In September 1858, a ship from Hong Kong to Sydney carrying Chinese workers for the gold-fields was wrecked on Rossel, what is now called Yela, an island in Papua New Guinea. The crew were able to land the 327 men, women, and children among the passengers and then left in a surviving ship's boat to summon help. When this help arrived three months later, rescuers found only one man left alive who reported native inhabitants of the island had captured and methodically killed and eaten all his companions, about five each day. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
The Chronicle, The Annual Register or a View of the History and Politics of the Year 1859 (London: F. & J. Rivington, 1860), 33-34.