author
John Gibson Paton
1824–1907
A determined Scottish missionary, he is best known for his work in the New Hebrides, now Vanuatu, where he faced immense danger and wrote vividly about faith, survival, and cross-cultural encounter. His life story became one of the best-known missionary narratives of the 19th century.
4 Audiobooks
John G. Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides, volume 1 (of 3) : An autobiography edited by his brother
by John Gibson Paton
The Story of John G. Paton; Or, Thirty Years Among South Sea Cannibals
by John Gibson Paton
About the author
Born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, on May 24, 1824, John Gibson Paton first worked as a city missionary in Glasgow before leaving in 1858 for the South Pacific. He became a Presbyterian missionary in the New Hebrides, especially on Tanna and later Aniwa, and spent decades trying to build churches, schools, and local Christian communities.
Paton's years in the islands were marked by hardship and loss. Early in his mission, his first wife and infant son died soon after arriving on Tanna, and he also lived through violent conflict and repeated threats to his life. Even so, he continued his work, later gaining wider support through speaking tours and fundraising in Australia, Scotland, and North America.
He is remembered not only for his missionary work but also for his autobiography, which helped make his name widely known. Paton died in Melbourne, Australia, on January 28, 1907, leaving behind an influential and often dramatic record of 19th-century missionary life in the South Pacific.