author
James Chalmers
1841–1901
Drawn to the South Pacific after a dramatic religious conversion, this Scottish missionary spent decades in Rarotonga and New Guinea and became widely known for his bold travels among remote coastal communities. His life ended violently in 1901, giving his story an intensity that still grips readers of missionary history.
1 Audiobook
Adventures in New Guinea
by James Chalmers
About the author
Born in Ardrishaig, Scotland, on August 4, 1841, James Chalmers grew up in Inveraray and worked as a young man before turning seriously to Christianity. He later trained for missionary service with the London Missionary Society and left for the Pacific in the 1860s.
Chalmers first worked in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, then became closely associated with New Guinea, where he traveled extensively and gained a reputation for courage, energy, and a willingness to go where few outsiders had been. Some writers later called him "the Livingstone of New Guinea" because of his long years of exploration and mission work in the southwest Pacific.
He died on April 8, 1901, during a mission journey in the Gulf of Papua, along with several companions. Remembered as a forceful and adventurous figure, he left behind journals and accounts that reflect both the missionary movement of his time and the dangers of frontier travel in the Pacific.