James Chalmers

Born in Ardrishaig, Scotland, on August 4, 1841, James Chalmers became a missionary with the London Missionary Society and worked first in Rarotonga before moving on to New Guinea. He gained a reputation for energy, courage, and a willingness to travel into places that were little known to Europeans at the time.

Chalmers was not only a missionary preacher but also an explorer and observer of the Pacific world around him. Writers of his time sometimes called him "the Livingstone of New Guinea," reflecting how strongly his journeys and public image captured the imagination of readers back home.

He died on April 8, 1901, on Goaribari Island in the Gulf of Papua, together with several companions. His death gave his story an enduring place in missionary history, and his life was later preserved in autobiographical writings and collections of letters.