[2] Chalmers was initially disappointed to find the island partially Christianized, but soon found there was much work to be done in fighting drunkenness and in directing the natives' energies into wiser practices.

He gained much experience which was to be used in his later work, but he felt a strong urge to devote his life to less-tutored men.

After Chalmers' return to New Guinea, he did a great deal of exploring and gained a detailed knowledge of much of the country and its inhabitants.

It was no doubt largely the influence of the missionaries that made it illegal both to deport natives and to introduce intoxicants, firearms, and explosives.

In 1893, Chalmers explored part of the Fly River in a steam launch but found the natives extremely hostile.

In 1895 he published Pioneer Life and Work in New Guinea 1877–1894, which contained a considerable amount of material from earlier books.

[3] A year later, he was on a vessel with Tomkins near Goaribari Island, and was visited by natives who appeared to be in a dangerous mood.

Chalmers is also included on a stained glass window in the Eltham College chapel in Mottingham, England.

In 1888 he married Sarah Elizabeth Harrison, a widow from East Retford who had been a childhood friend of his first wife.

Chalmers preached his last sermon in Britain at the Retford Congregational Church (a site now occupied by the Aldi supermarket).