Episode 1 of 2
Construction of Messenger of Peace
- When
- 1827
- Where
- Avarua
John Williams built the ship Messenger of Peace in Avarua, Rarotonga, using local materials in fifteen weeks to reach pagan islands.
Williams constructed the vessel in 1827 with help from Aaron Buzacott and a small workforce of former cannibals. The majority of islanders were busy building housing elsewhere, limiting available labor. Williams had prior experience repairing ships in the Society Islands, which informed his approach to building the new ship from local resources.
Sources
- Messenger of Peace (missionary ship) Wikipedia, revision of 2025-12-15
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.