An Englishman goes Makassan

G E P ’Pat’ Collins 1904–1991

Museum research associate Jeffrey Mellefont traces the forgotten life of an Oxford drop-out who sailed with the Makassan seafarers of South Sulawesi, wrote best-selling books about them, and built his own Makassan prahu.

Full article text to be added. This article was republished from Signals, the magazine of the Australian National Maritime Museum (Jeffrey Mellefont). Paste the full text here from the old site once you have confirmed the republishing permission is still in place.

Fleet of trading palari pinisi under sail
G E P Collins photograph, Leiden University Library special collections
Seafarers praying aboard the palari pinisi Mula-Mulai
G E P Collins photograph, Leiden University Library special collections
Makassan crew tacking a prahu
G E P Collins photograph, published in East Monsoon 1936
Ship’s cook at a wood fire in a kerosene tin
G E P Collins photograph, Leiden University Library special collections
Collins’s prahu Bintang
G E P Collins photograph, Leiden University Library special collections
Collins’s Makassan crew
G E P Collins photograph, Leiden University Library special collections
Photograph from Twin Flower: A story of Bali (1934)
From Twin Flower: A story of Bali (1934)
Pat Collins and Lida van Reijsen in the USA, 1940s
Pat Collins and Lida van Reijsen, USA, 1940s. Photographer unknown
Komodo dragons at a bait carcass
G E P Collins photograph, Leiden University Library special collections

Author Jeffrey Mellefont was the founding editor of Signals 1989–2013. In retirement he continues to research, write and lecture on the history and seafaring traditions of Australia’s archipelagic neighbour, Indonesia.

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