William Whyte was brought up in a Free Church of Scotland family in Oban, the eldest son of Duncan Whyte, secretary and treasurer of the local National Security Savings Bank. He emigrated to New Zealand, possibly for religious reasons, on the ship Melbourne, which sailed from Leith in November 1860 and arrived in Dunedin in March 1861. His daily journal, written in the form of a letter to his family in Oban, contains detailed descriptions of life and conditions on board ship, with remarks on the weather, sightings of birds and sealife, his reading, the routines and activities of the Melbourne's sailors and the other passengers, and other passing ships.

The journal contains two pencil drawings of views from the ship, 'Island of Porto Santo bearing South west, December 27th 1860' and 'Madeira Island froom the North east, December 28th 1860'.