![]() ![]() The Englishmen quickly went “native,” getting tattoos and dancing naked. Only Bligh, determined to sail his cargo to Jamaica, wasn’t seduced. In April 1789, he got his crew back to sea, but they quickly missed island life. The HMS Bounty was taken over by its crew in 1789. But when the deprived sailors found the women shared their bodies generously, the Bounty was doomed. Under the command of Captain Bligh - known to bully his men and frequently take the lash to them - the Bounty left England in January 1788, bound for Tahiti to pick up a boatload of breadfruit. A delayed start meant the 90-foot ship couldn’t navigate Cape Horn’s winter, so Bligh steered around Africa, extending the trip by 10,000 miles. The 46-man crew suffered, battling rough seas while surviving on maggot-covered biscuits and salted meat.Īrriving in Tahiti in October, the boat was greeted by welcoming natives and succulent fruits. They’ve been hosted in London by the Royal Geographical Society and even had high tea at Buckingham Palace. Because of his famed ancestor, Steve Christian - the local who, along with his wife and “fifth or sixth cousin,” Olive, hosted Presser - has long been of interest to historians, who consider the Pitcairn residents a kind of “museum people,” Presser writes. ![]() Tourism isn’t an entirely foreign concept to the islanders, as some are surprisingly well traveled. ![]() As there is no hotel, he stayed with locals Steve and Olive Christian, descendants of mutineer leader Fletcher Christian. Author Brandon Presser (center) has written a book about spending a month on Pitcairn. The only “pub” open during Presser’s visit was the living room of a local couple willing to sell the author a drink.īut a few years ago, the islanders became newly interested in drumming up tourist dollars and hired a marketing consultant who recruited Presser, a travel writer. Visitors have to stay in the homes of local families because there are no resorts, hotels, restaurants or bars. WiFi and cellular service only recently became available, but the residents have always communicated with each other and the outside world via VHF radio. each night, when the only generator is turned off to save diesel. There is no electricity on the island from 10 p.m. After that, the entire population was ferried off island to have their appendixes preventatively removed. When one resident’s appendix burst, she died at sea before making it to a hospital. So distant is Pitcairn from civilization that Presser had to get a $1,000,000 insurance policy just to visit. There is only one small medical clinic to handle healthcare, currently staffed by a retired doctor from Australia - the rare immigrant - who wanted to spend his twilight years somewhere exotic. In recent years, Pitkerners have decided to court tourism - but many islanders are not fond of outsiders. The ramshackle homes lack front doors and are overgrown with trees and plants. There is a school for students up to age 12, with a current enrollment of three.Īnd while there are two major families currently living on the island - the descendants of mutinous leader Fletcher Christian and the progeny of a seafarer named Warren - the two ignore each other in a low-level feud that’s been going on for years, even though their family lineage is intertwined. Its modern residents eat the island’s fruits, vegetables and seafood, but the bulk of their diet is canned goods delivered by freighter every three months. Author Brandon Presser calls it a “trailer park at the end of the world.”īut, as Presser writes in his new book, “ The Far Land: 200 Years of Murder, Mania and Mutiny in the South Pacific” (Public Affairs), out March 8, Pitcairn Island also has a remarkable history: The 48 people who live there are mostly direct descendants of the notorious mutineers who took over the HMS Bounty in 1789. Some 1,300 miles southeast of Tahiti sits a volcanic island with fewer than 50 residents, limited electricity and a boat to and from New Zealand just four times a year. Villagers stunned to find giant frog as big as ‘a human baby’ Tsunami advisory issued for US West Coast after Tonga volcano eruption Second major eruption detected at undersea Hunga Tonga volcano Blockchain bros are turning a South Pacific island into ‘crypto paradise’ ![]()
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