Stories of Palmerston

The Stories of Palmerston are a compilation of three stories well known to the family of William Marsters, but no longer in print. Permission was gained from the authors of two of the books, and the publisher of the third, in order to produce this publication. It charts the life and times of William Marsters after he arrived in the Cook Islands in 1856, and then his arrival on Palmerston Island in 1863. He is famous for establishing three families and raising them under a guiding hand with rules that still exist today to ensure equitable sharing of land and other assets on the island. At the same time, what is not told is that William Marsters led a double life. He had left behind a family in England, a wife and son, and an illegitimate daughter who was raised by his parents, John and Ann Masters of Walcote. This story is told in "The Masters of Walcote, Leicestershire" (also available on Kindle). Read more