Jumat, 06 September 2013

The Bounty, Pitcairn Island, and Fletcher Christian's Descendants

 

The Bounty, Pitcairn Island, and Fletcher Christian's Descendants

April 28 marks the anniversary of the world's most famous mutiny

by Borgna Brunner
HMS Bounty. Source: Norfolk Island Website
HMS Bounty

Phrases in the Pitcairnese Dialect

I starten. – I'm going.
Bou yo gwen? – Where are you going?
I gwen down Farder's morla. – I'm going down to Father's place tomorrow.
Bou yo bin? – Where have you been?
I gwen out yenna fer porpay. – I'm going out yonder for red guavas.
Foot yawly come yah? – Why did you come here?
Up a side, Tom'sa roll. – Up at that place, Tom fell down.
Source: Ray and Eileen Young, New Zealand residents descended from Midshipmen Edward Young of theBounty. Courtesy of the Pitcairn Island Web site.
It is not surprising that the most famous of all mutinies, that of the British HMS Bounty, has become ideal fodder for popular history and legend. The mutiny has generated five films (who can think of Fletcher Christian without picturing Marlon Brando?) as well as countless books (including a historical novel by Mark TwainThe Great Revolution in Pitcairn).
Set in the paradisiacal islands of the South Seas, the mutiny involved a host of colorful characters, including the tyrannical Captain Bligh, the aristocratic Fletcher Christian (a distant relation of William Wordsworth's), numerous uninhibited Tahitian women, and a pack of sailors made up of cockney orphans and ruffian adverturers.

Anglo-Tahitian Culture Preserved

What has also helped to perpetuate the romantic fascination with the mutiny is the existence of a small community on Pitcairn Island directly descended from the mutineers and their Tahitian wives.
Living on a 1.75 square mile volcanic speck in the South Pacific that is surely one of the most isolated places on Earth, the contemporary Pitcairn Islanders still bear the surnames of the eighteenth century mutineers (Tom Christian, for example, is the great-great-great-grandson of Fletcher). The islanders speak a dialect that is a hybrid of Tahitian and eighteenth-century English. It is as if history had been preserved in a petri dish (another admittedly romantic notion about an already widely romanticized past).

Paradise

The Bounty left England on Dec. 23, 1787, and reached Tahiti in 1788. It was sent to collect a cargo of breadfruit saplings, which was then to be transported to Jamaica where the breadfruit would serve as food for slaves working on the plantations. After sailing 27,000 miles over ten months, the crew spent a sybaritic idyll on Tahiti, where they reveled in the subtropical climate, lush surroundings, and overwhelming warmth and hospitality of the Tahitians.
A scientist of the time, gladly abandoning reason for passion, claimed that the Tahitians knew "no other god but love; every day is consecrated to it, the whole island is its temple, all the women are its idols, all the men its worshippers." Many of the men found Tahitian companions, and Fletcher Christian and a Tahitian named Maimiti fell deeply in love and later married. For Christian, Maimiti had the face that launched one mutinous ship.

Breadfruit Bligh

Norfolk Island Stamp
On April 4, 1789, the Bounty embarked on the second leg of its journey with a cargo of a thousand breadfruit saplings aboard. A little more than three weeks later, near the island of Tonga, the crew, led by first mate Fletcher Christian, staged a mutiny against Captain William Bligh, under whom they claimed to suffer inhuman treatment.
Bligh and eighteen loyal sailors were set adrift in a 23-foot open boat. According to Captain Bligh's diary, the mutineers threw breadfruit after him as he was forced off the Bounty, and yelled, "There goes the Bounty bastard, breadfruit Bligh!" Miraculously, Bligh and his loyalists survived the seven-week, 3,600-mile voyage in the cramped boat, finally reaching the island of Timor.

Discovering Pitcairn

Map, Pitcairn Islands. Source: The World Factbook
Pitcairn's coordinates are 25 04 S, 130 06 W.
After the mutiny, Christian and his sailors returned to Tahiti, where sixteen of the twenty-five men decided to remain for good. Christian, along with eight others, their women, and a handful of Tahitian men then scoured the South Pacific for a safe haven, eventually settling on Pitcairn on January 23, 1790.
An isolated volcanic island 1,350 miles southeast of Tahiti, it was named after British midshipman Robert Pitcairn, who first sighted the island on July 2, 1767. Its location had been incorrectly charted by the explorer Carteret, who missed the mark by 200 miles, and was therefore the ideal refuge for the mutineers. Although a British ship spent three months searching for them, the mutineers eluded detection. Those who had remained on Tahiti were not so lucky. They were swiftly captured and brought to trial in England, where seven were exonerated and three were hanged.

Psychoanalyzing Captain Bligh

The circumstances leading to the mutiny remain unclear. History has alternately presented William Bligh as horrifically cruel or as a disciplined captain merely running a tight ship. Scenes from movies in which he keel-hauled sailors or gave their water rations to the breadfruit plants have no historical basis, but diplomacy and compassion were clearly not his strong suits. In short, the captain is believed to have been a foul-tempered, highly critical authoritarian with a superiority complex.
Bligh himself contended that the mutineers "had assured themselves of a more happy life among the Otaheitans [Tahitians] than they could possibly have in England, which, joined to some female connections, has most likely been the leading cause of the whole business."

Bligh Climbs the Naval Ladder Rather than Walking the Plank

Pitcairn Islands Stamp
Certainly the stark contrast between the pleasures of Tahiti and the bleak life aboard the Bounty played a role in igniting the mutiny, but the blame seems to rest largely on Bligh's failings as a captain. The fact that Bligh was later involved in yet another mutiny and again accused of "oppressive behavior" makes the occasional attempts to rehabilitate his reputation unconvincing. In 1805 he was appointed governor of New South Wales, Britain's colony of Australia. The colonists, well accustomed to harsh leaders and conditions, found Bligh's rule intolerable. Within three years, they mutineed; Bligh was imprisoned and sent back to England.
p> Ironically, having two mutinies on his record did not stymie Bligh's career–he was eventually promoted to Vice Admiral. Although he was arrogant and cruel, he was also courageous and intelligent, as well as an excellent navigator, astronomer, and cartographer–he could never have survived the seven-week, 3,600-mile post-mutiny voyage otherwise.

The Ebb & Flow
of Pitcairn's Population

1790: 27
1800: 34
1806: 35
1850: 156
1856: 194
1857: 0*
1858: 17
1864: 43
1937: 233
1968: 75
1997: 54
2000: 44
2002: 47
2008: 48
2009: 48
* Pitcairn's population dropped to zero when all the inhabitants emigrated to Norfolk Island.
Landing on Pitcairn Island in 1790, the mutineers and Tahitians remained invisible to the world for eighteen years. Despite the fledgling society's opportunity to invent itself from scratch, island culture more closely resembled Lord of the Flies than a Rousseauvian utopia. When an American whaler discovered the island in 1808, murder and suicide had left eight of the nine mutineers dead.

Pitcairn Joins the Commonwealth

Pitcairn flourished under the leadership of the last surviving mutineer, John Adams, a Cockney orphan who had joined the Bounty under the pseudonym Alexander Smith. He reverted to his real name on Pitcairn–apparently deciding it was the sort of place where he could let his hair down. Adamstown, the capital, is named after him.
Despite his former hard-drinking days and near illiteracy, Adams emphasized the importance of religion and education to the Bounty's second generation–which included Fletcher Christian's son, Thursday October Christian, the first child born on the island.
In 1825, a British ship arrived and formally granted Adams amnesty, and on November 30, 1838, the Pitcairn Islands (which also include three uninhabited islands–Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno) were incorporated into the British Empire.

Emigration to Norfolk Island

By 1855, the population had grown to nearly 200, and the tiny island, with only 88 acres of flat land, could no longer sustain its people. As a result, Queen Victoria bequeathed them Norfolk Island, a former penal colony more than 3,700 miles to the west.
On May 3, 1856, the entire population of 194 people reluctantly abandoned Pitcairn. Within 18 months, however, seventeen of the immigrants returned to Pitcairn, followed by another four families in 1864. Contemporary Norfolk has approximately 1000 Bounty descendants–about half its population–and celebrates Bounty Day (the day the Pitcairners first arrived) on June 8.

Contemporary Pitcairn

Statistics

Island Mayor: Mike Warren (2007)
Population: 47
Capital: Adamstown
Religion: Seventh-Day Adventist
Languages: English (official); Anglo-Tahitian dialect
Chief Occupations:subsistence farming and fishing
Agriculture: citrus fruits, sugarcane, watermelons, bananas, yams, and beans.
Average Temperature:55°-90°F
Major source of revenue: postage stamps and handicrafts
Currency: New Zealand dollar
Area: 1.75 square miles
Today about 50 people live on Pitcairn. All but a handful–a pastor, the schoolteacher, and others–are direct descendants of the mutineers. The only way to reach the island is by ship, but storms and Pitcairn's dangerous harbor have sometimes prevented landings. In recent years one of Pitcairn's thrice-annual supply ships ran aground on a reef on its way from Norfolk to Pitcairn.
Mail service takes approximately three months, and for medical attention, Pitcairners must wait for a ship to transport them to New Zealand, several thousand miles to the west. All are Seventh-Day Adventists who converted sometime after 1886, when an American missionary arrived on the island.
The islanders support themselves by producing postage stamps and making handicrafts, which they sell primarily to visitors on passing ships. Their meager revenue does not cover the enormous costs incurred in keeping the remote island running–electricity, among other things, is exhorbitant and cargo costs several thousand dollars per ton to transport. Great Britain has until now subsidized the island, but it is uncertain whether it will continue to underwrite the expenses of its tiny but costly colony.

World Wide Web Brings the Wide World to Pitcairn

There are individuals and organizations around the world devoted to the Pitcairners, their genealogy, and the history of the mutiny (the genealogical tree extends to 7,500 known descendants throughout the world). Friends of the Pitcairn Islanders have even launched the island into cyberspace–the Pitcairn Island online portal, and Norfolk Island has its own site. It is now even possible to buy Pitcairn Island handicrafts through the Pitcairn Island Online Shop!
Pitcairn has also recently begun to sell its Internet domain name–".pn"–to those needing a unique URL. "Yahoo.com" may be out of the question, but "Yahoo.pn" just might be up for grabs. Islander Tom Christian originally sold the rights to the ".pn" domain to a British Internet company. When the cash-strapped islanders realized they were seeing no financial reward they fought for and eventually took back control of their domain name.
Pitcairn Island
Pitcairn Island. Courtesy of the Pitcairn Island Web Site.

Paradise Lost

In recent years, however, a sexual abuse scandal has cast a deep shadow over the island. Accounts of the victimization of women and young girls on Pitcairn began surfacing in 1999. Seven men–more than half the adult male population of the island–were charged with 96 counts of abuse, including rape and sexual assault. Some of the charges dated back four decades. Subject to British law, the accused faced trial in October 2004 on Pitcairn. Three judges, a number of lawyers, and legal staff members made the 3,000-mile journey to Pitcairn from New Zealand. Eight women, all former Pitcairn Islanders, testified by video link from Auckland, New Zealand.
On Oct. 29, 2004, four men were convicted of multiple sex offenses and received jail sentences of up to six years; two others were sentenced to community service. Jay Warren, the island's magistrate, was found innocent. The appeals of all four men were dismissed, and they are currently being jailed on Pitcairn and guarded by a prison staff from New Zealand.





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Did you know? 
Frozen food was invented in 1924 by Clarence Birdseye.


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Pitcairn Island
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PITCAIRN TODAY                 

   
ABOUT PITCAIRN:

Location:
Pitcairn is of volcanic origin; it is approximately two miles long and one mile wide, and reaches an elevation of 340 meters (1,100 feet) at its highest point.  Pitcairn’s area is approximately 1,200 acres (1.75 square miles).  It has a rough, rocky, cliff-dominated shoreline with no safe harbor or anchorage.  The land is hilly, but fertile (nowhere giving easy access to the sea), and the sea is rich in fish.

Crops:
The main crops consist of arrowroot, sweet potatoes, yams, beans, tomatoes, cabbages, pineapples, melons, citrus and bananas.  Apart from poultry and a few wild goats, there are no farm animals.  Wide varieties of foods, as well as other material needs, are shipped from New Zealand.  

Cimate:
The climate is sub-tropical, generally warm, sunny and moist with a fairly steady breeze.  The mean monthly temperatures vary from 19ºC (66ºF) in August to 25ºC (77ºF) in February; the absolute range is 10ºC (50ºF) to 34ºC (93ºF).  The average annual rainfall is about 2.5 meters (81 inches) – July and August being the driest and November the wettest.  Relative humidity is about 80%.
The Pitcairn Island group – consisting of Pitcairn Henderson, Oeno and Ducie – are governed as a British colony through an administrative headquarters in New Zealand.  

Government:
Pitcairn is a British Overseas Territory and the British Government administers the Island through the appointed Governor of Pitcairn who also serves as the British High Commissioner to New Zealand.
Locally, the Island Council, consisting of a Mayor, a deputy Mayor and five elected members, tends to local governance matters. Each of the seven Council members hold portfolios, which includes Legal, Policies, Human Rights, International Affairs, Operations, Natural Resources, Community Development and Finance & Economics.  Four of the portfolio holders, i.e. Operations, Natural Resources, Community Development, and Finance & Economics line manage four Division Managers who manages the on-island operations aspects of the Government such as island maintenance, shipping arrivals, communications medical services, postal services, etc.  
The Pitcairn Island Office in Auckland, New Zealand administers the Islands financial needs and tends to matters that cannot be dealt with on the Island.  

The primary government source of revenue are three-fold: from the sale of colorful postage stamps – locally and abroad – to both collectors and tourists alike; from registrations under Pitcairn's top level domain name .pn; and from aid money provided by Her Majesties Government.  Pitcairn’s police officer acts as the customs and immigration agent; other local officials include Island Secretary, Postmaster, Education Officer, Communications Officer, and Quarantine and Conservation officer. Government departments include the engineering, works and electrical depts.  

More information about the Government can be found on its website www.pitcairn.pn


Economy:
Island government workers, among the native population, are modestly salaried (most hold positions of varied importance and expertise); a small pension is paid for those over 65 years.  Personal income is generally derived from commemorative postage stamps, woodcarvings and basket weavings sold to passengers and crew of passing ships, some of which stop for a few hours of trading, and from mail order customers overseas.  

Land Ownership:
Land formally was held under a system of family ownership, based on original division by Fletcher Christian and his companions, and modified after their return from Norfolk Island in 1864.  Up until recently each family had several plots of land for their home and gardens under a more traditional land use/ownership system. Recently a land reform process was implemented where land registration gives the government more control for better title record keeping.

Population:
The population rises and falls from time to time, usually maintaining a steady 40 -50 islanders plus a few off-Island professionals including the school teacher, a police officer seconded from New Zealand, a doctor, and occasional visitors from outside.  The majority of Pitcairn descendants live in Norfolk Island and New Zealand with a few scattered around the world. Many remain in contact with their ancestral homeland.  

Religion
The only church is Seventh-day Adventist, of which many islanders are members; the minister is assigned from overseas on a rotational basis.  

Education:
Pitcairn’s school system is based on the New Zealand curriculum, with one teacher assigned on a one or two-year contract.  Education is compulsory between the ages of 5 and 16 years. A local preschool teacher is employed for preschool children. Also a local culture teacher is employed who teaches the children local culture including the Pitkern language. Secondary school children often travel to New Zealand for higher school education.

Health
Until recently there was no resident doctor, the pastor’s wife/husband was in the past required to be a Registered nurse – more recently a doctor is posted by government contract.  
The resident doctor administers the health clinic along with his/her staff assistant from the community.  An additional community member serves as the dental officer who is capable of routine dental care and is available for general x-ray needs.  The clinic is well supplied with emergency and daily medication needs.  Should an emergency occur where the clinic cannot give sufficient care, a call will be put out for any passing ship to stop and take the patient to the nearest emergency facility – sometimes many days away (after a diverted ship arrives – which could be several days away as well).  Such emergencies are rare, but very possible.  [Visitors should be well aware of this situation.]  Most pregnancies are sent to New Zealand in their later stages as a precaution.  There have been very few deaths due to medical need – acute appendicitis has been one cause.  


Taxation:
There is no taxation on Pitcairn, instead all able-bodied men and women undertake civil obligations when needed, generally consisting of manning the longboats to retrieve any arriving cargo and passengers from the supply ship.

Electricity:
Public electricity is generated by diesel power plants and are available between 8am and 1pm and again from 5pm to 10pm every day (10 hours) and supplemented by private generators as needed by individuals.  Most homes have 12 volt lighting for when the main electricity is off. 115 volt electricity may be available in most homes.

Transportation:
Three and four wheeled ATV’s, mostly quad bikes are the main forms of transportation. There are two cars. Heavy equipment includes four tractors, one CAT loader, one CAT excavator, a bulldozer and a small excavator. There is also a 10 tonne mobile crane which is mostly used to unload cargo from longboats at the dock side.

Communications:
Local ‘telephone’ communication was mostly via house–to-house VHF radio.  Outside communication was mostly via international marine satellite (voice and FAX) plus HAM radio.  
Recently a modern communications system was installed which includes 24-hour Internet and telephone service (both local and International) to all homes and most Government offices and facilities. There is one ISDN facility for video conferencing.

Television:
Currently there are three satellite TV channels, CNN, Turners Classic Movies and the Hope Channel broadcasted on the Island with more channels planned in the future. DVD’s also provide the islanders with additional entertainment to TV.  There are three FM radio stations broadcasting mainly music for most of the day.

Media:
Currently there are two monthly newsletters:
The Miscellany - is published by the school (edited by the teacher), and posted to subscribers around the world. Subscription details can be found on their website www.miscellany.pn
Dem Tul is published by co-editors Kari Young and Julie Christian.  Copies are found on this website by clicking here.



Agriculture:
Gardens are found in numerous places around the island.  Sites are selected for soil type and exposure to best suit the crop being planted.  Everyone tends to his, or her, individual garden needs – a hired tractor or dozer may do initial clearing and tilling.  Garden maintenance is by hand hoeing and tilling. There are also numerous orchards which include oranges, mandarins, grapefruit, pawpaw, and avocado. Bananas grow tend to grow wild mostly in valleys.

Fishing:
Pitcairners love their fish and go fishing often.  One favorite is the small nanwi, caught along the rocky shoreline – usually eaten deep fried with a squeeze of lemon.  Other popular fish types are red snapper, tuna, wahoo, jack, grouper, whitefish, parrot, wrasse, trigger, sergeant major, butter and many others.  

Foods:
Traditional foods include pilhi (a starch based staple made from bananas, potatoes, pumpkin, breadfruit or arrowroot), bananas, rice, fresh fruit (passion-fruit, papayas, oranges, lemons, limes, melons, mangos, pineapples), arrowroot, taro yams, corn, plus most of the foods we all are accustomed to.  Coconut is added as flavoring to many dishes.  Everyone makes fresh homemade bread, rolls, breadsticks, pastries, etc.  Food needs are met by gardening and personal special orders via the supply ship.  

Store:
The small Store provides many basic items (food, dry goods, hardware, lumber); it is open three mornings a week. The Store also coordinates the special orders.   

Handicrafts and souvenirs
Everyone makes handicrafts.  Some people specialize in certain types of items (woodworking, basket weavings, jewelry, printed t-shirts and hats) depending on their particular skill or interest.  Woodcrafts include sharks, fish, birds, turtles, Bounty and longboat models, bowls, vases and many more.  Weavings include covered and uncovered baskets in many shapes, sizes and colors – some with ‘Pitcairn Island’ woven in [if ordered, your name could be included, too].  T-shirts and hats are printed or sewn with many artistic designs conceived by the island vendor.  Colorful postage stamps (both mint and cancelled) are offered for sale by everyone.  Often you will find someone sanding on a wood carving while ‘relaxing’ at home, or wherever he or she may be. 

Supply Ship
Currently, a chartered supply ship arrive approximately four times a year bringing fuel, food, mail and needed supplies. During each visit the supply ship make two sailings between Mangareva, in the Gambier Islands and Pitcairn to uplift and drop off passengers and tourists.
Supply ship day is a big one.  The delivery of needed goods and supplies is much anticipated.  The contracted ship will stop to offload food, building materials, supplies, fuel, etc.  There may be several 6-foot containers to lower into the waiting longboats below.  The work is often dangerous as the sea is not often kind.  The crews work many hours, loading the boats, making sometimes long runs back to the landing in Bounty Bay (often in rough seas) to unload and do it all again.  Hoisting cargo nets of bulky supplies or containers down into a bobbing longboat from a rolling ship requires a skill and ability unique to Pitcairners – injuries are few, but the potential is very real. 

Shipping
In addition to the supply ship the variety of ships that used to stop to trade are now few and far between.  But an occasional passing freighters will stop for a couple of hours and a longboat load of islanders will go out with goods to trade for cash or commodities, such as food and drinks from the cook, cash for their handicrafts or possibly a much needed bearing or metal part from the engineer.  Scheduled stops by cruise ships are looked forward to for a pleasant day of trading socializing with the sometimes hundreds of passengers.  Occasionally, small adventure cruise ships, usually with fewer than 200 passengers, stop by bringing people ashore to enjoy a day of trading and exploring on Pitcairn.  During the non-cyclone season, quite a number of ‘yachties’ will stop by for a day or so on their way from the Americas to tour the Pacific islands.  Every visitor is well treated, fed and housed on Pitcairn and depart saying it was the best stop of their voyage.  

Civic Obligation and Volunteer work
Civic Obligation on Pitcairn is a means of serving the community.  There are no income or sales taxes on Pitcairn; instead, service is rendered for the good of the community by asking all able-bodied persons to show up - when called – to perform civil obligation.  This can consist of - most importantly - to man the longboats for going out to an arriving ship; possibly to perform needed road maintenance; cleaning, repairing of public facilities or dealing with other matters concerning the community as a whole.  Even when not required, islanders will show up in force to help a fellow member of the community to build his house or cement a well, for instance. 

Places To See:
Pitcairn has a number of interesting places to see.  Well known are Bounty Bay, the final resting place of The Bounty, and the Square.  The Edge provides a great view of Bounty Bay; Garnet’s Ridge offers a spectacular view of both Tedside and Adamstown; Tedside is a great secluded place to just visit and, perhaps, find Ms T, the resident Galapagos turtle; the Highest Point is a popular spot to visit; Ship Landing Point overlooks the edge and Bounty Bay; Saint Paul’s, another secluded place, has a beautiful tide pool, and looks great when the surf is up or down; Down Rope – a special isolated spot – has a sandy beach and a cliff wall containing ancient Polynesian petroglypths.  There are many other vistas and places to see, both in Adamstown and around the island, to peak your interest … one of the most popular is Christian’s Cave, just outside Adamstown. 

Recreation:
Pitcairners are hard workers, but they do find time to relax and have fun even though their island doesn’t have modern innovations such as theme parks or luxury resorts.  There are three satellite TV channels. Everyone has video players to show DVD movies on TV screens. Videos are often shared around town with whoever asks to borrow one.   People frequently visit each other in the evening to share a dinner or a movie; whenever someone has a birthday; the entire town is invited to come to the party – which includes a potluck dinner.   Occasionally there would be a day’s outing where the whole community would be invited to a picnic or a game of cricket or tennis.
Auto Valley is a place for outings on Pitcairn.  The large, open field contains a tennis court, volleyball court and picnic facilities where everyone will go to enjoy a pleasant summer day.  Sometimes, a fishing trip can become a family outing with a meal cooked over an open fire.  Occasionally, the islanders will take ‘a trip around the island’ in the longboat – stopping at various places to fish (both off the rocks and trolling); kids and adults alike will enjoy swimming and diving from rocks in a small cove and an enjoyable excursion into Gudgeon is usually included.  Gudgeon is a cave at water line – there is a sandy beach inside; the small entrance opens into a large, wide room carved out by wave action.   
Oeno Island is another place for an outing.  About once a year, in mid-summer, a large group of Islanders will pack up everything they need for a two-week holiday on Oeno.  Two longboats are fitted out with protective coverings and canvases for the 10-hour overnight trip to Oeno.  Most people will sleep along the way waking up to the beautiful coral atoll about 120 kilometers (75 miles) north-west of Pitcairn.  Campsites are promptly established; meals are prepared on a ‘take turn’ basis, then everyone sets out to explore, fish, swim or relax.     

Shareouts: 
Share-out is an event that takes place whenever islanders receive something (usually from a passing ship) intended for everyone.  For instance, if a ship donates a supply of food goods, fuel – anything – the commodity will be divided into equal shares for each family and distributed in a fair manner.  After an occasional fishing trip one of the longboats (where many of the islanders participate), the total catch is divided into equal portions and shared out to each person who participated.  

Tourism:
Life on Pitcairn is never dull – there is always something to do.  The isolation is extreme; Pitcairn is one of the most isolated communities in the world – hard to get to and far from everything.  It takes a special kind of person to live on this remote island with limited access to what the outside world has to offer, but most people here are satisfied and do not miss what is out there.  They have all been away, and they always come back to their homeland.  Visitors who come here usually soon understand why, and seek to come back themselves. It is a special place!
More information about how to visit Pitcairn can be found on the tourism website www.visitpitcairn.com.
 

(c) 2003-2012 www.onlinepitcairn.com
 

Rabu, 04 September 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80ynzhh4gD4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoKvJD7qtdQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzmryqvsKZg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihUcdIdsiQI&list=LLv-Pf_G-tWP_ZNRXN6kk0Eg&feature=mh_lolz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siqY-hyCaYk&list=LLv-Pf_G-tWP_ZNRXN6kk0Eg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY5le4FHVHo&list=LLv-Pf_G-tWP_ZNRXN6kk0Eg (ROTUMA ISLAND )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoFewsMJLJ4&list=LLv-Pf_G-tWP_ZNRXN6kk0Eg ( SUVA CITY)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p97232Nm-8Y&list=LLv-Pf_G-tWP_ZNRXN6kk0Eg ( hawaiian Hula Dance ).



St. Pauls Pool by Andrew Christian
St. Pauls Pool © Andrew Christian
Signs, Highest Point by Andrew Christian
Signs, Highest Point © Andrew Christian
Paratai Heights, My New house by Andrew Christian
Paratai Heights, My New house © Andrew Christian
Bounty Bay by Andrew Christian
Bounty Bay © Andrew Christian
Pulau School by Andrew Christian
Pulau School © Andrew Christian
John Adams Grave by Andrew Christian
John Adams Grave © Andrew Christian
Ships Landing Point by Andrew Christian
Ships Landing Point © Andrew Christian
Polynesian Petroglyphs at Down Rope by Andrew Christian
Polynesian Petroglyphs at Down Rope © Andrew Christian
Down Rope by Andrew Christian
Down Rope © Andrew Christian
Bounty Mutineers Plaque by Andrew Christian
Bounty Mutineers Plaque © Andrew Christian
Bounty Cannon by Andrew Christian
Bounty Cannon © Andrew Christian
Here comes the Islanders by ThoiryK
Here comes the Islanders © ThoiryK
View down to Adamstown by CaptainUnited
View down to Adamstown © CaptainUnited
Adamstown and Bounty Bay by CaptainUnited
Adamstown and Bounty Bay © CaptainUnited
Abundant Vegetation on Pitcairn Island by CaptainUnited
Abundant Vegetation on Pitcairn Island © CaptainUnited
Young's Rock (Pitcairn Island) by CaptainUnited
Young's Rock (Pitcairn Island) © CaptainUnited
The Landing, Bounty Bay by Andrew Christian
The Landing, Bounty Bay © Andrew Christian
Adamstown by Andrew Christian
Adamstown © Andrew Christian
Bounty Anchor by Andrew Christian
Bounty Anchor © Andrew Christian
Christian's Cave by Andrew Christian
http://www.youtube.com/channel/HChK1ub315q1E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKr5_bnHiLk

Picairn Island

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tgBdTsJpIM

PITCAIRN ISLAND



Kepulauan Pitcairn, Henderson,
Ducie dan Oeno
Pitkern Ailen
Lagu kebangsaan"Come ye Blessed"
"God Save the Queen"
Ibu kotaAdamstown
Bahasa resmiInggris (dialek Pitkern)
Kelompok etnik Britania, Polinesia, campuran
PemerintahanWilayah Seberang Laut Britania
 - Gubernur/
Komisioner Tinggi
Victoria Treadell
 - WalikotaMike Warren
Luas
 - Total47 km2 
Penduduk
 - Perkiraan 201050 (238)
 - Kepadatan1/km2 (197)
Mata uangDolar Selandia Baru (NZD)
Zona waktuUTC−08
Ranah Internet.pn
Kode telepon870



Kepulauan Pitcairn merupakan kumpulan dari lima pulau, di mana hanya Pulau Pitcairn yang dihuni, yang terletak di selatan Samudra Pasifik, satu-satunya koloni Inggris di Pasifik. Kepulauan ini terkenal terutama karena penghuni aslinya ialah para pembajak kapal HMAV Bounty, serta warga Tahiti yang turut dibawa para pembajak, seperti yang diceritakan di novel Mutiny on the Bounty, yang menjadi tema beberapa film. Sejarah ini terlihat jelas melalui kebanyakan nama marga. Kepulauan ini juga merupakan negara (walaupun belum merdeka) dengan jumlah penduduk yang paling sedikit di dunia dengan sekitar 47 penghuni (9 keluarga).
Sejarah dan peristiwa terkini[Artikel utama: Sejarah Kepulauan Pitcairn
Walaupun para arkeologis berpendapat bahwa warga Polinesia telah bermukim di Pitcairn sejak abad ke-15, pulau itu tidak berpenghuni ketika ditemukan oleh penjelajah Spanyol Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. Kemudian Inggris menemukannya pada tahun 1767, dan menamakannya menurut nama awak kapal yang pertama kali melihatnya.  Pada 1790, para pembajak Bounty bersama rekan-rekan asal Tahiti bermukim di Pitcairn dan membakar kapal Bounty. Beberapa pembajak dan orang Tahiti kemudian saling bunuh. Pulau ini menjadi koloni Inggris tahun 1838. Hingga pertengahan 1850-an penduduk Pitcairn semakin bertambah banyak dan mereka memohon bantuan dari Ratu Victoria. Ratu Victoria menawarkan kepada mereka Pulau Norfolk dan pada 3 Mei 1856, seluruh penduduk yang berjumlah 193 orang berlayar menuju Pulau Norfolk dengan menggunakan kapal Morayshire. Mereka tiba pada 8 Juni setelah perjalanan yang melelahkan selama 5 minggu. Namun, 18 bulan kemudian, 17 orang kembali ke Pitcairn dan 5 tahun kemudian 27 lainnya kembali. Sejak jumlah populasi tertinggi yang mencapai 233 pada 1937, banyak di antara mereka yang beremigrasi, terutama menuju Selandia Baru, sehingga populasi sekarang ini sekitar 50 jiwa. Sisa peninggalan kapal Bounty masih kelihatan dari bawah laut di Bounty Bay. Ada dugaan mengenai sejarah panjang dan tradisi penyiksaan seksual perempuan usia 10 hinga 11 tahun, yang mencapai puncaknya tahun 2004tatkala tujuh pria yang tinggal di Pitcairn dan enam lainnya yang tinggal di luar negeri dituntut dengan tuduhan pelanggaran seksual termasukperkosaan. Pada 25 Oktober 2004, enam orang dihukum termasuk Walikota Pitcairn pada saat itu, Steve Christian.