It was noticeable that Pitcairn was quite different to the previous islands we had visited. There were none of the celebrations, garlands or music to welcome us that we had experienced in the French Polynesian islands. Instead, there were just a few islanders by the quayside, and mostly it was all rather ‘British’.
Perhaps that was not surprising as Pitcairn is a British Overseas Territory. What was different to the other islands was our quayside welcome by Pirate Pawl, a jovial character who cannot be mistaken – each ear contains at least 11 heavy metal rings, and he would certainly not be out of place in a heavy metal band. His enthusiastic welcome ensured everybody was put in the right spirits for a good time. In fact, the spirits did come out later as one crew member managed to recall the next day via a rather hazy memory.
Once ashore, our first step was to hire a taxi. This was a quad bike for three people, including the driver. Although the island is fairly small (2 miles long by 1 mile wide) a taxi was recommended as most walks were steep – either uphill or down.
There were many facets to Pitcairn for the visitor. Its history is paramount. The places we visited were, mostly, unique. And then there was island life, which had similarities to our own, but in so many ways, very different.
A discussion about Pitcairn cannot avoid its history. Many people will know some of its roots in the stories of the Mutiny on the Bounty. If one wants to delve more into this I recommend the books of Glynn Christian I mentioned in my previous posting.
Rather briefly, the first recorded sighting of the island was in 1767 when Captain Philip Carteret on the HMS Swallow named it Pitcairn’s Island. In later times Pitcairn became famous as the refuge for the mutineers of the HMAV Bounty, a ship that departed England in 1787 to collect breadfruit trees from Tahiti in order to take them to the Caribbean to be grown to supplement the diet of the slaves.
The breadfruit seedlings took five months to grow, meanwhile some of the Bounty crew got quite used to the life and the women of Tahiti. When it was time to sail some did not want to leave. This eventually resulted in a mutiny, led by Fletcher Christian. Captain Bligh and some of his men were cast off in a 23 foot heavily-laden launch. They managed to sail more than 4,000 miles to Timor and later to the port of (what is now known as) Jakarta, from which Bligh and his men were transported to Britain.
Meanwhile, the mutineers, along with some Polynesian men and quite a number of Polynesian women, set sail aboard the Bounty to find life elsewhere where the British Navy could not find them. Attempts were made to land on some habited islands, where they were not welcomed and they eventually made it to the uninhabited Pitcairn Island, which was ideally positioned with its huge rocks and difficult landing. The height of the rocks enabled good viewing should invaders attempt to approach. The mutineers made Pitcairn their home, burning the Bounty so that it could not be seen by those searching for them. Remains of the ship can still be seen at the bottom of the ocean, and in the museum.
A sad scenario is that there was a massacre in 1793, four years after the mutiny, when nine of the mutineers and Polynesian men were killed. Four European men remained, with 10 women and their children, all but one born on the island. Life was not particularly in harmony and 10 years after arriving in Pitcairn there was just one of the mutineers remaining, John Adams.
The population in more recent times has varied, but today stands at 35. Unfortunately, Pitcairn still faces difficulties. The older generation is dwindling which causes quite a problem when the supply ships need the manpower to unload their cargoes; and the younger generations leave for further education in places such as New Zealand or Tahiti and don’t come back, sometimes because their prospective partners do not want to live their lives out on Pitcairn. On our trip around the island we visited the school, which had just three pupils. These will soon be leaving for New Zealand and the school will close.
Attempts have been made to encourage families from abroad to permanently move to the island, but this has not been successful. It requires a big culture change. There will be a need to fend for oneself in terms of growing plants for food and catching fish to fill in between the supply ship deliveries. Employment too is restricted to just 40 hours a month, giving a fair share amongst those who desire it. Income is mainly through tourism, selling (some rather nice) crafts, and postage stamps. There is nothing like sending oneself or friends a postcard from Pitcairn, as long as the message is not urgent. Mail, via the supply ships and New Zealand, can take more than four months! For a quicker message Internet is available, but this is limited.
Once on the island we were free to walk around. First stop en route, of course, was the obligatory craft stalls with nicely carved images.
It was interesting to take a look at a map before setting off further afield. This showed some simple, but thought-provoking, place names. These included: John-Catch-A-Cow; Matt’s Fever; Timiti’s Crack; Down The Hole; Big Belly; Break Im Hip; Where Martin Fell; Hill Of Difficulty; Down Rope; Breadfruit Valley, and many more.
Our first choice was to head to St Paul’s Pool – a treacherous-looking sea-fed pool which some people have admitted to swimming in. To reach this point on the island required a 4.5 mile walk down an earthen road. Trouble is, it required a long walk back up (what seemed to be) an even steeper uphill road. A passing quad bike taxi was the order of the day, although John bravely declined. The walk had been worth it as from here we saw a humpback whale breaching the water on several occasions.
We then headed to the museum to see pre-historic flints; items used by ancestors of the mutineers, such as coconut graters; and artefacts from The Bounty including nails and uniform buttons. The ship’s anchor is proudly displayed at the centre of Adamstown, the main area of the island.
Moving north we visited John Adams’s grave. He was the last remaining mutineer and the only one of whom had a recognised grave on the island. He was born in Middlesex, England in 1767 and died on the island in 1829. He was taught to read and write while on the island by a fellow mutineer, using the Bounty’s Bible. In later years he taught the younger people to read and write – all using the same Bible – and also how to tend the land to ensure their future.
From here, in the distance, we could see Christian’s Cave. It is possible to visit close up, but involves a tricky, arduous and steep climb – it is high up on the rock face. It is said that Christian spent a lot of his time here, maybe in contemplation, but also he had a good view of any oncoming ships.
Island life, for some, may seem idyllic, and we certainly had an interesting time. However, as a long term venture on a small island, where everybody actually does know everyone else, life can be more difficult. The Internet and visitors enable the younger generations to see there is a big world off the island. And as one person told me, “There really is no spare time”, whether that needs to be spent on running the community, repairing a building, or ensuring plants for the following months are growing. As we left, that person was off to get food for the evening meal – not from the shop, but by catching fish from the sea.
Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2022.