Biographical entry: Pratt, Edmund Peter

Details

Frenchman Edmund Peter Pratt, brother of Jean Peter Pratt (q.v.), was a trader at Roviana Lagoon in the mid-1880s, and later moved to Simbo Island. He married Simaema from Vonavona village, and the couple had two sons and four daughters. He wanted to shift his base in about 1890 but people in his wife's village opposed the move. He always carried a handgun and treated the local people badly. His trading schooner was the Magic. In 1900, faced with opposition from the new Protectorate Government over his selling of firearms, Pratt sold out and left for Sydney, making no provision for his family, who the Methodist Mission cared for. (Golden 1993, 215-217)

Published resources

Books

  • Golden, Graeme A., The Early European Settlers of the Solomon Islands, Graeme A. Golden, Melbourne, 1993. Details