Friday - February 15, 2008

Pitcairn Island

Pitcairn Island, a British overseas territory, is best known as being the home of the descendants of the Bounty mutineers and the Tahitians who accompanied them (some of whom may have been kidnapped). You have all heard how Fletcher Christian led a mutiny against Captain Bligh and set him and the sailors loyal to Bligh adrift in a long boat as he took control of the ship, the Bounty. What you may not know is what happened after that.

Captain Bligh managed to navigate the longboat hundreds of miles to safety, while Christian and the mutineers searched for a place so isolated they would never be found. They knew that if the British navy ever captured them, all they could look forward to was hangman's rope. They picked the island of Pitcairn. The mutineers landed there in 1790 and burned the Bounty. The wreck is still visible underwater in Bounty Bay. Some of the mutineers died from falling off cliffs, some killed each other, and some were killed when the Tahitians rose up against the sailors over one of the women they brought with them. But the names of those that survived long enough to have a family, including Fletcher Christian, live on in the surnames of the islanders. 

By 1850, the inhabitants were outgrowing the island. Their leaders appealed to the British government for assistance, and 193 people set sail for Norfolk Island. But after 18 months on Norfolk, 17 of Pitcairners returned to their island; 5 years later another 27 did the same. The population peaked at 233 in 1937, but many have since left to emigrate to New Zealand, and there are now about 50 people living on Pitcairn. 

I would guess that about 30 of these people got into a longboat and came over to the ship yesterday. It was really interesting to hear their mayor, whose surname, by the way, is Christian, talk about life on the island and how passionately the people who live there feel about their home. Life is not quite as isolated as it once was because they now get about 7 ships a year come to visit the island. I have to say that it did sound like a small piece of paradise, but I think I would go stir crazy within about a week.

The island is almost self-sufficient in terms of their food supply because they can grow almost everything they need, including 9 varieties of bananas. The people we saw looked well fed and happy, including one fellow who was dressed like a buccaneer, complete with a multitude of earrings, tattoos, a bandana, and a skull and crossbones t-shirt! Maybe that is just his "meet the tourists" outfit. They have a generator that provides electricity for 10 hours a day. They have a school with a teacher from New Zealand who signs up for 2 years at a time, and they have a doctor who signs up for 4 months at a time. 

They also have plenty of stamps, postcards, and t-shirts and they do a lot of wood carving. I know this because they brought a large quantity of all on board the ship and then sold almost all of it in a two-hour buying frenzy! I bought a couple of postcards from a Mr. Warren who told me to write them and then he would mail them from Pitcairn. When the islanders got back on their boat to return to the island, they had a few t-shirts and some bananas and a big wad of cash to take back with them! I think we raised the Gross National Product of the island significantly. (When you look at the photo of the boat, notice the incredible blue of the water. It's the real thing!)

Again, Pitcairn is one of those places that one always reads about (lately it was in the newspapers for the arrest of a couple of male islanders for having sex with underage females - their defense, which did not prevail, was that it has always been that way on the island and they set their own laws), but you never think you will actually see it. Thanks, Captain McNaught, for a fascinating visit with the people of Pitcairn.