Pitcairn
Walled by cliff faces, jagged teeth of volcanic rocks breaking swell that has developed over thousands of miles in all directions, Pitcairn is an immovable splinter in a liquid world. There was great excitement, on sighting the island, as the first rays of sunlight illuminated its solid silhouette, at the lush vegetation that carpeted the island. ‘Which tree is your favourite?’ Was a deeply considered question- we all took turns discussing the solitary palm tree that sprouted from a satellite islet, the bottle-brush protruding from the ridge, the scrawny branches that stood above all others at the summit.
The word from the island was that today presented, ‘ideal landing conditions’. Captain Moritz eyed the encroaching swell suspiciously, if this was ideal, what was too choppy? But we are well-practiced at operating in swell, and soon the anchor was dropped, the zodiacs lowered. With that, we were ready to start ferrying people ashore.
Once at the harbour, we were greeted warmly by the community and introduced to Tania, the Head of Tourism, and guides who would host our visit. It was with great excitement that we met the first of four local dogs – a doting black lab named Charlie.
Fortunately, our visit coincided with a miraculous window in the weather, presenting Pitcairn Island as a tropical paradise rather than the rainswept rock that islanders had experienced the previous two weeks. The warm sun and firm ground were a welcome break after the successive squalls we had faced on the incoming voyage.
Here, we dispersed to explore at our own pace, guided with great hospitality by the people who call the island home. From famous Pitcairn honey (from which derive an array of artisan soaps, tinctures, balms, creams and lotions) to coffee plantations (we are told that a single cup of Pitcairn coffee sells for $40 a cup to collectors in Europe) to Miz T (the last remaining resident Galapagos tortoise) to the homes of the islanders themselves (opened as cafes and pubs for the day), we were provide a window into another life.
To many of us, Pitcairn encapsulated the remote and wild magic of childhood imaginations – reminiscent of backdrops from Lord of the Flies, and Robinson Crusoe. Of course, Pitcairn is the final setting of the now legendary Mutiny of the Bounty. The island’s identity remains rooted in this origin and has developed its own folkloric air as a result. Many islanders still hold the name, ‘Christian’ after Fletcher Christian, the lead mutineer. In Adamstown (so named for John Adams, the last surviving mutineer), lies the Bounty’s anchor, dragged from the silty seabed by none other than Irving Johnston (the father of modern-day sail training and creator of the legendary film, Around Cape Horn). Walking along the main road, we pass an original Bounty cannon, and in the museum, we find all sorts of recovered shipwreck artefacts, including a watch sprocket, numerous nails, and pieces of lead pipe.
In another layer to the Pitcairn’s short but eccentric history, the island is pockmarked with signs of the ancient Polynesians. Breadfruit trees, taro, petroglyph carvings point to a society that inhabited the island around 1300 AD, long before its discovery by mutineers in wild escape. We are reminded yet again of the advanced seafaring skills and technologies of the Polynesian peoples, reliably navigating immense distances, transporting goods necessary for human In another layer to the Pitcairn’s short but eccentric history, the island is pockmarked with signs of the ancient Polynesians. Breadfruit trees, taro, petroglyph carvings point to a society that inhabited the island around 1300 AD, long before its discovery by mutineers in wild escape. We are reminded yet again of the advanced seafaring skills and technologies of the Polynesian peoples, reliably navigating immense distances, transporting goods necessary for human settlement and trading locally occurring resources with islands across the Pacific. It is thought by anthropologists that Pitcairn was a useful source of fine-grained basalt for stone adze-making, examples of which have been found in the Tuamotus atolls 2050 km away. For reasons unknown, the Polynesian settlement on the island was abandoned some time around 1500 AD. The only hints of previous occupation discovered by the mutineers were: crops useful in kick starting their settlement, a monument of statues interpreted as foreboding and quickly toppled into the sea, and rock carvings that survive in the cliffs to this day.
To explore a place so rich in history and culture was a privilege, and a welcome break from the routines of the sea. We were truly touched by the warmth with which the islanders welcomed and hosted us and deeply impressed by the resilience of a population so physically distant from outside influence. Both island dwellers and ship’s crew enjoyed the fresh conversation and exchange of stories that came with meeting a new group of people. With a bittersweet goodbye, we left, many of us hoping that this visit would not be our last encounter with the community of Pitcairn.
