Reverend Peter Milne was born at Stains, Aberdeen on the 17 May 1834. He trained and was ordained as a missionary to the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) with the Free Church of Scotland, under the Presbyterian Synod of Otago and Southland. He married Miss Mary Jane Veitch in December 1868 and they quickly departed for the New Hebrides via Dunedin, settling on Nguna Island in 1870. The Milnes faced a number of difficulties in the early years at Nguna, including the unscrupulous activities of European traders and planters. The first baptism took place in 1880, and after subsequent rapid evangelisation, the island was nominally Christian by 1896. Mary Milne left the island for Dunedin in 1906, to 'gather together her family', but died of a malarial illness in 1908. The Reverend Milne continued his missionary work on Nguna until dying at age 90, in 1924. Mary and Peter had at least three children, including the Reverend William Milne, also a missionary on Nguna.

Phebe Clothilde Chloe Coe was born in Samoa to Jonas Mynderse Coe and Princess Le'Utu Taletale Malietoa. Phebe married Richard Heinrich Robert Parkinson and the couple had 10 children. They moved to New Britain to help her sister, Emma Eliza Coe, also known as Queen Emma, establish coconut plantations on the Gazelle Peninsula. After Richard Parkinson died in 1907, Mrs Parkinson continued to work the Kuradui plantation; but the estate was confiscated from her after World War I by the Australian Expropriation Board. From then until her death in Japanese-occupied New Ireland in 1944, Mrs Parkinson led a wandering life, staying from time to time with one or another of her children, and occasionally with her grandson, Rudolph Diercke. It was through Diercke that Mrs Parkinson (then in her seventies) went to live in the Tingwon Islands.

James L.O.Tedder was raised in Wamberal, NSW, attended the local primary school, and Gosford High School. He served for a few months as a deck boy in the merchant navy and spent two years in the AIF, the last year in 13th Small Ships in New Guinea. After the War he spent four years at Sydney University graduating with Bachelor of Economics with three years of geography and three years of political theory.

In February 1952 James Tedder was appointed as an Administrative Officer cadet in the British Colonial Service and was posted direct to the Solomon Islands. Following two months in Central District, he was posted to Malaita as District Officer Aoke to serve under V.J. Andersen. In November 1953 he was posted to Malu'u as District Officer. In August 1954 he was sent to the Devonshire Course in Cambridge. Confirmed in his appointment in March 1955 he was posted to Kira Kira in June as District Commissioner Eastern. In May 1959 he was appointed as Census Commissioner for the sample census organised by Dr Norma McArthur. In June 1960 he was appointed District Commissioner Malaita while Michael M. Townsend was on leave.

A posting for six months as Assistant Secretary Social Affairs followed the six months in Malaita. Then he was posted to Western District as District Commissioner for a year. Following leave he was posted to Honiara as District Officer Guadalcanal in October then District Commissioner Central as from January 1963. In 1967 he was promoted to Administrative Officer Grade A and awarded the MBE which was conferred by the Queen in May while on a Local Government attachment to three Councils in the UK.

On 1 January 1972 James Tedder was appointed to the new post of Director of Information and Broadcasting from which he retired in November 1974. While serving in Honiara he was Chair of the Tourism Authority, and at times Chair of the Copra Board. He belonged to the Broadcast Advisory, the University of South Pacific, Museum, and Library Committees.

While Director of Information and Broadcasting he was responsible for helping to establish the Solomon Island Museum, the Library, and facilities to ensure that researchers placed copies of their work, whether print or film, in the archives.

James Tedder wrote a small booklet, Walks in Guadalcanal, for tourists. He co-authored with Geoff Stevens a book, Birds in Honiara, for the Scout Association, and with his wife, Margaret Tedder, wrote, Yam Cultivation in Guadalcanal. Articles on dried breadfruit, Honiara planning, Broadcasting, the Museum were published in the South Pacific Commission Quarterly and other journals. Short pieces on ancient village sites were contributed to the Solomon Islands Museum newsletter. With Tom Russell and advice from Professor Davenport he excavated a cave Fotoruma near Honiara revealing artifacts going back to 970 BC. He wrote a book, How Government Works, which was distributed to all schools. In 2008 he self published, Solomon Island Years: An Administrative Officer in the Islands 1952-74. Mr Tedder’s research on beach erosion, on coral cays, on bird census and drift voyages is yet to be written up.

Carl Franke served in New Guinea with an engineers' unit, the 15th Australian field company, during World War II. At the end of the war, in July 1947, Franke returned to New Guinea after accepting a cadetship with the Australian Department of Agriculture. The majority of his work was in surveying and reporting on the potential of viable crop production to assist in post war development. His first project was at Bumana vegetable research station on the Laloki River, approximately 30 miles north of Port Moresby. He then moved to a government rubber plantation at Kokoda. From that post, Franke moved to Kiaruku on the south west coast of Papua to begin the Meko Rice project. Franke then undertook a 25 day patrol through the Goila Sub District to ascertain which vegetable crops could be introduced to better vary the local diet and to determine the possibility of growing cash crops. He also spent time at the Agricultural Research Station in Kerevat near Rabaul where they were looking at coffee and cacao, before moving onto Buka at Bougainville to start an agricultural station that would distribute pigs to the community. Unfortunately many of the first consignment of pigs died due to erysipelas, after being sunburnt on the trip over.

In November 1949, Franke went on leave to get married, returning in January 1950 to Buin for another rice project. His wife Betty, who was completing her midwifery certificate, was to follow and also work in New Guinea, but Franke's father died in May 1950 and he returned to Australia where he was required to assist in the family business. Carl Franke died in May of 2020.