Henry Barber (sea captain) facts for kids

Henry Barber was a British sea captain from the 1700s. He is known for discovering McKean Island, which is part of the Phoenix Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

A Captain's Journeys

Captain Barber sailed merchant ships. His routes connected places like India and America to a new settlement called Port Jackson in Australia.

He was also involved in the first recorded shipwreck by a Western ship in the Hawaiian Islands. On October 31, 1796, Captain Barber's ship, the British brig Arthur, hit a coral reef near O‘ahu. The ship was pushed onto the rocks. Sadly, six of the twenty-two sailors on board were lost while trying to launch a small boat. This area is now known as Barbers Point.

Discovering McKean Island

Captain Barber made four trips to the Pacific Northwest between 1794 and 1804. In 1794, he was sailing the British ship Arthur from Botany Bay, Australia. His journey was heading towards the northwest coast of America.

During this trip, Captain Barber discovered an island. This island is now believed to be McKean Island. He sighted the uninhabited island on May 28, 1794. Barber named it "Drummond's Island". He recorded its location as 3°40'S, 176°51'W.

A newspaper called the Albany Sentinel reported on this discovery. It described the island as a "small sandy island." The report also noted that it was "very low" and hard to see from a ship. You could only spot it from about five or six miles away.

Later, this island was called 'Arthur Island'. It appeared on maps made by Arrowsmith. On these maps, it was located at 3°30'S, 176°0'W. The island closest to these coordinates today is McKean Island. Its current location is 3°35'S, 174°02'W.

McKean Island was later renamed and mapped by Charles Wilkes. He was part of the United States Exploring Expedition from 1838 to 1842. However, 'Arthur Island' remained on some charts. It was still listed as needing confirmation until at least 1871. It appeared in Findlay's Directory using Arrowsmith's older maps.