Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Local History - Visit in 1595

From wikipedia

Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira

wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81lvaro_de_Menda%C3%B1a_de_Neira

..it was not until 8 September 1595 that they sighted land again, this time the island of Nendo, which they named "Santa Cruz". The Santa Ysabel had disappeared, however, and despite searches by the two smaller vessels, it could not be found.

Arriving at what is now Graciosa Bay, a settlement was commenced. Relations with local islanders and their chief Malope started well, with food provided and assistance in constructing buildings.

However, morale amongst the Spanish was low and sickness (almost certainly malaria) was rife. An argumentative old soldier, Pedro Merino Manrique was murdered at the orders of, and in front of Mendaña, and shortly afterwards, Malope was killed by soldiers. Relations with the Islanders soon worsened.

Wracked by internal divisions and an increasing death toll, the settlement began to fall apart. Mendaña himself died on 18 October 1595, leaving his wife as heir and governor, her brother Lorenzo as captain-general. 

On 30 October, the decision was made to abandon the settlement. When the three ships departed on 18 November 1595, forty-seven people had died in the space of one month.

James Graham Goodenough

wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Graham_Goodenough

Captain James Graham Goodenough CB CMG (3 December 1830 – 20 August 1875) died aboard HMS Pearl off the coast of Australia from wounds inflicted from poisoned arrows in an attack by natives of the Santa Cruz Islands.

From: Australian Dictionary of Biography

adb.anu.edu.au/biography/goodenough-james-graham-3630

His duties included the maintenance of law and order among British subjects in the Pacific and control of their relations with indigenous peoples. On 12 August 1875 while trying to conciliate natives on Carlisle Bay in the Santa Cruz Islands he and others of his party were wounded by poisoned arrows. He refused 'to allow a single life to be taken in retaliation', although some huts were burnt. Tetanus set in and, after gallantly bidding farewell to the ship's company, Goodenough died on 20 August in the Pearl, 500 miles (805 km) from Sydney.

He was buried in the cemetery of St Thomas's Church of England, North Sydney, between two of his men.

Disclaimer

There are a lot of things that can go wrong travelling, there are more things that can go wrong travelling to surf.
Feel free to contact the contributors for more information before setting out to do a trip to here or similar areas. Get information and remember that you, and only you, are responsible for what happens to you.

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