Fred Whibley
Fredrick George Whibley | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1855 Sittingbourne, Kent, England |
| Died | 1919 |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, Copra merchant |
| Years active | 1873–1919 |
| Known for | Copra merchant on Niutao, Ellice Islands (Tuvalu) |
Fredrick George Whibley (1855–1919) abandoned his banking profession in London to pursue a career as a copra merchant on Niutao, located in the Ellice Islands of the central Pacific. Born in 1855 in Sittingbourne, Kent, England, he was the youngest child of Ambrose Whibley, a silk merchant, and Anne Parkes. Fred received his education at Bristol Grammar School and was the half-brother of journalist Charles Whibley and classical scholar Leonard Whibley. His sister, Eliza Eleanor, married John T. Arundel, proprietor of John T Arundel and Company, which was engaged in Pacific trading activities.
Early life
Between 1873 and 1888, Fred was employed as a bank clerk before departing England at the age of 33. By 1891, he had reached Vancouver, where he secured funds to continue his journey to Sydney, Australia, where his sister resided with her husband John T. Arundel. Known within his family as something of a black sheep due to frequent disputes—including a well-known altercation with a Mrs. Machin in Vancouver—Fred’s reputation was marked by conflict.
Niutao, Ellice Islands (Tuvalu)
While residing in Sydney, Fred Whibley turned down an opportunity offered by John T. Arundel to join John T. Arundel & Co., a company involved in guano mining on Pacific atolls that later transformed into the Pacific Phosphate Co., exploiting phosphate reserves on Nauru and Banaba. Instead, Whibley opted for life on a remote Pacific island, distancing himself from the social expectations of Victorian England.
In mid-1898, Whibley settled on Niutao, Tuvalu (then known as the Ellice Islands), taking up the role of resident trader for Henderson and Macfarlane, which controlled much of Tuvalu’s copra commerce. Henderson & Macfarlane managed the SS Archer, which serviced various islands including those in Fiji, Tuvalu, and Kiribati.
Locally referred to as "Felele," Whibley married Meri Matavaka from Niutao’s Luaseuta family. Meri had been previously wed to Jack Buckland, a former trader who chose not to bring her to Nanumea. During her marriage to Buckland, she visited Vailima, where Buckland formed a friendship with Robert Louis Stevenson during his 1890 voyage aboard the ‘Janet Nicoll’.
Whibley corresponded with his brother Charles about Buckland’s association with Stevenson, sharing Meri’s stories about life at Vailima and expressing admiration for Stevenson.
Fred and Meri had three daughters: Lucy (born 1899), Felicita (known as Fay, born 1905), and Lillian (born 1911). Meri passed away shortly after Lillian’s birth. Subsequently, Captain Ernest Frederick Hughes Allen of Samoa Shipping Trading Co Ltd was engaged by Whibley’s English relatives to transfer him from Niutao to Funafuti and provide care after he had deteriorated into a beachcomber’s lifestyle.
Whibley died in 1919. His children were brought up by their extended family under the guardianship of their grandfather Luaseuta. Their English relatives facilitated their education in Auckland, New Zealand.
The end of the era of European traders
Throughout Whibley's tenure as an island trader, trading firms in the Pacific transitioned from employing resident agents on each island toward a system where the supercargo—the individual responsible for cargo management—interacted directly with island inhabitants during ship visits. Starting around 1900, the presence of palagi traders in Tuvalu diminished significantly; by 1909, no resident palagi traders remained representing these trading companies.