John Cromar

John "Jock" Cromar (1859/1860–1942) was a Scottish-Australian seaman and author, who wrote the book Jock of the Islands, a supposed retelling of his experiences in Melanesia during the late 19th century. Described by Charles Morris Woodford as a "derelict of the labor trade", Cromar was for several decades active in the recruiting industry in the Solomon Islands.

Life and career Cromar was born in Aberdeen, and entered into sailing "at a young age". From 1885 to 1886 Cromar was a recruiting officer on the ship Helena, under the command of Aisiselaus Tonarus. Throughout his life, he managed numerous plantations on the Solomon Islands, and was the captain of several small ships. In his later years, he mostly operated as a trader on Marovo Island. Cromar continued to sail until the age of 75. The book was noted as one of the few first-hand accounts of experiences in Melanesia during the time period it covered. Cromar claimed in Jock of the Islands that, while aboard the Forest King, he had been told a story of the murder of John Gibson Paton and his wife, who in actuality died peacefully. The Melbourne-based newspaper The Australasian gave a positive review of the book, describing it as "a tale of romance and strange adventure", and "though dark with tragedy...an entertaining book", while also praising its illustrations, and noting Cromar's frankness when discussing sexual liaisons between sailors and local women. In their review of the book, The Sun declared that Cromar "tells picturesquely the story, as he saw it, of an almost forgotten phase of our industrial story", and declared that "There is not much literary grace in the writing, but it is a lively narrative, and well worth reading." As a work, Jock of the Islands is not focused on the routine business of recruiting, instead being focused more on stories of the dangerous and romantic encounters Cromar claims to have experienced during his career. This has made it somewhat frustrating for historians to study and analyse the book.

Death Cromar died shortly prior to 4 December 1942 in Brisbane, of unspecified causes at the age of 82. He remained unmarried throughout his life.