Kingdom of Tahiti Pomare was the Tahitian chieftain most friendly to the British. The additional British captains arriving at Tahiti accepted his claim to hegemony. They gave him guns in trade and helped him in his battles. Captain Cook gave him the advantage in a number of battles with rival forces during his last stay in Tahiti, circa 1779. British missionaries arrived, sent by a non-denominational Protestant group called the London Missionary Society. Pomare befriended the missionaries, and the missionaries favored both peace and Pomare, but, with the British unwilling to apply force to create order among the islands, the missionaries were unable
RMS Tahiti at at 4:30 a.m. on 15 August 1930 when her starboard propeller shaft broke, opening a large hole in her stern and causing rapid flooding. Her crew sent out a distress call via wireless, began launching distress signal rockets, prepared the passengers for the possibility of abandoning ship, and fought the flooding in an effort to save the ship. At 10:10 p.m. on 16 August, the Norwegian steamer arrived on the scene to render assistance. "Penybryn" stood by "Tahiti" throughout the night of 16–17 August with her floodlights illuminating "Tahiti" and her boats ready to go to the assistance of