What happens
In 1939, Captain Hunakara of the Lottie Dee, a long-time trader, is told that foreign ships will no longer be allowed to call at the Bonin Islands. The captain reflects on the islands' history, recalling how Matteo Mazzaro and Nathaniel Savory, a British and an American, once governed the settlement, how Commodore Perry sought American control, and how Japanese families came ashore and later claimed the islands for Japan. The captain notes the fortifications he suspects were being built and the Japanese official who avoided showing him around Port Lloyd. The broadcast is part of The Pacific Story, first aired on July 2, 1944, and is narrated by Willard Bright.
The Bonin Islands, centered on Port Lloyd, with scenes from the nineteenth century and from 1939 onward
Characters: Captain Hunakara, Matteo Mazzaro, Nathaniel Savory, Commodore Perry, Willard Bright
Listen for: The captain's account of Japanese families coming ashore and the islands passing to Japanese control
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.