COMMANDER Clark found Palmerston Island to be of peculiar ethnological interest, the inhabitants all being descended from an English sailor and successful Californian Gold Rusher William Marsters and his three Polynesian wives, who landed and settled there in the middle of the 19th century.

He says of the storm that foundered the Solace: “Had it been low water, we should have smashed our bilge like an eggshell on the edge of the reef and sunk in six fathoms or more without a hope for ourselves or the ship.

“It was barely light when we saw the islanders coming out to us, some in canoes, some over the reef. There were a lot of long faces but little was said. The ship was obviously holed though she didn’t look a wreck.”

But he added: “I shall never cease to marvel at my good fortune in getting wrecked on Palmerston. Green waving palms trees, white sandy beaches lined with verdant bushes, blue lagoons, cooled by the trade wind, no machinery, no noises other than nature’s, wholesome food in abundance, adequate physical exercise, plenty of boats and canoes for poling, paddling, rowing or sailing and English-speaking inhabitants.

“Robinson Crusoe didn’t do nearly so well.”