Captain Samuel Wallis (23 April 1728 – 21 January 1795) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who made the first recorded visit by a European navigator to Tahiti.

[2] The two ships were parted by a storm shortly after sailing through the Strait of Magellan.

Wallis himself was ill and remained in his cabin so lieutenant Tobias Furneaux was the first to set foot, hoisting a pennant and turning a turf, taking possession in the name of His Majesty.

He described Tahiti as having a very good climate and the island being 'one of the most healthy as well as delightful spots in the world'.

[1] He continued to Batavia, where many of the crew died from dysentery, then via the Cape of Good Hope to England, arriving in May 1768.