History of Pitcairn Island

Upon arrival at Pitcairn Island in January 1790, the crew of Bounty discovered the island had previously been inhabited. Many relics of a Polynesian civilisation were found scattered around the island.

Roughly hewn stone gods, which guarded sacred sites, representations of animals and men carved into cliff faces, burial sites yielding human skeletons, and earth ovens, stone adzes, gouges and other artefacts of Polynesian workmanship were discovered. The stone gods were deliberately destroyed when pushed off cliffs into the sea, and although many stone adzes have been given away or removed, some are still being found today. The carved pictures in the cliff faces can still be seen at such sites as Down the Gods and Down Rope.

The origin and subsequent destination of the Polynesian seafarers remains uncertain, although it is generally believed that they arrived from Mangareva, some 490 km away in French Polynesia.

The tale of the mutiny of His Majesty’s Armed Vessel Bounty is well known. A coastal trader named Bethia was refitted and rechristened as Bounty for a voyage to collect breadfruit tree seedlings to take to the West Indies for cultivation as food for slaves. On 23 December 1787 Bounty, under the command of William Bligh, left Spithead for the English Channel.

On 26 October 1788, after a difficult voyage, Bounty finally arrived off Tahiti. It was to be another five months before Bounty would set sail. During this time, the crew had spent some time ashore and when the time came to return to England, some were already contemplating staying on the island. On 28 April 1789, three weeks after leaving Tahiti, Fletcher Christian and some of the ship’s crew mutinied, setting Bligh and 18 of his loyal crew adrift in an open boat.

Glynn Christian’s Fragile Paradise (Doubleday, Australia, 1999) asks the question: Was Christian mad, or just mad to do it? New research shows Fletcher Christian was almost certainly a victim of hyperhydrosis (excessive sweating) and was also a sufferer of a common mental condition that can lead to limited bouts of irrational behaviour. It seems likely Fletcher Christian was ‘mad’ -on the day of the mutiny, at least -and that begs the question asked by his brother, Charles. ‘Who or what drove him to it?’

Most of the remaining crew on Bounty wanted to return to Tahiti, but Fletcher Christian knew that in time, a British naval ship would come in search for them and Tahiti would be the most likely place to start looking. Intent on finding a new home, the crew arrived off Tubuai in late May. Even though the natives were unfriendly and there was a lack of livestock, Bounty sailed to Tahiti, returning to Tubuai with livestock and some Polynesians to help them establish a community there. Almost three months later, continuing conflict caused Christian to abandon this settlement and again return to Tahiti. Today there are still remains of the earth fortress they built over two centuries ago.

Fletcher Christian learned of a plot to take Bounty from him and ordered the anchor cable to be cut without the guests on board knowing. Although a few jumped off, when they realised what was happening, and six ‘rather ancient’ women were sent ashore at Moorea, six Polynesian men (three of which were stowaways), twelve Polynesian women and a baby girl (Sully) were to continue the journey to their unknown home. After fleeing Tahiti, Bounty sailed westward combing the Cooks, Tonga and the eastern islands of Fiji in search of a home. This was to be a journey that would take almost four months.

National Geographic