The Reverend Julius Brenchley (1816-1873) first visited the Pacific (Hawaii) in 1850 with the French traveller, Jules Remy, during his American tour. He later visited New Zealand in 1864 with Lieutenant the Hon. Herbert Meade, RN and involved himself in Maori affairs. From Sydney he made his celebrated visit to the Islands in the Curacoa in 1865, also with Meade whose journals, kept on board the Curacoa in 1865 and the Esk in 1866, form part of the Brenchley Papers. See also Artefacts from the Solomon Islands in the Julius L. Brenchley Collection (London 1987), Deborah B. Waite.

The contents of the microfilm are those items in the collection relating to the Pacific. They include: Meade's original journal on board the Esk (October/November 1866) with observations on Tongan and Fijian chiefs Meade's journal on board the Curacoa which mentions Fiji, Aneiteum (New Hebrides), Norfolk Island, Niue, Samoa, and Tonga including account of the punitive action on 11 August involving the missionary J.G. Paton at Tanna botanical, biological, meteorological and scientific observations sandal wood and the journal of a tour from Auckland to Taranaki, New Zealand 1849-1850 by the Governor General. <b>See Finding aids for details.</b>