James Morrill was a sailor on the Peruvian which was wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef on 8 March 1846. Of the 21 survivors who escaped on a raft, only 4 were still alive 42 days later when they landed at Cape Cleveland. These survivors were taken in by the local Aboriginal tribe, however within 2 years only Morrill still lived. He remained with the tribe for 17 years, but when white settlers moved into North Queensland he left his Aboriginal wives and children to live in the white settlement at Bowen and later at Townsville.
