Here is the intriguing and unfamiliar story of Captain Bligh's second voyage
to the South Pacific, commenced in 1791, only one year after his return to
England following the infamous mutiny on the 'Bounty'. This time, with two
ships, a proper officer corps, and a detachment of Marines to keep order, he
succeeded in completing his original mission to transplant breadfruit to the
West Indies. A number of soon-to-be-famous names accompanied him including
Matthew Flinders who was to become one of the pioneer explorers of Australia.
Also selected for the voyage was Lieutenant George Tobin, an unusual naval
officer of wide interests and an enquiring mind, who kept a journal of the
voyage.
This journal, published here for the first time, offers tantalising
glimpses into the character of Bligh and into his methods of command, but what
particularly interested Tobin were the societies of the Pacific, especially on
Tahiti, where the expedition spent many months.
Allied to his powers of
observation, Tobin was also a gifted watercolour artist, and on the two-year
voyage produced numerous painted sketches, many of which are reproduced in this
book. On his return to England he set about completing the draft of a memoir of
the voyage which he then revised and annotated in the hope that it would one day
find its way into print. This was not to be, and only now, more than two
centuries after the author set down his impressions, has his wish been
fulfilled.
Contents:
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Editorial Commentary
Introduction
1. April-October 1791
2. November-December 1791
3. December 1791-March 1792
4. April 1792
5. April-May 1792
6. May-July 1792
7. The Tahitians
8. July-September 1792
9. October 1792-August 1793
Author's Notes
Index
