Pitcairn Island

Pitcairn Island.

Now I don’t know how familiar you are with early Australian historical figures and, in particular Captain Bligh, who became a Governor for the New South Wales colony ( he was later involved in the Rum rebellion…..more mutiny from his troops). By all accounts he was a talented man who had come up the ranks. He was a brilliant navigator and cartographer or map maker. Unfortunately he was a man of his times and was intolerant of others, unforgiving and quite tactless in dealing with those under his command. Bligh was charged with transporting breadfruit plants from Tahiti to the West Indies to feed slaves. His ship was modified to become a floating greenhouse at a cost of £4670, a fortune in those times. A botanist, gardener and crew of 46 set out on the journey.Problems arose on the voyage and the consequence was a mutiny. Bligh and 17 loyalists were set afloat in a longboat in the middle of the ocean and the mutineers set off to find somewhere to hide.

Bligh navigated back to land, Batavia in the Dutch East Indies ( Indonesia now).The mutineers initially returned to Tahiti, then were rejected by islanders in the Austral group. They found that Pitcairn Island had been incorrectly marked on the map and so was the perfect new home. By now there were 9 English mutineers, l2 somewhat reluctant Polynesian women, and 6 men from the islands off Tahiti. Are you seeing problems ahead? Englishmen thought they were better than the Polynesian men, so took the land and 9 women. The Polynesian men were from different islands and so didn’t necessarily have the same customs and ideas. Before long there were problems on the Island, fighting among the Englishmen, fighting between and with the Polynesian men and unhappy women. When the Island was discovered 12 years later, one Englishman remained, 11 woman and no Polynesian men.

Pitcairn Island today is a British colony and receives £4 million to help the people survive. There are 40 inhabitants. They have a doctor, teacher for the three children and a leisurely life. All major infrastructure tasks are undertaken by the community together. Apart from this, the locals produce crafts, honey and fish. These are sold to cruise ships that come close to the island. Honey and stamps are shipped around the world. Longboats are still used to take goods out to the cruise ships or to take goods to the island as landing is quite difficult in the unpredictable seas.

We were lucky to be able to land all 224 of us plus some crew but we took our own lunch and invited the locals to share. The owner of the Aranui is hoping to make the cruise a regular event so there was much ceremony. Breadfruit plants were brought to symbolise the connection between Tahiti and Pitcairn.After a shovel was found, these were duly planted and the locals invited to dinner for an exchange of gifts( Plaque to mark the maiden voyage, shell necklaces etc)

Well now you have the basics, but what did we see? To get to the village you have to walk the Road of Difficulty, so named as it is a 45 degree climb up the concrete road on the hill. Each section has a different persons name on it so you can see all the community hauled the concrete from the plant in the centre of the island down to build it.The road was started in August 2005 and completed two months later. It took half an hour from the landing point to the top, with a few stops…..not to rest mind, just to take photos (ha ha, I know you don’t believe it) There are quad bikes on the Island that ,for a price, will save you the walk.

John Adams was the last remaining Englishman.He escaped the noose as he had used a false name when he signed on the Bounty so could easily say he was not involved in the mutiny. He helped the new colony with farming methods, educated the children using a Bible to teach reading, writing and morals. Definitely a reformed character. His grave is on the island along with that of his wife and daughter.
Among the passengers was a descendant of Adams who lives on Norfolk Island. A New Zealander who had been born on the island and another whose grandmother had been born there. It is common for the young to leave once they complete their education in New Zealand, but all were quite emotional, at visiting the island. If you leave the island and don’t intend to return, your  house is recycled into others houses or new buildings needed. Nothing is wasted.

Mike found a lifeboat from a ship he sailed in 1970. Theship had sank and somehow the boat landed at Pitcairn and is now part of the school equipment.

Because of the isolation, there are birds and plants that are unique to the island. Plants from other islands, have been introduced. Some of these have become problems as there are too few people to control them. Roseapple, prized for its wood for carving, is one of these. So there you have it. A unique place for a visit.