252220 Port Vila, New Hebrides, Vanuatu, 1919
There were no direct steamers to the remote islands Martin + Osa Johnson planned to film, so Australia & New Zealand always were transit stops for them, particularly Sydney, Brisbane & Townsville, Australia. Other stops may have included New Guinea & New Caledonia.
Port Vila was the administrative hub of the New Hebrides at this time and it is the capitol of the Republic of Vanuatu today. Martin + Osa Johnson had to make this city their first stop to obtain permissions for travel & filming the more remote islands in the chain.
Expedition Background:
In
April, they left San Francisco for the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) via Australia. After checking in at Port Vila, the immediately returned to
Vao. They organized an expedition and set sail for Tenmaru Bay on the island of
Malekula with the intention of again filming the Big Nambas. After a successful
visit, Martin and Osa left Chief Nihipat and his part of Malakula to photograph
and film other tribes of the island.
Off the south coast of Malekula they visited the island of Toman where the heads of children were elongated through the use of tight bindings. From Toman they visited the island of Espiritu Santo before returning to Sydney, Australia, with 25,000 feet of film and 1,000 photographs.
We have over 20,000 images available for review in our
Safari Museum Expedition & Exhibition Image Gallery.
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