began their mission service in the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) with the Australian Presbyterian Board of Missions. The Whytes were based in the village of Wintua, South West Bay on the island of Malekula 1952-1957. Neilson and Mary Grace had seven children; the four eldest children spent their early years in Wintua. Neilson spent a lot of time away from Wintua as he was responsible for 17 villages in the region. He also helped bring about a peace agreement between village leaders in Big Nambas territory and a peace house was built to mark the agreement. The 1957 Assembly was held in Wintua and Neilson was inducted as Moderator. Shortly after the Assembly, the Whyte family returned to Australia as Neilson was experiencing some physical ailments associated with his war service. On his return to Australia he went on to serve in parishes at Goodwood, Learmonth and Donald. After years of pain and ill health, Isaac Neilson Whyte died in Melbourne in February 1972 at the age of 52.

Reverend John Williams (1796-1839) went to Tahiti (French Polynesia) as a missionary for the London Missionary Society in 1816. He was active in the Society, Hervey, Southern Cook and Samoan Islands. In 1839, he moved to Fasitoouta, Upolu, in Samoa and established a station there. On 20 November 1839, he was killed at Erromango, New Hebrides (Vanuatu), along with another LMS missionary James Harris.