 The area was largely unsettled by Europeans up until that point due to resistance from the local inhabitants.Emma and Farrell were to assist people that were involved in the Marquis De Rays incident where over 500 people were swindled out of their life’s savings to form a new colony at the South Eastern tip of New Ireland.Four ships sailed from France between Jan 1880 – Aug 1881, the "Chandernagore", "Genil", "India" and "Neu Bretagne".