An Account of the Discovery of Tahiti: From the Journal of George Robertson, Master of H.M.S. Dolphin (The Folio Society)

127 pp. Green cloth spine, gilt titles, decorated paper over boards. Frontispiece map. Edited, with an introduction, by Oliver Warner, with wood engravings by Robert Gibbings. The end of the Seven Years War in 1763 saw a revitalisation of British interest in exploring the southern Pacific, as more funds became available to the Admiralty. The ship chosen for two voyages to the South Pacific during the 1760s was the frigate, HMS Dolphin. The voyages are described in several captains' and officers' log books now to be found in the Admiralty records. The Dolphin's first circumnavigation took place between June 1764 and May 1666, under the captaincy of Commodore John Byron, younger brother of the famous poet Lord William Byron. The second voyage left Plymouth on 21 August 1766. This time Captain Samuel Wallis, with master George Robertson, was in charge. George Robertson was a keen observer of the human condition and kept a valuable journal, which was later published as a book. Wallis and his crew left Plymouth on the 21 August 1766, accompanied by the supply ship HMS Swallow, captained by Philip Carteret. The plan was to cross the Atlantic, negotiate the Magellan Straits and then to explore the Pacific at as southern a latitude as possible to look for terra australis incognita, the supposed great southern continent. On 19 June, the Dolphin's crew sighted what appeared to be mountains to the south. The officers speculated that this must at last be the southern continent and headed for the nearest land. At daybreak they found themselves confronted by more than 150 canoes - the Dolphin had in fact arrived at the island of Tahiti, which Wallis named King George's Island. This initial encounter seemed friendly enough and one of the islanders came on board the Dolphin. However, it became apparent to Wallis that the islanders were suspicious of this intrusion from the sea and were determined to take control of the ship. There followed a week of cat and mouse encounters, which ended in serious violence. The Dolphin's cannons fired on the Tahitian canoes, destroying several and killing many of their crew. This violence culminated on 26 June, when the Dolphin bombarded a crowd on top of one of the islands hills. These events greatly troubled Robertson, who recorded in his journal that: 'who terrible must they be shockd to see their nearest and dearest of friends dead, and toar to peces in such a manner as I am certain they neaver beheald before'. After this, the Dolphin was safely anchored in Matavai Bay and the crew established friendly relations with the islanders. The Dolphin's stores were soon replenished. The Dolphin's 'Liberty Men' - those allowed shore leave - were soon exploring the island and mixing with the Tahitians, who were very keen to trade for metal, generally in the form of ironware and nails. But a trade in sex was also established.