The Pitcairn Islands, officially known as Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno Islands, are a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. These islands are the only British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four islands—Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno—are spread across hundreds of kilometers of ocean and have a total land area of about 47 square kilometers (18 square miles). Henderson Island covers 86% of the land area, but only Pitcairn Island is inhabited. The nearest inhabited islands to the Pitcairn Islands are Mangareva, part of French Polynesia, located 688 kilometers (428 miles) to the west, and Easter Island, located 1,929 kilometers (1,199 miles) to the east.

The people of Pitcairn are mostly descendants of nine British mutineers from the HMS Bounty and twelve Tahitian women. In 2023, the territory had 35 permanent residents, making it the smallest territory in the world by population. Because of the island's isolation and small population, cases of widespread sexual abuse were not discovered until 1999. This led to a well-known sexual assault trial in 2004.

History

Evidence shows that the first people to live on Pitcairn Islands were Polynesians who lived on Pitcairn and Henderson for several centuries before the islands were abandoned. Henderson was likely abandoned before the 16th century, and Pitcairn was abandoned in the 17th or early 18th century. The islands had no people living there when Europeans discovered them.

In 1606, Portuguese sailor Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, who was sailing for the Spanish Crown, reached Ducie and Henderson Islands. He named them La Encarnación ("The Incarnation") and San Juan Bautista ("Saint John the Baptist"). However, some sources are unsure which island Queirós actually visited and named.

Pitcairn Island was first seen by the crew of the British sloop HMS Swallow in 1767. The ship was commanded by Captain Philip Carteret. A 15-year-old crew member named Robert Pitcairn was the first to spot the island. The island was named after him. Robert Pitcairn was the son of British Marine Major John Pitcairn, who later died in the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill during the American War of Independence.

Carteret mapped Pitcairn’s location as 25°02′S 133°21′W, but his recorded longitude was incorrect by about 3°, placing the island 330 km (210 mi) west of its actual position. This made Pitcairn hard to find, as shown by the failure of Captain James Cook to locate the island in 1773.

In 1790, nine mutineers from the British naval ship HMS Bounty, along with six Tahitian men, 11 Tahitian women, and a baby girl, settled on Pitcairn Island. They burned the Bounty. The wreckage of the Bounty is still visible underwater in Bounty Bay. The wreckage gained attention in 1957 when National Geographic explorer Luis Marden documented it. The settlers survived by farming and fishing, but the early years were difficult. Many people died due to alcoholism, disease, and conflicts. John Adams and Ned Young used the ship’s Bible to create a peaceful society. Young later died from an asthma-related illness.

Ducie Island was rediscovered in 1791 by Royal Navy captain Edward Edwards aboard HMS Pandora. He named it after Francis Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Baron Ducie, who was also a Royal Navy captain.

The Pitcairn islanders reported that the first ship to visit the island after the Bounty was seen on 27 December 1795, but it did not approach the land. A second ship appeared in 1801, and a third came close enough to see their house but did not send a boat ashore. In 1808, the American sealing ship Topaz, under Mayhew Folger, became the first to visit Pitcairn. The crew spent ten hours on the island. Whalers later visited regularly, with the last recorded visit by the James Arnold in 1888.

A report from Folger’s discovery was sent to the Admiralty, giving a more accurate location of Pitcairn as 25°02′S 130°00′W. However, Sir Thomas Staines, who commanded a Royal Navy flotilla, found the island at 25°04′S 130°25′W in 1814. Staines sent a party ashore and wrote a detailed report for the Admiralty. At that time, only one mutineer, John Adams, was still alive. He was granted amnesty for his role in the mutiny.

Henderson Island was rediscovered on 17 January 1819 by British Captain James Henderson of the British East India Company ship Hercules. Captain Henry King, sailing on the Elizabeth, landed on 2 March and found the king’s flag already flying. His crew carved the name of their ship into a tree. Oeno Island was discovered on 26 January 1824 by American captain George Worth aboard the whaler Oeno.

In 1832, American adventurer Joshua Hill arrived after failing to gain support from the British government and the London Missionary Society. By March 1833, he had started a temperance society, a "Maundy Thursday Society," a monthly prayer meeting, a juvenile society, a Peace Society, and a school.

Traditionally, Pitcairn Islanders believe their islands became a British colony on 30 November 1838. At that time, the islands became one of the first territories to give women the right to vote. By the mid-1850s, the Pitcairn community had grown too large for the island. Leaders asked the British government for help and were offered Norfolk Island. On 3 May 1856, all 193 Pitcairn Islanders left for Norfolk on the Morayshire, arriving in June after a difficult five-week trip. However, 17 people returned to Pitcairn after 18 months, and 27 more returned five years later.

In 1881, HMS Thetis visited Pitcairn and reported that the people were happy, healthy, and had recently received supplies from England, including two whaleboats and Portland cement to build a watertight reservoir. The ship gave the islanders 200 lb (91 kg) of biscuits, 100 lb (45 kg) of candles, and 100 lb of soap and clothing worth £31. In 1882, an American trading ship called Venus provided cotton seed for future farming.

In 1886, John Tay, a Seventh-day Adventist, visited Pitcairn and convinced most islanders to adopt his faith. He returned in 1890 with an ordained minister to perform baptisms. Since then, most Pitcairn Islanders have been Seventh-day Adventists.

Henderson, Oeno, and Ducie Islands were annexed by Britain in 1902. In 1938, the four islands were grouped into the "Pitcairn Group of Islands." The population reached 233 in 1937 but has since decreased due to emigration, mainly to Australia and New Zealand.

In the 1950s, three cases of imprisonment for raping underage girls were reported. In 1999, a British police officer named Gail Cox uncovered allegations of sexual abuse on Pitcairn. When a 15-year-old girl pressed rape charges, criminal proceedings (called "Operation Unique") began. The charges included 21 counts of rape, 41 of

Geography

The Pitcairn Islands are the farthest south and east part of the Tuamotus group in French Polynesia. They include four islands: Pitcairn Island, Oeno Island (an atoll with five small land areas, one called Sandy Island), Henderson Island, and Ducie Island (an atoll with four small land areas).

The Pitcairn Islands were created by rising magma from a hotspot in the Earth’s crust called the Pitcairn hotspot. Pitcairn Island is a volcanic remnant mainly made of tuff, with erosion on its northern side. Pitcairn is the only island with permanent residents. The main settlement, Adamstown, is located in the area around the volcano. Pitcairn can only be reached by boat through Bounty Bay because of its steep cliffs. Henderson Island covers about 86% of the total land area of the Pitcairn Islands and has a rich variety of wildlife in its hard-to-reach interior. Although it has little fresh water, it could support a small human population. Access is difficult because its outer edges are steep limestone cliffs covered with sharp coral. In 1988, Henderson Island was named a UNESCO World Heritage site. The other islands are more than 100 km (62 mi) away and cannot support human life.

Pitcairn Island does not have a permanent water source, but it has three seasonal springs that appear during certain times of the year.

The atolls include reef flats and lagoons.

Pitcairn is located just south of the Tropic of Capricorn and has warm weather all year.

In March 2019, the International Dark-Sky Association recognized the Pitcairn Islands as a Dark Sky Sanctuary. The sanctuary includes all four islands in the Pitcairn Islands Group, covering a total land area of 43.25 km² (16 3⁄4 sq. mi.).

Ecology

About 16 plant species are found only in Pitcairn. These include tapau, which was once an important source of wood, and the giant nehe fern. Some plants, like the red berry (Coprosma benefica), are very close to disappearing. The plant Glochidion pitcairnense is found only in Pitcairn and Henderson Islands. Pitcairn is part of the Tuamotu tropical moist forests terrestrial ecoregion.

Between 1937 and 1951, Irving Johnson, captain of a 29-meter ship called Yankee Five, brought five Galápagos giant tortoises to Pitcairn. Turpen, also called Mr. Turpen or Mr. T, is the only one still alive. Turpen usually lives near Tedside by Western Harbour. A law makes it illegal to harm, injure, or capture Turpen.

The birds of Pitcairn are divided into groups, including seabirds, wading birds, and a few land birds that live there all year. Of 20 bird species that breed on Pitcairn, Henderson Island has 16, including the flightless Henderson crake; Oeno has 12; Ducie has 13; and Pitcairn has six. Birds that breed on Pitcairn include the fairy tern, common noddy, and red-tailed tropicbird. The Pitcairn reed warbler, known by Pitcairners as a "sparrow," is found only on Pitcairn. It was added to the endangered species list in 2008.

A small group of humpback whales visits the islands each year to spend the winter and breed.

The four islands in the Pitcairn group are recognized by BirdLife International as separate Important Bird Areas (IBAs). Pitcairn Island is important because it is the only place where the Pitcairn reed warbler nests. Henderson Island is significant for its unique land birds and breeding seabirds. Oeno is important because of its Murphy's petrel colony. Ducie is important for its colonies of Murphy's, herald, and Kermadec petrels, as well as Christmas shearwaters.

In March 2015, the British government created one of the largest marine protected areas in the world around the Pitcairn Islands. The reserve covers the islands' entire exclusive economic zone—834,334 square kilometers. The goal is to protect some of the world's most untouched ocean areas from illegal fishing. A satellite monitoring center called Project Eyes on the Seas, created by the Satellite Applications Catapult and the Pew Charitable Trusts, tracks ship activity and collects evidence to stop unauthorized fishing.

Politics

The Pitcairn Islands are a British territory with some local government. The King of the United Kingdom is represented by a Governor, who also serves as the British High Commissioner to New Zealand and is located in Wellington.

The 2010 constitution allows the islands to function as a representative democracy, with the United Kingdom keeping responsibility for defense and foreign affairs. The Governor and the Island Council can make laws to ensure the "peace, order, and good government" of Pitcairn. The Island Council usually appoints a Mayor of Pitcairn as the everyday leader of the local administration.

Since 2015, same-sex marriage has been legal on Pitcairn Island, though no one on the island is known to be in such a relationship.

The Pitcairn Islands have the smallest population of any democracy in the world.

The United Nations Committee on Decolonization lists the Pitcairn Islands on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories.

Military

The Pitcairn Islands are a British territory. Defense of the area is handled by the UK government and the British military. The Royal Navy operates two patrol ships in the Indo-Pacific region, called HMS Tamar and HMS Spey. These ships may be used from time to time for protecting the territory's rights and other tasks around Pitcairn and its nearby islands.

Economy

The fertile soil in the Pitcairn valleys, such as Isaac's Valley on the gentle slopes to the southeast of Adamstown, grows many types of fruits. These include bananas (Pitkern: plun), papaya (paw paws), pineapples, mangoes, watermelons, cantaloupes, passionfruit, breadfruit, coconuts, avocados, and citrus (like mandarin oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and limes). Vegetables grown there are sweet potatoes (kumura), carrots, sweet corn, tomatoes, taro, yams, peas, and beans. Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) and sugarcane are also grown. Arrowroot is made into flour, and sugarcane is used to produce molasses. Pitcairn Island is very productive because its mild climate supports many tropical and temperate crops. The government decides how land is used, including for farming. If the government believes farming is too much, it may tax the land. If farming does not meet government standards, the government may take the land without paying the owner.

Fish are common in the waters around Pitcairn. Spiny lobster and many types of fish are caught for food and sold to ships that pass by. People often fish daily from rocks, longboats, or by diving with a spear gun. Many fish species live near the island. Fish like nanwee, white fish, moi, and opapa are caught in shallow water, while snapper, big eye, and cod are caught in deeper water. Yellow tail and wahoo are caught using trawling methods.

Manganese, iron, copper, gold, silver, and zinc have been found in the exclusive economic zone, which is an area extending 370 km (230 mi) offshore and covers 880,000 km² (340,000 mi²).

In 1998, the UK’s overseas aid agency, the Department for International Development, helped start a beekeeping program on Pitcairn. This included training for beekeepers and studying Pitcairn’s bees and honey for signs of disease. Pitcairn has one of the healthiest bee populations in the world, and the honey is of very high quality. Pitcairn bees are calm, so beekeepers can work with them wearing little protection. Pitcairn exports honey to New Zealand and the UK. In London, Fortnum & Mason sells it, and it is said to be a favorite of King Charles and former Queen Elizabeth. Under the "Bounty Products" and "Delectable Bounty" brands, Pitcairn also exports dried fruits like bananas, papayas, pineapples, and mangoes to New Zealand. Honey production and related products are controlled by the government. All money and management are under the government’s control.

Food traditions on Pitcairn are simple because of the island’s small population. A traditional meal is pota, a dish made from mashed palm leaves and coconut. Local tropical plants are used often, including basil, breadfruit, sugarcane, coconut, bananas, and beans. Meat is mostly fish and beef. Because many Pitcairn Islanders have ancestors from the UK, their food is influenced by British cuisine, such as meat pies.

The cuisine of Norfolk Island is similar to Pitcairn’s because Norfolk Islanders have roots in Pitcairn. Their food combines British and Tahitian influences. Recipes from Norfolk Island with Pitcairn origins include mudda (green banana dumplings) and kumara pilhi. Norfolk Island’s food also includes items not found on Pitcairn, like chopped salads and fruit pies.

Tourism is a major part of Pitcairn’s economy. It focuses on small groups traveling by private boat and staying in local homes. About ten times a year, passengers from cruise ships visit the island if the weather allows. Since 2019, the government has operated the MV Silver Supporter, the island’s only passenger/cargo boat, offering weekly trips to Pitcairn for adventure tourism. Tourists stay with local families, experience the island’s culture, and help the local economy. Providing lodging is becoming an important source of income, and some families have built private homes next to their homes for tourists to rent.

For short stays (up to 14 days), no visa is needed, but longer stays require approval from the government. All people under 16 years old need approval before arriving, no matter how long they stay.

The government controls all items made, sold, or produced by Pitcairn Islanders. Money from these items goes from customers to the government, then to the Pitcairners. Islanders create crafts and curios using wood from Henderson Island. Common woodcarvings include sharks, fish, whales, dolphins, turtles, vases, birds, walking sticks, book boxes, and models of the Bounty. Miro (Thespesia populnea), a strong and dark wood, is preferred for carving. Islanders also make tapa cloth and painted Hattie leaves.

The main sources of income have been selling coins and postage stamps to collectors, .pn domain names, and selling handicrafts to passing ships, most of which travel from the UK to New Zealand through the Panama Canal. Pitcairn first issued stamps in 1940, which became popular among collectors. Stamp sales were the island’s main income source, funding a general fund used to meet community needs, pay wages, build a school, hire a teacher from New Zealand, and subsidize imports and travel to New Zealand. Later, coin sales and .pn domain names also contributed to the fund. By the late 20th century, stamp collecting declined, and the island went bankrupt in 2004, with the UK government providing 90% of its annual budget.

Diesel generators provide electricity on Pitcairn. A wind power plant was planned to reduce the cost of power, but the project was canceled in 2013 after delays and a cost of £250,000.

All homes have solar systems that generate over 95% of the electricity needed for household use.

The only qualified high-voltage electrician on Pitcairn, who manages the electricity grid, turned 67 in 2020.

Demographics

The islands have had a big drop in population since 1940. The community knows that bringing more people to live there is the most important goal for the long-term survival of the islands. The government is trying to attract new people to move there.

Only two children were born on Pitcairn in the 21 years before 2012. Some other children were born to Pitcairn mothers who traveled to New Zealand for better healthcare during pregnancy and childbirth. In 2005, Shirley and Simon Young became the first married couple from outside Pitcairn to become citizens.

More than 60% of Pitcairn Islanders are descendants of people who were part of the Bounty mutiny and Tahitians or other Polynesians. Pitkern is a language that mixes 18th-century English with Tahitian words. It is spoken by most people and taught with English at the island’s only school. Pitkern is similar to Norfuk, a language spoken on Norfolk Island, because many Pitcairners moved to Norfolk in the 1800s.

The only church on the island is the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This church is not the official religion because no laws made it the state religion. A successful church mission in the 1890s helped shape Pitcairn society. In recent years, fewer people attend church regularly. In 2000, only eight of the 40 islanders went to church often, but most attend on special days. From Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, Pitcairners rest as part of the Sabbath, or to respect Adventists who observe it.

The church was built in 1954. Sabbath School meets at 10 a.m. on Saturdays, followed by a service an hour later. On Tuesdays, there is a prayer meeting in the evening.

Education is free and required for children aged 5 to 15. Students up to age 12 go to Pulau School, while older students attend school in New Zealand or study through correspondence.

The island’s children created a book in Pitkern and English titled Mi Bas Side orn Pitcairn or My Favourite Place on Pitcairn.

Pulau School teaches preschool and primary education based on the New Zealand curriculum. The teacher is chosen by the governor from qualified teachers registered in New Zealand. The government started managing education in 1958, but the Seventh-day Adventist Church handled it from the 1890s until then. In 1999, there were 10 students at the school, compared to 20 in the 1950s, 28 in 1959, and 36 in 1962. A teacher residence was built in 2004, replacing one built in 1950.

Pitcairn’s population has dropped from over 200 in the 1930s to fewer than 50 people today (as of 2021).

As of April 2021, 47 people lived on Pitcairn. It is common for some residents to leave the island for family visits, medical care, or conferences. A 2014 survey predicted that by 2045, only three working-age people would remain if no changes happened. Most people who left the island showed little interest in returning.

In 2014, 31 people were part of the labor force: 17 males and 14 females aged 18 to 64. Only seven were younger than 40, and 18 were over 50. Men often do heavy work like operating longboats and maintaining equipment. Longboat crew members retire at 58. At that time, 12 men aged 18 to 58 lived on Pitcairn. Each longboat needs at least three crew members, and two of the four coxswains were in their late 50s.

The Pitcairn government has had some success in attracting migrants. Since 2015, eight people applied to settle there, and three live on Pitcairn. As of 2016, migrants must have at least NZ$30,000 per person in savings and build their own homes, costing about NZ$140,000. Hiring off-island builders adds NZ$23,000 to NZ$28,000. The average yearly cost of living is NZ$9,464. However, migrants must have their status reviewed and approved again after two years.

Freight from Tauranga to Pitcairn on the MV Claymore II (the island’s ship) costs NZ$350 per metric ton for Pitcairners and NZ$1,000 for others. One-way trips for Pitcairners cost NZ$500, while others pay NZ$5,000.

In 2014, the government reported that few people would move to Pitcairn for jobs because there are few government or private jobs and limited tourism opportunities. Pitcairners take turns hosting the few tourists who visit.

As Pitcairn is a British Overseas Territory, the UK government may decide the island’s future at some point.

Culture

The strict rules that once forbade dancing, public affection, smoking, and drinking alcohol have become less strict. Islanders and visitors no longer need a six-month licence to buy, bring in, or drink alcohol. There is now one licensed café and bar on the island, and the government store sells alcohol and cigarettes.

Fishing and swimming are popular activities. Events like birthdays or the arrival of a ship or yacht often bring the entire Pitcairn community together for a public dinner in the Square, Adamstown. Tables are covered with many types of food, such as fish, meat, chicken, pilhi, baked rice, boiled plun (banana), breadfruit, vegetable dishes, pies, bread, breadsticks, desserts, pineapple, and watermelon.

Paid workers are responsible for maintaining the island’s roads and paths. In 2011, the island had more than 35 men and women in the labour force.

Bounty Day is a public holiday celebrated on 23 January each year. It marks the arrival of the mutineers on the island aboard HMS Bounty in 1790.

There is a tennis court on the island. The Pitcairn Islands are the only member of the Pacific Community that does not participate in the Pacific Games. In 2019, the territory asked the Pacific Games Council about joining.

Australian National Rugby League player Dylan Walker’s mother is from Pitcairn.

Media and communications

The UK Postcode for sending mail to Pitcairn Island is PCRN 1ZZ.

The Pitcairn Miscellany is a newspaper published every month in both print and online formats. Dem Tull was an online newsletter that ran monthly from 2007 to 2016.

Pitcairn Island uses New Zealand’s international phone number, +64. The island still uses a manual telephone system.

There are no broadcast radio stations on Pitcairn. People use marine band walkie-talkie radios to communicate across different parts of the island. Shortwave radios can also receive signals from foreign radio stations.

QRZ.COM lists six amateur radio operators on Pitcairn. They use the ITU prefix VP6, assigned by the UK, and two of them also have a second callsign, VR6. However, two of these six are listed as deceased, and others are no longer active. Pitcairn has one callsign, VP6PAC, assigned to its Club Station.

QRZ.COM shows that 29 VP6 callsigns have been assigned in total. Twenty of these are given to people who live outside Pitcairn, five to temporary residents, and ten to visitors. The rest were assigned to DX-peditions, which are special radio events. One DX-pedition took place on Pitcairn in 2012. Major DX-peditions also occurred on Ducie Island in 2008 and 2018.

Pitcairn can receive many television channels, but it can only broadcast two channels to homes at any one time. These channels are changed regularly. A television transmitter was installed on the island in 2006.

There is one satellite Internet connection provided by the government. All island residents have access to this network. Pitcairn’s country code top-level domain is .pn. Residents pay NZ$120 (about £60) per month for unlimited data. In 2012, a single 1 Mbit/s Internet link was installed, shared by all families on the island. By December 2017, a 4G LTE mobile network was set up in Adamstown, offering shared speeds of 5 Mbit/s to all islanders. Starlink Internet service became available in February 2024.

Transport

All people who settled on Pitcairn Island arrived by boat or ship. Pitcairn Island does not have an airport, airstrip, or seaport. Islanders use longboats to move people and supplies between visiting ships and the shore through Bounty Bay. Sharp rocks block access to other parts of the shoreline. The island has one shallow harbor with a launch ramp that can only be reached by small longboats. In 2014, a medical emergency required a 335 nautical mile (540 km) trip by open boat from Pitcairn to the island of Mangareva, followed by an air ambulance flight of 975 nautical miles (1570 km) to Papeete. This was arranged by medical teams from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and French officials in Mangareva and Papeete. The British High Commissioner to New Zealand stated, "Traveling from Pitcairn to Mangareva by open longboat can be dangerous. However, both boats arrived safely in Mangareva in the morning, New Zealand time."

A ship named MV Claymore II, hired by the Pitcairn Island government, was the main way to transport people and supplies from Mangareva in the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia until 2018. In 2019, this ship was replaced by MV Silver Supporter.

Totegegie Airport in Mangareva can be reached by airplane from Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia.

There is one paved road that is 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) long, stretching from Bounty Bay through Adamstown.

The main ways to travel on Pitcairn Island are by four-wheel drive quad bikes and on foot. Many roads, trails, and footpaths on Pitcairn Island are visible on Google's Street View.