on the way.
It was 1791 when Providence entered the Fiji group of islands. The ship went through the Oneata Passage between Moce and the Oneata Islands, some fifteen miles north of the passage Bligh had used on the boat journey. Once clear of the maze of reefs, Providence was hove to off Moce Island. No attempt was made to land, but a canoe that came alongside was sketched and described. A drawing made from the description was to be one of the first of the Fijian people to be shown to the Western world. Then Bligh sailed northward, west of the chain of Lau islands as far as Yacata. Here he sighted to the northward the islands of Taveuni, Qamea: and Laucala. He was now near the point where Tasman had reached Fiji, and it was probably Tasman's description of the dangerous reefs around "Prinz Willem's Islands," as he had named them, that caused Bligh to alter course to the southwest.
He had already seen more of the Fiji group than any other man, but Bligh wanted to know more. He now put into operation a technique of surveying that he had already developed when coming across earlier discoveries made by Cook and Captain Samuel Wallis, of HMS Dolphin. Where these navigators had sailed around, for instance, the north side of an island, he would sail around the unknown south side to complete available knowledge. Now, having passed north of Viti Levu in the launch, he altered course to pass south of it with his two ships.
These so long unknown and uncharted islands were now fitting into a pattern in Bligh's sketch book and journals. Each island passed was sketched, measured and plotted in its relative position to the others. He. checked the notes he had made on the first voyage and recorded his new discoveries as well. As each island was discovered, it was identified in his journal by a letter of the alphabet. The island of Moce, already sketched on the boat voyage, is marked as A on his map. From B to P it is easy from Bligh's own descriptions to identify the places. All are Lau islands except H, which is a breaking reef called Cakau Vuite by the Fijians. Q in the list is Yacata, while R and T are the two ends of Taveuni Island. Letters S to Y indicate the islands of the Lomaiviti group, while Z is the southeast corner of Viti Levu easily identified by Bligh's description of the "Cockscomb hills" of the Korobasabasaga Range.
Bligh had now run out of letters of the alphabet but not out of islands. Seeing next the island of Beqa, he designated it No. 1 on his list, then altered course to pass south of it. In doing so he sighted the hills of Kadavu, No. 2, and altered course to pass along the eastern and southern coasts of that island. From Kadavu Bligh sailed away to the New Hebrides, passing south of Vatu Lele without sighting either that island or the islands to the west of Viti Levu.
Able, on this occasion, to measure angles in relative comfort, to sketch with proper, as against makeshift, instruments, Bligh completed his sketches. He also prepared a detailed and accurate description of the islands and gave sailing directions for the areas he had covered. He had in fact discovered the extent of the group, lacking only the southernmost islands of Lau and the outlying Rotuma. This latter island was also to be associated with the Bounty, however, as it was discovered by Captain Edwards in the Pandora while he searched for the mutineers.
Soon, other seamen, guided by the notes of Bligh, ventured into these waters. The ships of commerce headed first for Tonga and then followed Bligh's route from there to the islands of Fiji. The sandalwood trade, starting with a trickle in 1804, grew to a flood in 1808 and virtually ended in 1814 when all the available trees were cut out. The seamen of those ships paid to Bligh one of the few courtesies he was to receive in his lifetime. The islands were for many years named "Bligh's Islands" and bore that name on the first chart produced by Arrowsmith of London in 1814.
It is a strange quirk of Bligh's nature that, knowing himself to be the first Western seaman to see these islands, he named none of them. Neither did he land on any of them. With an adequate number of marines to protect a landing party, and in command of a well-equipped expedition, he could well have done so. But the safe delivery of the breadfruit was his primary concern. Having once failed, he would not let anything turn him from this duty. Every day the plants remained on board lessened the chances of their eventual arrival in good condition. The fastest possible passage was essential. Water was short and had to be rationed to the men, but there had to be water for the plants also. He had also been given the duty of surveying Torres Strait, which took seventeen precious days.
One of the midshipmen engaged in the survey was to become as well known as Bligh, and his name was to become a byword in that part of the world—Matthew Flinders, the great explorer of the Australian coastal waters.
Eventually the breadfruit plants that had left so much misery in their wake were delivered to the West Indies where, it was hoped, they would provide a cheap source of food for plantation slaves. The plants prospered. But the fruit was completely unacceptable to the people for whom it had been brought. Bligh, however, had brought a few sticks of Otaheite sugar cane on his own initiative. These also grew well and were to be the foundation of many of the big sugar plantations of the next century.
With the successful completion of the breadfruit voyage, Bligh could hope with some reason for other appointments on voyages of exploration. It was reasonable to suppose that he would be sent back with time to explore the islands he had discovered. He had been recommended for the original appointment to Fiji by Sir Joseph Banks, who had been impressed with his worth on Cook's last voyage. The journal of the Bounty launch, which proved him to be a superb seaman and extraordinary navigator, was fresh in the minds of those at the Admiralty. He had also impressed the gentlemen of the Royal Society. But unfortunately for his desires and aspirations, war had broken out with France six months before his return. He was first and foremost a trained naval officer, and for the next twelve years he served in command of ships of war.
On 21 May, 1801, his work as an explorer and surveyor was belatedly recognized when he was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society. But the storms of Bligh's life had not been replaced by the easy sailing of a senior officer. His association with Fiji was not to cease, nor was his penchant for sailing in troubled waters.
Although half a century would pass before Fiji was reasonably surveyed, Bligh had ended the islands' complete isolation from the world. He had shown the way, and missionaries and traders would follow.
During the days of the sandalwood trade in Fiji Bligh was appointed governor of New South Wales. He stated his intention of keeping the trade for British ships and tried to prevent the in any Yankee ships from taking part. But Bligh had his own troubles and was not able to control the trade. Nor was he destined to visit Fiji again
The ships that would follow would come to Fiji armed and prepared for battle with the fierce warriors, yet many were to find the guns superfluous. Fiji's association with the rest of the world began from that time. They came first in the hundreds, not only white men, but Lascars in the East Indiamen and Negro cooks in the Yankee ships. For such a motley crowd, the Fijians had the best description—kai vavalagi—the men from over the horizon.
They came not in uniforms or a uniformed body, but as individuals. Some would become mere beachcombers drifting with the current. Their death or their leaving would be of little consequence. Others for one reason or another were to have a profound effect on the history of Fiji.
Scent of Sandalwood (1804-14)
Bligh had shown the way for others to follow. As the tiny topsails grew larger on the horizon, it must have seemed to the Fijians that the strangers came literally from "under the sky." During the next nine years several ships were to pass through or call at the Fiji Islands. But their impact was not great: the missionaries were on their way to other islands; the traders were looking for pickings that were easier found in other places.
The missionary
