Today (9th November 2014), the Silver Shadow called on Pitcairn Island a small island in the middle of the Pacific - approximately half way between Peru and New Zealand and home to the descendants of HMS Bounty, Fletcher Christian and eight of the Bounty mutineers and accompanying Tahitian women, who settled on the small volcanic island in 1790 after its discovery by the British in 1767. Now an Overseas Territory of the UK it became an British Colony in 1838. The Governor is the British High Commissioner in New Zealand from where it is administered.
A rugged island (with what looked like a recent landslip) it reaches almost 1000 feet above sea level and investigations indicate that the island has been inhabited by Polynesians some 400 years before the Brits stuck their flag in it and declared it part of the British Empire, as often happened in the 18th and 19th Centuries! The island was briefly abandoned in 1856 before some islanders returned and it has been inhabited ever since. The population currently stands around 50, although the peak was in the 1930s when 233 people called it home.
Current residents make their living from fishing, farming, selling local handicrafts to passing ships and postage stamps. Most of the islanders are members of the Seven Day Adventist Church so there is no making or consumption of liquor.
As we found today when we couldn’t land because of unfavourable sea and wind conditions, Pitcairn has no port or natural harbour, so imported supplies are taken by longboat from larger ships anchored in Bounty Bay.
The history of the Bounty made famous in books and films, centres on the mutiny aboard the Royal Naval Ship HMS Bounty on 28th April 1789, led by Fletcher Christian against Lieutenant William Bligh motivated by Bligh’s alleged harsh treatment and their desire to stay in the South Pacific. Having set Bligh adrift in a small boat with a loyal crew, the mutineers settled on Pitcairn and burned Bounty to avoid detection.
In an amazing feat of seamanship Bligh managed to sail his boat for 47 days to Timor without navigational charts or compass using only a quadrant and pocket watch (thankfully our own ship is fitted with the latest GPS equipment but interestingly charts are still used on the bridge). Finally returning to Britain in 15th March 1790, Bligh was able to report the mutiny to the Admiralty, which I often pass when working in London.
The British sent HMS Pandora to capture the mutineers, arriving in Tahiti on 23rd March 1791. Unfortunately Pandora ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef in August of that year with the loss of 31 crew and 4 prisoners. The surviving 10 prisoners were eventually tried in a Naval Court in England with 3 being sentenced to hang, 3 pardoned and 4 acquitted.
It was rather sad we couldn’t land on Pitcairn today but was lovely to visit this remote area of the world. Perhaps it’s excuse to take another cruise in this area because it would be disappointing to miss the history and beauty of this part of the world, despite its remoteness and I can think of no better way than exploring this area than sailing on the Silversea Silver Shadow in 6* luxury.
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