John Sen Inches Thomson (1844–1933), was a Scottish whaler and sealer, ship owner, captain, inventor and author. In 1877, Inches Thomson and his crew were sailing on Bencleugh when she shipwrecked during a terrific gale off Macquarie Island, Tasmania, Australia. After four months on the island the crew was rescued by Bencleugh's sister ship, Friendship. In 1912, Inches Thomson released a book detailing the highlights of his sea voyages, including his time as a castaway.

Macquarie Island is an island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. Regionally part of Oceania and politically a part of Tasmania, Australia, since 1900, it became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 1978 and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.