The Namoi Islands have thought to have been initially settled eight to nine hundred years ago by natives moving eastward from the Chuuk Lagoon. During the
Age of Exploration the islands were sighted by the Spanish expedition of
Álvaro de Saavedra in 1528. Centuries later, Captain
James Mortlock rediscovered two sets of islands when he was sailing from
Port Jackson to
Whampoa in
Young William on the 19th and 27 November 1795. Confusingly, both were later called the Mortlock Islands. Unfortunately, due to the reliance of oral story telling to pass down history, coupled with natural disasters, war, and other factors, much of the originating people's history is lost. What is known is mostly from writings of missionaries and various ancient artifacts. ==Ethnography==