“Peter Dillon (1788-1847), adventurer, (and entreprenuer) was born (by his own account) of Irish parents in Martinique on 15 June 1788 and taken by his father, also Peter Dillon, to County Meath, Ireland, as a small child.
A big man: As a youth he served in the navy. He arrived in Fiji from India in 1808 on a vessel trading for sandalwood. Dillon was an impressive figure, 6ft 4 ins (193 cm) in height and heavily built”.
George Bayly, Sea-Life Sixty Years Ago (Lond, 1885); J. W. Davidson, ‘Peter Dillon and the South Seas’, History Today, vol 6, no 5, May 1956, pp 307-17. Author: J. W. Davidson Print Publication Details: J. W. Davidson, ‘Dillon, Peter (1788 – 1847)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, Melbourne University Press, 1966, pp 306-308.
Filed under: 1808, DILLON Peter, Peter Dillon, Sandalwood | Tagged: 1808, Fiji, Peter Dillon, Sandalwood
