There is not much on Pitcairn Island but it is fascinating never the less. After the mutiny on the HMS Bounty, Captain Bligh was put in a boat along with 17 crewmen in the open ocean while Fletcher Christian and the rest of the crew of the Bounty sailed back to Tahiti. Christian didn't want to stay there because he knew that it was only a matter of time before the British Navy would come looking for him. Some of his men felt otherwise and remained. Christian and a few men, together with some native men and women sailed to Pitcairn Island and decided to settle there because it had been mischarted by the British and this would make it very hard for him to be found, especially after he burned and sunk the ship.

Main Island
Drawing Source: Mr. Jean Pierre Langer jplanger@mcn.mc

The Pitcairn Islands were discovered by the British in 1767 but mischarted. The Bounty mutineers settled it in 1790 along with a few natives they brought from Tahiti. Pitcairn was the first Pacific island to become a British colony (in 1838) and today remains the last vestige of that empire in the South Pacific. Outmigration, primarily to New Zealand, has thinned the population from a peak of 233 in 1937 to less than 50 today. The island is in the South Pacific and is about halfway between Peru and New Zealand. It is not a very big island being about 1/3rd of the size of Washington, DC. The total land mass is 47 sq km. The coastline is 51 km. The island is tropical and has a rainy season that usually lasts from November to March The highest point on the island is Pawala Valley Ridge which is 347 meters high while the lowest point is sea level.

We are really talking about one island because the rest are uninhibited. The island is rugged volcanic formations with rocky coastlines and cliffs.

All has not been well in this island paradise. As unbelievable as this sounds for an island with a population of about 47, seven men from the island are being charged with about 100 sex related charges. It all started in 1999 when a British police woman had returned from the island. She had been given two complaints of sexual abuse. The British and New Zealanders decided to investigate and the investigation turned up another 96 charges and even worse, some included child rape. Another six men who had moved off the island are also being sought. The court staff that is being shipped in from Auckland for the six week trial numbers about 25 which ironically is about half the size of the present population of the entire island. The population are all related to each other. Half the population have guns. There are twenty guns on the island and they will have to turn them over to the Governor who is also the British High Commissioner to New Zealand, Richard Fell.

Island Group
Drawing Source: Mr. Jean Pierre Langer jplanger@mcn.mc

Ultimately what may keep this island going is the fact that some mineral deposits have been discovered off shore. These deposits consist of manganese, iron, copper, gold, silver and zinc.

Britain's most isolated dependency; only the larger island of Pitcairn is inhabited but it has no port or natural harbor; supplies must be transported by rowed longboat from larger ships stationed offshore There is a minus population growth as more people die or leave than are born and stay on the island. All of the islanders are said to be Seventh-Day Adventists.

You have to wonder how the people of this island can support themselves? They do it by fishing, farming, handicrafts and postage stamps. Stamp collectors all over the world play a big part is supporting them. In 1997 the labor force was estimated to be 12 men. They have electricity that is provided by a small generator. Their currency is the New Zealand dollar. In 2004 there was one party telephone line with 17 phones on it. They also have one radio station that broadcasts on the am band.