Rarotonga
On 4 January 1866 Chalmers sailed in the missionary ship John Williams to Australia, where he arrived in May. After a stay of three months, he left for the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu). The ship ran onto an uncharted rock and had to go back to Sydney to be repaired. It sailed again and was wrecked in January, though all on board were saved. He arrived at Rarotonga on 20 May 1867.
Chalmers was initially disappointed to find the island partially Christianized, but soon found there was much work to be done. There was much work to be done in fighting drunkenness and in directing the natives' energies into wiser practices. He learned the language, did much teaching, and became personally popular. His Raratongan name was Tamate. Chalmers also produced a monthly newspaper. He gained much experience which was to be used in his later work, but he felt a strong urge to devote his life to less-tutored men.
Read more about this topic: James Chalmers (missionary)