John_Williams_(ship)
John Williams (ship)
Ship owned by the London Missionary Society 1844–1864
John Williams was a missionary ship under the command of Captain Robert Clark Morgan (1798–1864) and owned by the London Missionary Society (LMS). She was named after John Williams (1796–1839), a missionary who had been active in the South Pacific.[1]
She was paid for by the contribution of English school children.[2]
She sank in 50 fathoms after drifting onto a reef at Danger Island (Pukapuka) on 16 May 1864. The passengers and crew were rescued.[1]
Six more John Williams ships successively operated in the Pacific as part of the LMS's missionary work, the last, John Williams VII, being built in 1962 and decommissioned in 1968.[3]