Ireland's Farthest Shores: Mobility, Migration, and Settlement in the Pacific World

305 Pages·2022·10.961 MB·English

by  Malcolm Campbell

r IRELAND’S
Farthest Shores q
History of Ireland and the Irish Diaspora
James S. Donnelly, Jr.
Thomas Archdeacon
Series Editors
r I RE L A N D ’ S
q
Farthest Shores
Mobility, Migration, and
Settlement in the Pacific World
Malcolm Campbell
the university of wisconsin press
The University of Wisconsin Press
728 State Street, Suite 443
Madison, Wisconsin 53706
uwpress.wisc.edu
Gray’s Inn House, 127 Clerkenwell Road
London ec1r 5db, United Kingdom
eurospanbookstore.com
Copyright © 2022
The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
All rights reserved. Except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles and
reviews, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted
in any format or by any means—digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise—or conveyed via the internet or a website without written permission of the
University of Wisconsin Press. Rights inquiries should be directed to [email protected].
Printed in the United States of America
This book may be available in a digital edition.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Campbell, Malcolm, 1963- author.
Title: Ireland’s farthest shores : mobility, migration, and settlement in the Pacific World /
Malcolm Campbell.
Other titles: History of Ireland and the Irish diaspora.
Description: Madison, Wisconsin : The University of Wisconsin Press, [2022] | Series: History
of Ireland and the Irish diaspora | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: lccn 2021008780 | isbn 9780299334208 (hardcover)
Subjects: lcsh: Irish—Pacific Area—History.
Classification: lcc da916.8 .c36 2022 | ddc 909/.0916201823—dc23
lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021008780
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 3
1 European Empires and the Making of the Irish Pacific 11
2 Colonial Contacts and Island Encounters 37
3 Populating the Irish Pacific 66
4 Radicalism, Protest, and Dissent 93
5 Keeping Faith 117
6 Nationalism at Long Distance 141
7 War and Revolution 167
8 The Receding Tide 190
Conclusion 213
Notes 217
Selected Bibliography 259
Index 283

Illustrations
Maps
Map 1 The Pacific world 2
Map 2 British exploration in the Pacific 21
Map 3 India and the Western Pacific 40
Map 4 The Pacific gold rushes 75
Map 5 Irish nationalist missions to the Pacific 149
Photos
Photo 1 Interview between Captain Wallis and Oberea, Queen of
Otaheite, ca. 1772 22
Photo 2 Seals of the New Zealand provinces 32
Photo 3 John Webber, A View of the Habitations in Nootka Sound, 1784–85 49
Photo 4 William Hodges, Resolution Bay in the Marquesas, engraved by
B. T. Pouncey, 1768–80 52
Photo 5 Francesco Bartolozzi, The Cession of the District of Matavai, 1801 59
Photo 6 Frederick Grosse, Emigrants Landing at the Queen’s Wharf, Melbourne,
from a Sketch by N. Chevalier, Esq., ca. 1864 82
Photo 7 John Redmond 151
Photo 8 Scenes from Samoa photographed by Michael Davitt 162
Photo 9 Scenes from Samoa photographed by Michael Davitt 162
Photo 10 Scenes from Samoa photographed by Michael Davitt 163
vii
viii Illustrations
Photo 11 Plantation Group, Kilauea 164
Photo 12 Tulagi Hospital, ca. 1918 178
Photo 13 The Irish internees in Darlinghurst Jail, Sydney, ca. 1918 185
Photo 14 Sinn Féin president Éamon de Valera in California, 1919 203
Photo 15 Beatrice Grimshaw 208
Figures
Figure 1 Departure for North American ports, 1815–1819 71
Figure 2 Irish emigration, 1815–1921 91
Table
Table 1 Irish emigration to Australasia, 1850–1921 90
Acknowledgments
All books accrue debts, and this one has incurred many. Throughout the project
I’ve benefited from financial support from the University of Auckland. Early re-
search was supported by a Vice-Chancellor’s University Development Award, and
the university has maintained its commitment to well-resourced research and study
leave and support for academic heads. I’m also grateful for the receipt of a fellow-
ship at the Trinity College Dublin Long Room Hub, which enabled me to access
materials related to this project, including its collections on India. However, it is
collegial support and personal friendships that do so much to support scholar-
ship. At Auckland, my colleagues in the discipline of history, especially Barry
Reay, Jonathan Scott, and Jennifer Frost, have provided encouragement and sup-
port even when the project seemed weighed down by a sea anchor. The late Hugh
Laracy, with his encyclopedic knowledge of the Pacific and its peoples, passed
on many handwritten tips that sent me burrowing in unexpected directions. The
book is richer for his generous insights. I’ve also benefited from the kindness and
support of many colleagues within the School of Humanities and the Faculty of
Arts, especially the dean of Arts, Robert Greenberg. The school’s professional staff,
including Alison Salmon, Laureen Boucher, Ros Henshaw, and Josanne Blyth,
helped me find time for research. James Belich, John Findlay, Brad Patterson, and
many colleagues and friends in the Irish Studies Association of Australia and New
Zealand offered guidance and encouragement along the way. David Fitzpatrick
and Keith Jeffery offered hospitality and support and are sadly missed. Charlotte
Hughes, Charlotte Greenhalgh, and Genevieve de Pont, along with others, con-
tributed much-needed research assistance through the duration of the project.
Tim Nolan drew the maps. The anonymous referees made the manuscript richer
ix