Karl wrote a letter to his sister Mattie on March 20, 1900. The letter was written on The Goold Bicycle Co. Ltd. stationary:
“Dear Mattie; I think I will drop you a line just to let you know I am "alive and doing well". Arrived here a day or so ago from Melbourne over a hard and rough road 600 miles. It was hot I tell you, 100 degrees in shade with a hot Australian wind blowing in my face, from the north, however, I made 108 miles one day over sand and hills from ½ to 3 miles long. I had a horrible time just imagine many a time and had to go bedless to supper quite a broad escape if you ask me. A great deal more and I might have starved. I looked in the directory for Mrs. Robertsons address and found a column of Robertsons about 2 ft long, there are over 100 families of that name in this city so you see I had some trouble not knowing even her initials, however, I found out they live at Balmain a large sub-estate over the river I am going out today to see them. ... Yours until death, Karl M. Creelman”
In a follow-up letter published in the Truro News on May 14, 1900, Karl wrote:
"On arriving at Sydney I was hunted up by Rev. H.A. Robertson, missionary to Erromanga who made me go to his house at Balmain, one of the suburbs of Sydney, where I stayed, and was used with the greatest of hospitality. I felt right at home and was sorry to take to the 'bush' again for Queensland. They showed me the sites of Sydney: the Zoo, the Botanical Gardens; also took me to see and hear the organ in the city hall - the largest organ in the world. Thirty-six years ago Mr. Robertson came to Australia in a sailing ship, 'The Dayspring', but I think they were a better class of people aboard of her than on the one I was on."
Karl's mention of Reverend Robertson piqued my curiosity. Who was this Nova Scotian missionary living in Sydney who showed such hospitality to our around-the-world cyclist? What I discovered was a tale far more extraordinary than I ever imagined.
Hugh Angus Robertson was born at Barney's River, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, in 1841, not far from Karl's hometown. As a young man, Robertson’s adventurous spirit led him to travel to the South Pacific to Australia aboard the missionary vessel Dayspring in 1863.
Arriving in Melbourne, Australia, Robertson found work as an agent for the New Hebrides Cotton Company of Glasgow. His job was straightforward: purchase materials from native* islanders and ship them to Scotland. What began as a six-month position stretched into more than four years, during which time Robertson developed close relationships with Presbyterian missionaries working in the region.
By 1868, Robertson, through these relationships, found his calling. The Church of Scotland invited him to become their first missionary in the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu). Accepting this invitation, he returned to Nova Scotia for training in theology and medicine. On September 6, 1871, he married Christina McNeill, from Little Harbor, Pictou County, and the couple soon set sail for the South Pacific, arriving at Aneityum (the southernmost island in the Vanuatu archipelago) on May 1, 1872.
Dear reader, this is where the story takes a dark and fascinating turn. The Robertsons were then assigned to Erromango - the fourth largest island in the Vanuatu archipelago- an island with such a bloody history of violence against missionaries that it had earned the grim nickname "The Martyr Isle."
Upon commencing my research, I discovered a newspaper headline from the Australian Star, dated September 26, 1889, that bluntly declared: "They Didn't Eat Him." The article described how Robertson had volunteered to serve on Erromango just three months after the missionary Gordon had been “murdered by natives”. Astonishingly, Robertson was noted as "the first missionary who has returned from the island" – all his predecessors, including John Williams, Harris, and the two Gordon brothers (and Mrs. Gordon), had been killed, some even cannibalized!
Yes, dear reader – the missionaries who preceded the Robertsons were eaten!
What remarkable courage it must have taken for Robertson and his wife to settle at Dillon's Bay (aka Unpongkor) Erromango, the very site where multiple missionaries had met violent ends. Yet where others had failed, the Robertsons succeeded. Through patience, cultural understanding, and remarkable persistence, they gradually won the trust of the Erromangan people.
By 1900, when Karl Creelman met him in Sydney, Rev. Robertson had established a significant Christian community on Erromango, complete with a church that could hold 200 people. He had become a respected mediator during tribal conflicts between Christian and non-Christian groups. Just before meeting Karl, Robertson had returned to Erromango after a trip to Sydney to find "the island in a state of siege," and had worked to restore peace.
The Robertsons would ultimately spend an astonishing 41 years on Erromango (1872-1913), the longest-serving missionaries on the island. During this time, Hugh Robertson developed another passion – collecting. He gathered at least 125 objects of cultural significance which he donated to McGill University's Redpath Museum in three separate lots (1883, 1890, and 1896).
His collection included extraordinary items: sacred navela (stone money) that could only be obtained after decades of trust-building; traditional weapons like netnivri and telugohmti clubs; clothing items including nemasitse (barkcloth) and numplat (grass skirts); and even a "sorcerer's kit" consisting of a small basket containing ritual bundles wrapped in leaves. These artifacts remain a significant historical record of Erromangan culture and belief systems before European influence drastically altered island life.
And so, dear reader, this is how Karl Creelman – while cycling around the world – found himself enjoying the hospitality of a remarkable family who had once lived a stone's throw from his family home in Bible Hill. Whether it was Karl who sought out the Robertsons as suggested in his letter to sister Mattie, or if it was the Reverend who reached out to Karl as implied in the newspaper account, matters little. What's significant is this unexpected connection between two Nova Scotian adventurers meeting halfway around the world.
I was captivated by this story of missionaries from Pictou County being among the first Europeans to live in the islands of the South Pacific, let alone those who were murdered before the Robertsons' arrival. As I continue to chronicle Karl's journey through Australia and then Sri Lanka, I can't help but wonder if there's a future story to be told about these brave missionaries and their extraordinary legacy. Stay tuned, dear reader!
*Note: In historical texts, the term “natives” was commonly used to describe Indigenous and local populations. Today, we recognize this language as outdated and instead use terms like Indigenous peoples or local communities. The original wording has been preserved here for historical accuracy.
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