I thought it would be fascinating to dig into this less familiar chapter of the Bounty saga—the quest of the HMS Pandora for the mutineers and the subsequent voyage of the captives back to England, in chains, to face the music.
It very soon became clear, however, that even elemental facts about the story were thrillingly murky, including where the story really began and where it ended.
Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry family (Moraceae). The tree originated in New Guinea and was spread across the Pacific Ocean by the ancient Polynesians. Today it can be found worldwide throughout the tropics. The fruit is usually picked slightly before ripening when it is still hard. Once cooked, it has a flavor and texture resembling boiled artichoke hearts. When ripe. the soft fruit can be eaten raw, though it isn't very flavorful and typically has a "mushy" texture.
Aunty Genoa Keawe
His Majesty’s Armed Vessel Bounty set sail from England in December of 1787, under the command of 33-year old lieutenant William Bligh. The destination was Tahiti, and the mission was to obtain saplings of the breadfruit tree, and to convey these safely to various stations in the West Indies, where they would be propagated as a source of cheap, fast-growing food for slaves.
The Bounty arrived in Tahiti, the plants were duly collected, the arduous return voyage was begun.
But in the early hours of 28 April 1789, some two weeks out from Tahiti, Bligh was awoken by the weight of hands pressed upon his chest and opened his eyes to see members of his crew under arms, led by 23-year old Master’s Mate Fletcher Christian.
Andrew, Thomas: Portraits of Samoan, Fijian and Solomon Island natives
Bligh was hustled on deck at musket point where he discovered that the mutineers had segregated the ship’s company. Those who were loyal to Bligh and those whom they simply did not like, 18 souls in all, were forced off the ship into the Bounty’s 23-foot long launch.
Supplied with such provisions begged from the mutineers, they had sufficient food and water to support a company of 19 men for about five days on normal rations. The launch carried no maps or charts, although Bligh had a quadrant, a compass, tables for navigation, and a broken sextant.
Here the two companies parted. Bligh and the men in the launch, despite all imaginable odds, would sail 3,618 nautical miles to Timor in the Dutch East Indies, a journey that is now being recreated in Channel 4’s new survival show which follows a nine-strong crew attempting to recreate the epic journey.
Not all great adventures make great stories, but that of the Bounty comes with great assets. First, there is an extraordinary trove of source material, which has preserved the kinds of vivid details that bring characters and places to life.
Through unpublished letters, diaries, memoirs, obituaries, social notices in contemporary magazines, Admiralty documents preserving ship logs, captains’ correspondence, pension files, and wills— it’s a mesmerizing trail of evidence.
We know words exchanged between Fletcher Christian and William Bligh because ten different eye-witness accounts of the mutiny were written by the ten mutineers.
We know from Bligh’s written descriptions of the mutineers that Christian himself was “Dark & very swarthy” with “Blackish or very dark brown hair”...
The epitome of Bligh’s character and heroism is manifest in the great voyage of 3,618 nautical miles in the open boat that he had been forced into and its navigation to safety. He exerted his leadership by the unwavering authority of his impeccable professionalism.
He knew his job. Bligh had served as Captain Cook’s gifted young sailing master on Cook’s last voyage and it was the memory of those charts he drew upon when so expertly navigating the Bounty launch through the Great Barrier Reef.
The water-stained log he diligently kept throughout the six-week ordeal—navigating, sailing and keeping discipline on starvation rations—is a testament to this professionalism. Through experiences scarcely to be believed, he does his duty.
“Not a Star to be seen to Steer by and the Sea breaking constantly over us…….We are covered with Rain and Sea that we can scare see or make use of our Eyes….” Those who remained on the Bounty, under command of Christian, sailed first to Tahiti, then to the island of Tubuai, where they came to blows with the islanders and with each other. They sailed back to Tahiti where the majority chose to remain, some with the hope of building new lives.
However, many of these men were eventually captured on the island and brought back to England where they were found guilty of mutiny and hanged from the yardarms of the HMS Brunswick in Portsmouth Harbour.
Eight hard-core mutineers, however, escaped this fate after departing with Christian, along with 20 Tahitian men and women—the latter against their will— for parts unknown, eventually stumbling upon and settling the island of Pitcairn, where their descendants live today.
Although I published my book about the Bounty nearly 14 years ago, the story continues to haunt me. I have since travelled toTownsville, Australia, where the relics of the Pandora, retrieved from the Great Barrier Reef, are displayed.
I’ve been tothe botanical gardens in Jamaica, where Bligh deposited the last of the breadfruit.
It is wonderful to see this old story grab sailors of today, compelling them to follow William Bligh, literally, into Blue Water and the high sea.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/mutiny-bounty-true-story-captain-blighs-mutineers/
Caroline Alexander is the author of The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty and most recently a new translation of the The Iliad
The Pitcairn Islands are a group of four volcanic islands halfway between New Zealand and Peru in the South Pacific Ocean. They are inhabited by the descendants of the Bounty mutineers, an event retold in numerous books and films.
Nine mutineers, under the command of Fletcher Christian, settled on Pitcairn in 1790. With them were 20 Tahitians, of whom 14 were women, who had been invited on board the Bounty at Tubuai for a social gathering and had been taken captive.
Pitcairn proved an ideal haven for the mutineers – the island was uninhabited, warm and virtually inaccessible, and there was plenty of food, water and fertile land. They set fire to the Bounty and lived peaceably for a while.
Gradually, tensions and rivalries arose, caused mainly by the mutineers regarding the Tahitians as their property, in particular the women who were passed around from one ‘husband’ to the other.
By 1794 five of the mutineers, including Christian, and all six of the Tahitian men were dead. The mutineers who had perished had, however, already had children with their Tahitian wives. By the time an American seal-hunting ship visited Pitcairn in 1808, only one mutineer, John Adams, was still alive, along with nine Tahitian women and numerous children.
In the 6 or 7 generations that have passed since then, many of the descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian consorts migrated to New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. A sizeable portion relocated to Norfolk Island, 1,200 miles east of Australia, where most people with Pitcairn roots now live.
Only 56 islanders now remain on Pitcairn, almost all bearing one of 4 surnames – Christian and Young (direct descendants of mutineers Fletcher Christian and Ned Young), or Brown and Warren (descendants of two 19th century sailor settlers).
Other mutineer surname lines – Adams, Quintal and McCoy – died out on Pitcairn, but live on in New Zealand and on Norfolk Island. However, the high degree of intermarriage on Pitcairn amongst first and second cousins means that mutineer DNA is still prevalent.
Other mutineer remnants include Pitkern, the island’s creole language derived from 18th century English, with elements of the Tahitian.
Pitkern was influenced by the diverse British dialects and accents of the Bounty’s crew, which included Geordie, West Country and Scottish.
It also includes common words and expressions from British maritime culture in the age of sailing ships, such as whettles, meaning food, from victuals.
https://www.abroadintheyard.com/exotic-island-populations-descended-from-white-settlers/
Aloha, my Hawaiian name is 'Alika! I just wanted to say that it's wonderful to hear younger and younger people who love Hawai'i taking on this song. I miss Aunty dearly and hope Pomai will have a great career ahead of her. Best wishes to everyone in the Keawe 'ohana! Me ke aloha, 'Alika
vict·ual
noun
plural noun: victuals
- 1.food or provisions, typically as prepared for consumption.
verb
3rd person present: victuals
1.
provide with food or other stores.
"the ship wasn't even properly victualed"
The descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian consorts include the modern-day Pitcairn Islanders as well as a little less than half of the population of Norfolk Island.
Their descendants also live in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. Because of the scarcity of people on the island, many of the mutineers' children and grandchildren intermarried, with some marrying cousins and second cousins.
Occasionally a new person would arrive on the island bringing with them a new surname (like the American Samuel Russell Warren, whose descendants still live on the island today).
1st Generation Fletcher Christian by Mauatua (a.k.a. Maimiti, a.k.a. Mi'Mitti, a.k.a. Mainmast, a.k.a. Isabella, also consort of Ned Young)
- Thursday October Christian I, also referred to as Friday October Christian, (7 October 1790 – 21 April 1831) married Teraura, a.k.a. Susan, who had been the consort of Ned Young
- Charles Christian (c. 1792 – 14 January 1842) married Sully or Sarah
- Mary Ann Christian (21 September 1793 – 2 January 1866) unmarried
- Edward Young (c. 1796 – 6 November 1831) married Polly Christian grand daughter of Fletcher Christian related through Mauatua
- Dorothy Young (1797 – 24 April 1863) married John Buffett a sailor from Bristol
- James Young (1799–1806)
- Polly Young (c. 1794 – 17 December 1843) married George Adams son of John Adams
- George Young (c. 1797 – 4 May 1831) married Hannah Adams daughter of John Adams
- Robert Young (c. 1799 – 18 August 1831) unmarried.
- William Young (1799 – 6 February 1839) married Elizabeth Mills daughter of John Mills
- Dinah Adams (c. 1796 – 19 January 1864) married Edward Quintal son of Matthew Quintal
- Rachel Adams (1797 – 7 September 1876) married John Evans a sailor from London
- Hannah Adams (1799 – 27 August 1864) married George Young son of Ned Young
- George Adams (6 June 1804 – 29 October 1873) married 1) Polly Young daughter of Ned Young and 2) Sarah Quintal daughter of Matthew Quintal
- Elizabeth Mills (1792 – 6 November 1883) married 1) Matthew Quintal Jr. and 2) William Young son of Ned Young
- John Mills (1793–1814) unmarried
- Daniel McCoy (1792 – 26 December 1832) married Sarah Quintal daughter of Matthew Quintal
- Catherine McCoy (1799 – 8 June 1831) married Arthur Quintal son of Matthew Quintal
- Matthew Quintal Jr. (1791 – September 1814) married Elizabeth Mills
- John Quintal (1792–1792)
- Jane Quintal (1795 – ?) left the island after she was treated harshly by her brother Arthur
- Arthur Quintal (6 May 1795 – 19 November 1873) married 1) Catherine McCoy daughter of William McCoy and 2) Mary Christian granddaughter of Fletcher Christian
- Sarah Quintal ([1797] – 27 November 1851) married 1) Daniel McCoy son of William McCoy and 2) George Adams son of John Adams
- Edward Quintal (1800 – 8 September 1841) married Dinah Adams daughter of John Adams.
- Joseph John Christian (1805 – 24 November 1831) unmarried
- Charles Christian (January 1808 – 25 June 1831) married Maria Christian granddaughter of Fletcher Christian, his cousin
- Mary Christian (1810 – 25 October 1852) consorted with John Buffett an English sailor who volunteered to remain on the island as teacher
- Polly Christian (1814 – 16 May 1831) married Edward Young son of Ned Young
- Peggy Christian (1815 – 12 May 1884) married 1) Daniel McCoy grandson of William McCoy 2) Fletcher Christian II her cousin
- Thursday October Christian II (October 1820 – 27 May 1911) married Mary Polly Young granddaughter of Ned Young
- John Quintal (1812 – 14 November 1838) married Maria Christian granddaughter of Fletcher Christian
- Matthew Quintal III (1814 – 8 December 1865) unmarried
- William McCoy (1812 – 17 February 1849) unmarried
- Daniel McCoy (1814 – 27 June 1831) married Peggy Christian granddaughter of Fletcher Christian
- Hugh McCoy (1816 – 27 June 1831) unmarried
- Matthew McCoy (1819 – 31 January 1853) married Margaret Christian granddaughter of Fletcher Christian
- Jane McCoy (1822 – 4 June 1831) unmarried
- Sarah McCoy (23 July 1824 – 9 May 1833) unmarried
- Samuel McCoy (23 October 1826 – 7 September 1876) married 1) Ruth Quintal granddaughter of Matthew Quintal 2) Polly Christian great-granddaughter of Fletcher Christian
- Albina McCoy (28 November 1828 – 12 June 1908) married Moses Young grandson of Ned Young
- Daniel McCoy (28 December 1832 – 7 April 1855) married Lydia Young granddaughter of Ned Young
- Sarah Christian (1810 – 5 December 1899) married George Hunn Nobbs Pitcairn's first minister
- Fletcher Christian II (1812 – 5 April 1852) married Peggy Christian granddaughter of Fletcher Christian his cousin
- Edward Christian (1814 – 3 June 1831) unmarried
- Maria Christian (1816 – 12 January 1889) married 1) Charles Christian grandson of Fletcher Christian her cousin 2) John Quintal grandson of Matthew Quintal 3) William Quintal grandson of Matthew Quintal
- Charles Christian II (1818 – 22 May 1886) married Charlotte Quintal granddaughter of Matthew Quintal
- Mary Christian (1819 – 25 April 1843) married Arthur Quintal son of Matthew Quintal
- Margaret Christian (22 February 1822 – 30 November 1874) married Matthew McCoy grandson of William McCoy
- Isaac Christian (26 April 1825 – 31 October 1877) married Miriam Young granddaughter of Ned Young
- Thomas Buffett (3 January 1825 – 18 October 1900) married 1) Louisa Quintal granddaughter of Matthew Quintal 2) Dorcas Young granddaughter of Ned Young
- John Buffett (21 July 1826 – 23 June 1906) married Elizabeth Young granddaughter of Ned Young
- David Buffett (27 May 1827 – 7 August 1924) married Martha Young granddaughter of Ned Young
- Robert Pitcairn Buffett (26 March 1830 – 23 January 1926) married Lydia Young granddaughter of Ned Young
- Edward Buffett (27 November 1835 – 28 November 1911) married Louisa Victoria Rose Quintal great-granddaughter of Matthew Quintal
- Arthur Quintal II (1816 – 20 August 1902) married Martha Quintal granddaughter of Matthew Quintal
- Catherine K. (Kitty) Quintal (1818 – 15 May 1831) unmarried
- John Quintal (1820 – 2 November 1920) married Dinah Young granddaughter of Ned Young
- Charlotte Quintal (1822 – 16 August 1883) married Charles Christian grandson of Fletcher Christian
- Phoebe Quintal (25 April 1824 – 21 April 1900) married Jonathan Adams grandson of John Adams
- James Quintal (9 July 1825 – 7 September 1898) married Priscilla Christian great-granddaughter of Fletcher Christian
- Caroline Quintal (21 July 1827 – 13 June 1869) married John Adams grandson of John Adams
- Ruth Quintal (8 May 1829 – 29 September 1862) married Samuel McCoy grandson of William McCoy
- Lucy Anne Quintal (25 March, 25 April 1831) died as infant
- Absolam Quintal (17 June 1836 – 14 June 1868) supposed to have married a woman named Mary
- Nathaniel Quintal (7 November 1837 – 1 May 1895) married 1) Louisa Victoria Rose Quintal great-granddaughter of Matthew Quintal 2) Abby Louisa Tabor Quintal great-granddaughter of Matthew Quintal
- Joseph Quintal (5 July 1839 – 26 May 1912) married 1) Martha Evans granddaughter of John Adams 2) Lucy Emily Christian great-great-granddaughter of Fletcher Christian
- Cornelius Quintal (17 June 1841 – 10 February 1934) married Ellen Amelia Moore from New Zealand
- Mary Quintal (16 April 1843 – 5 April 1868) married Pardon Snell of the United States
- George Martin Frederick Young (1822 – 25 September 1899) married Mary Evans granddaughter of John Adams
- Simon Young (17 August 1823 – 26 September 1893) married Mary Buffett Christian great-granddaughter of Fletcher Christian
- Dinah Young (16 November 1824 – 9 May 1881) married John Quintal grandson of Matthew Quintal
- Elizabeth Young (8 September 1826 – 10 October 1863) married John Buffett grandson of Ned Young
- Jemima Young (31 October 1828 – 5 May 1868) unmarried
- Martha Young (19 January 1830 – 30 January 1872) married David Buffett grandson of Ned Young
- Moses Young (30 September 1829 – 14 July 1909) married Albina McCoy granddaughter of William McCoy
- John Valentine Mansell Evans (12 January 1829 – before 1892) unmarried
- William Evans (8 August 1830 – 3 March 1873) married Rebecca Christian great-granddaughter of Fletcher Christian
- Mary Evans (17 January 1833 – 1 June 1909) married George Martin Frederick Young grandson of Ned Young
- George Francis Mason Evans (23 December 1835 – 6 May 1910) married Catherine Christian great-granddaughter of Fletcher Christian
- Dinah Evans (6 August 1837 – 11 June 1870) married John Quintal great-grandson of Matthew Quintal
- Martha Evans (12 July 1839 – 17 September 1876) married Joseph Quintal grandson of Matthew Quintal
- Mayhew Young (1823–1823) died at 9 months
- Mary Polly Young (28 January 1825 – 16 June 1885) married Thursday October Christian II grandson of Fletcher Christian
- William Mayhew Young (4 December 1827 – 14 October 1876) married Margaret Christian granddaughter of Fletcher Christian
- Miriam Young (30 August 1829 – 25 November 1911) married Isaac Christian grandson of Fletcher Christian
- Dorcas Young (16 September 1832 – 3 December 1917) married Thomas Buffett grandson of Ned Young
- Lydia Young (16 September 1832 – 30 July 1883) married 1) Daniel McCoy grandson of William McCoy 2) Robert Pitcairn Buffett grandson of Ned Young
- Robert Young (19 June 1837 – 18 November 1837) died as infant
- William Quintal (1817 – 6 July 1905) married Maria Christian granddaughter of Fletcher Christian
- Martha Quintal (1822 – 25 December 1893) married Arthur Quintal grandson of Matthew Quintal
- Edward Quintal (31 October 1824 – 5 January 1856) unmarried
- Abraham Blatchly Quintal (31 January 1827 – 20 September 1910) married Esther Maria Nobbs great-granddaughter of Fletcher Christian
- Louisa Quintal (7 March 1829 – 5 February 1873) married Thomas Buffett grandson of Ned Young
- Nancy Quintal (6 June 1831 – 24 December 1853) married Jacob Christian great-grandson of Fletcher Christian
- Susan Quintal (5 November 1833 – 18 February 1917) married Fletcher Christian Nobbs great-grandson of Fletcher Christian
- Henry Joshua Quintal (17 January 1836 – 16 July 1873) married Jane McCoy great-granddaughter of William McCoy
- Caleb Quintal (5 September 1837 – 7 May 1873) married Ann Naomi Nobbs great-granddaughter of Fletcher Christian
- Joseph Napoleon Quintal (7 December 1839 – 2 October 1841) unmarried
- John Adams (10 November 1827 – 20 May 1897) married Caroline Quintal granddaughter of Matthew Quintal
- Jonathan Adams (3 January 1829 – 23 May 1906) married Phoebe Quintal granddaughter of Matthew Quintal
- Josiah Chester Adams (19 June 1830 – 2 February 1907) married Diana McCoy great-granddaughter of Matthew Quintal
- Malcolm Champion (12 November 1883 – died 27 July 1939), New Zealand Olympic swimmer; his mother Sarah Clara Quintal was a descendent of Matthew Quintal.
- Claudene Christian (18 October 1970 – died 29 October 2012) who claimed to be a descendant of Fletcher Christian,[1][2]
- Thomas Colman Christian (1 November 1935 – died 7 July 2013) known as the "Voice of Pitcairn" for his nearly lifelong role in keeping the island connected to the world via ham radio, died at age 77 on the island where he was born. He was a great-great-great-grandson of Fletcher Christian. In 1957, while working on a National Geographic-sponsored dive off Pitcairn, Christian helped salvage some of the sunken remains of the Bounty, including its old hull fittings. Tom was the son of Frederick Christian, grandson of Daniel Christian, great-grandson of Thursday Christian, and great-great-grandson of Friday Christian, who himself, was the son of Fletcher Christian. The cause of Tom's death was complications of a recent stroke, said his daughter Jacqueline Christian.[3]
- Rosalind Amelia Young (13 August 1853 – 1 February 1924), historian and greatgrandaughter of John Adams
In 1935 - in the wake of their successful American blockbuster movie Mutiny on the Bounty, which premiered that year - the MGM Studios also shot a short documentary with the title "Pitcairn Island Today" (a Eugene H. Roth production, narrated by Carey Wilson).[4][5] It tells the story of some of the descendants of the Bounty mutineers, who were natives of Pitcairn and inhabitants of the only village of the island, Adamstown.
The list of descendants mentioned and presented in this MGM documentary includes:
- William Christian, approx. 60–70 years old (judging by appearance), farmer, presented as "Fletcher Christians great grandson".
- Benjamin Young, 84 years old (i.e. born around 1851), blacksmith, presented as the "great grandson of a happy young Midshipman of the Bounty" (that would be Edward "Ned" Young).
- Edward Christian, approx. 55–60 years old (judging by appearance), stonecutter, presumably another descendant of Fletcher Christian.
- "Pastor Christian", pastor and mayor of the island. Most likely he is to be identified as Edgar Allen Christian (at that time 52 years old, an age corresponding to his appearance in the video). Furthermore, this assumption is based on the fact that he (as seen later in the footage) appears to have signed a marriage announcement in his function of being the "Magistrate" of the island (see below). In earlier and later years, however, Edgar A. Christian's cousin Charles Richard Parkin Christian too held this double office of being both the religious leader as well as the Chief Magistrate of Pitcairn (cf. List of rulers of the Pitcairn Islands).[6]
- (Aunt) Annie McCoy, 70–80 years old (judging by appearance), descendant of Able Seaman William McCoy.
- Rebecca Young, approx. 12–20 years old (judging by appearance), presumably another descendant of Midshipman Ned Young.
- Allan Christian and Eva Christian, a couple (of likely young age?) whose intention of marriage is officially signed and publicly announced by "Edgar Christian - Magistrate" (during the time of shooting the documentary).
- David Young, a newborn baby (who nearly died because the doctor came by ship from abroad and almost arrived too late), yet another descendant of Midshipman Ned Young.
A 1962 documentary, Pitcairn People (directed by Peter Newington, narrated by Patrick Wymark), was produced by the British Petroleum Company. It featured many of the island residents of that time. Another documentary, Miracle on Pitcairn Island, was produced in the 1960s by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (filmed and written by Eric Were, narrated by Neal C. Wilson). It featured many of the same residents.
References
- Jonsson, Patrik (30 October 2012). "HMS Bounty casualty claimed tie to mutinous Fletcher Christian". Retrieved 31 October 2012.
- "Bounty crew member's body found, captain still missing". 29 October 2012.
- Fox, Margalit (23 August 2013). "Tom Christian, Descendant of Bounty Mutineer, Dies at 77". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
- Pitcairn Island Today (1935), accessed on 14 December 2014
- Pitcairn Island Today (1935) - Full Cast & Crew, accessed on 14 December 2014. NB! the film poster on this page erroneously depicts that of the blockbuster movie!
- Prominent Pitcairners - Part I: Parkin Christian, accessed on 14 December 2014
Tom Christian had only a volcanic hill two miles long by a mile wide in the middle of an ocean to ride his Honda motorcycle on, but in his veins there coursed a whole history of 200 years of British worldwide power. The energy that built an empire flipped over in his family's case into naval mutiny, but Tom Christian's great-great-great-grandfather Fletcher Christian, leader of the rebels in 1789 on His Majesty's Armed Vessel Bounty, would have recognised his descendant's fearlessly independent cast of mind.
Tom Christian's MBE from the Queen for services to the Pitcairns, and his law-abiding attitudes, might nevertheless have surprised Acting Lieutenant Christian, who thrust his captain, Lieutenant William Bligh, adrift in a launch and nine months later brought Bounty, with crewmates and Tahitian girlfriends, to the four islands of which Pitcairn, a British colony since 1838, is the second-biggest, 3,000 miles from New Zealand and 4,000 from Panama.
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Six generations on, Tom Christian served as a magistrate and for 40 years was Governor's representative on the Pitcairn Island Council. In 2004, when charges of rape and sexual assault were brought against a number of Pitcairn men, he opposed islanders who said "breaking girls in" early was a Polynesian custom, and supported the men's being arraigned before the Pitcairn Supreme Court, which was specially convened under English law on the island.
Len Brown holds a nail from the HMS Bounty in his workshop on the island
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The accused men included Tom Christian's relation Steve Christian, the islands' then Mayor, who was eventually convicted of five rapes. After the trial Tom Christian was shunned for years by some islanders. But long before the trial, which attracted attention from around the globe, he was already the islander who connected Pitcairn with the values and habits of the outside world.
His daily duties took him with his Honda 870ft up a rough red track to Taro Ground, where Pitcairn's radio transmitter stands. It was put there by New Zealand soldiers during the Second World War for naval communications, and he resolved as a small boy to learn how to use it. He left the island at 17 to do so, and trained in New Zealand from 1952-55, a stay during which he saw cars for the first time.
A cannon from the HMS Bounty is proudly displayed in front of Len Brown's house on the island.
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He was to become Pitcairn's richest native inhabitant, licensed as a radio operator since 1957 and earning NZ$10,000 a year for his service as radio officer of Radio ZBP, "the Voice of Pitcairn". He had the job of making daily reports to the island's administration, located in Fiji until Fijian independence in 1970, and thereafter in Wellington in New Zealand. The reports were made in Morse code until the 1980s brought a radio telephone.
Melva Evans is a sixth generation Pitcairn Islander, descended from Fletcher Christian
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Christian was also a well-known short-wave radio ham, VP6RC/VR6TC, exchanging messages from shore to ships passing on the ocean sea routes, and calling up fellow radio enthusiasts as far away as the US using minimal power from a generator on the island that then ran for only nine hours a day.
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In recent years he and his wife Betty, whom he married in 1966, moved into the computer age with a website promoting tourism to the island and produce including Pitcairn stamps, baskets, curiosities carved of wood, and honey. The Pitcairn government also offers a distinctive internet domain name," .pn", for sale.
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He made several speaking tours to the US, talking about the mutiny and Pitcairn's history. Soon after their marriage he and Betty travelled to California, where they worked for seven months for the radio station of the US-based Seventh Day Adventist Church, of which he was an elder, and to which the Pitcairners converted from Anglicanism in the 19th century. The Isle of Man, from which the Christian family originated, invited him to be a guest of honour at Tynwald Week in 2002.
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He is credited with having imported the first battery lights and refrigerators to Pitcairn, as well as motorcycles. In the 1950s he dived for the American National Geographic magazine to bring up nails, wood and fittings from Bounty, still lying in the bay where the mutineers destroyed her. In 1974 he used the radio to appeal for fuel for Pitcairn when Middle Eastern oil producers disrupted supplies, and got some from various sources who heard his broadcast.
Every day he also had to cultivate vegetables on several garden plots for sustenance, and maintain public works including road-surfaces and the aluminium, diesel-powered longboats that bring visitors ashore. The boats must pass through treacherous surf and over rocks, and every three months they go out to meet the airstripless colony's supply ship from New Zealand, anchored several hundred yards out to sea below Pitcairn's 500-foot cliffs.
Inhabitants on Pitcairn Island, the last British overseas territory in the Pacific Ocean.
Explaining why he chose to stay on this speck of red rock where he was born in 1935 – the year of Frank Lloyd's Hollywood film about the mutiny starring Clark Gable as Fletcher Christian – he said: "The advantage is freedom. You don't have to worry about locking doors. I can go down to the valley with my knife and cut bananas or go fishing whenever I want."
In 1971 Maurice Bligh, great-great-great-grandson of the Bounty's captain, paid a visit to Pitcairn, and the two became friends, meeting again in 2005. Tom Christian's own descent from Fletcher Christian was through Fletcher's son Thursday October, then his grandson Thursday October II, great-grandson Daniel, and great-great grandson Frederick, who was Tom's father.
Thomas Colman Christian: island councillor and radio officer: born Pitcairn 1 November 1935; MBE 1983; married 1966 Betty Warren (four daughters); died Pitcairn 7 July 2013. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/tom-christian-island-leader-who-connected-pitcairn-with-the-world-8786660.html
The Bounty docked at St. Augustine, Florida.
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As the search continues off the coast of Hatteras, N.C. for the missing captain of the sunken Bounty, the reality of the devastation left by Hurricane Sandy begins to sink in. So far, the storm has claimed a number of lives–ABC last reported 33–up and down the Eastern Seaboard and in the appropriately named Atlantic Graveyard with the Bounty and an even more “perfect storm”.
Yesterday, we were all saddened to hear that US Coast Guard crews recovered the body of Claudene Christian, 42, a crew member on the Bounty and 1 of 16 people on board when the ship went down. Tragic by any means, but a quick look at her Facebook profile reveals something even more devastating. She was a USC grad who was excited to work on the HMS Bounty and eager to share its rich history with people, especially children. But there was a greater connection. She was also great-great-great-great-great granddaughter of Fletcher Christian, the master’s mate who took command of the original HMS Bounty from William Bligh in the infamous mutiny in 1789.
“I live, work & Travel the Sea aboard the HMS Tall Ship Bounty” She says on her Facebook page. “A Sailing Museum traveling from port to port sharing our ship and our history, we are a replica Ship of the infamous story of “Mutiny on the Bounty” on Pitcairn Island.”
She then continues: As a descendant of Fletcher Christian, played in four movies by Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Marlin Brando & Mel Gibson, I’m sure my ancestor would be proud… However this time, there will be no Mutiny on this Bounty… At least not at the hands of me, a new generation of Christian Family Sailors! This ship has been used in MANY Movies, including the 1962 version of “Mutiny on the Bounty” starring Marlin Brando & the two most recent Pirates of the Carribean movies starring Johnny Depp.
The Bounty, a detailed replica of the Royal Navy’s tall ship HMS Bounty and itself often referred to as HMS Bounty, was built in 1962 specifically for the filming of Mutiny on the Bounty. After filming, the ship was berthed in St. Petersburg, Florida and used to teach tourists about its maritime history. In the 1990’s and early 2000’s the Bounty would change ownership a few times–including another brief stint in the movie business with the Pirates of the Caribbean movies–before ending up in the hands of the HMS Bounty Organization, LLC, where Christian would eventually be hired on as part of the crew.
Melva Warren Evans - Last week I met two islanders from Pitcairn; Melva Warren Evans and Simon Young. We met in London and I asked them about their hopes for the Pitcairn protected marine area which their community wants to see the UK government establish. Melva was born on Pitcairn and is one of the descendents of the crew of the Bounty. Simon moved to Pitcairn in his 30s. I was interested in what they made of London – it was raining when we met! Simon said that he noticed that the architecture was more beautiful than he remembered it and that he said that he thought that the streets felt safer – that’s interesting. Melva was on her first visit and she remarked on the small streets and the fact that lots of names were familiar because it felt a little like stepping back into her old school textbooks. Melva and Simon make up 4% of the Pitcairn population of 50. I’ve spent time on a few small islands and I was interested to check whether what I had been told, that the whole island community favoured the approach of a protected area, was actually true. Both told me that after an all-island discussion about the issues there had been no doubt, and no dissent, over the way forward (though Melva said that she couldn’t speak for Isobel’s views – Isobel is aged three!). It is quite unusual for 50 people all to agree about anything. And small islands are often places of dissent, in my experience. But I got the strong impression, from both Simon and Melva, that the Pitcairn islanders really do feel that the seas around their islands are of exceptional global importance – an importance that they themselves knew but Also, Melva told me that she hoped that the protection of the wildlife riches would allow eco-tourism to be established on Pitcairn and that this would ensure the future of the human community there. Melva told me that if I were on Pitcairn now I would see lots of fish in the clear waters, I’d be certain to see turtles in the harbour and I might see Sperm Whales offshore. We could go fishing and catch silver Drummer Fish which we could then fry and eat. Today, Simon and Melva are in Marseille at the 3rd International Marine Protected Areas Congress. They both told me that they wanted to listen and to learn but I hope they’ll be doing quite a lot of talking too. If they speak to the delegates at the congress with the same clarity and passion with which they spoke to me then they will win a lot of friends and influence a lot of people. In a way, topmost amongst the people that I hope they will influence are the British civil servants from Defra and the Foreign Office who will be attending. The UK could move quickly to do what the Pitcairn islanders, a united community, want them to do and create the largest Marine Protected Area in the world around Pitcairn Island. Wouldn’t that be fantastic? And that’s what I want William Hague to do too. Come on Mr Hague! You can create the largest marine protected area in the world very quickly if you put your mind to it. This would be popular (on Pitcairn and back here in the UK), cheap and, most importantly, the right thing to do. Why not get on and do it – how about now!which was confirmed and documented by recent scientific studies. https://markavery.info/2013/10/24/message-pitcairn/
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“I have a marketing background, so I wasn’t sure if they’d take me because I didn’t have a sailing background, although I’ve been totally interested in it all my life,” said Christian in an interview during a recent tall ship festival in Nova Scotia and obtained by Canada’s Chronicle Herald. “I just decided I was going to apply for who I am, and they took me, and what I want to do is increase attendance and get the numbers up. I think there’s so much opportunity here for Bounty because no one’s really doing anything like that. They’re not marketing yet to schoolchildren as much as I’d like to do.”
The Chronicle Herald interview went on to quote Christian: “The cool thing about this ship, besides the fact that it was made about a historic, landmark monumental event in time that changed maritime laws (about how) captains are better to their crew, (is) this ship has its own history now, and has been in so many movies and travelled the world.”
The Bounty left New London, Connecticut, heading for St. Petersburg, Florida but would of course never make it. Meanwhile the search for Captain Robin Walbridge from St. Petersburg, FL, continues.
https://gcaptain.com/bounty-victim-claudene-christian-related-to-fletcher-christian/
The Coast Guard has reported that the body of a woman, identified as Ms. Claudene Christian, has been recovered. A crew aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., located Christian who was unresponsive, hoisted her into the helicopter and took her to Albemarle Hospital in Elizabeth City. The search for the captain, Robin Walbridge, continues approximately 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, N.C., Monday.
Rescuers at the United States Coast Guard swung into action this morning after receiving word that the crew of the 180-foot, three-masted tall ship, Bounty, abandoned ship approximately 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, North Carolina. The 16-person crew donned cold water survival suits and lifejackets before launching in two 25-person lifeboats. US Coast Guard watchstanders dispatched a pair of MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., to rescue the crew.
The first Jayhawk crew arrived on scene at approximately 6:30 a.m. and hoisted five people into the aircraft, and a second helicopter arrived and rescued nine people. The 14 people are being flown to Air Station Elizabeth City where they will be met by awaiting emergency medical services personnel. The C-130 Hercules aircraft remains on scene and is searching for the two missing crewmembers and a third Jayhawk crew is en route to assist search and rescue efforts.
Coast Guard Sector North Carolina initially received a call from the owner of the Bounty saying she had lost communication with the vessel’s crew late Sunday evening. The Coast Guard 5th District command center in Portsmouth subsequently received a signal from the emergency position indicating radio beacon registered to the Bounty, confirming the distress and position.
An air crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City launched aboard an HC-130 Hercules aircraft, which later arrived on scene and reestablished communications with the Bounty’s crew. The vessel was reportedly taking on water and was without propulsion. On scene weather is reported to be 40 mph winds and 18-foot seas. For the last couple days the crew of the Bounty has been posting updates to their facebook page. Here’s the latest image along with a note from her captain below.
Latest Communication from Captain Robin Walbridge. Sent (Saturday night).
Good evening Miss Tracie
I think we are going to be into this for several days, the weather looks like even after the eye goes by it will linger for a couple of days. We are just going to keep trying to go fast and squeeze by the storm and land as fast as we can.I am thinking that we will pass each other sometime Sunday night or Monday morning. All else is well
Robin
The following is a list of those who were rescued, and those who are still missing:
Rescued were:
Daniel Cleveland, 25
John Svendsen, 41
Matthew Sanders, 37
Adam Prokosh, 27
Douglas Faunt, 66
John Jones, 29
Drew Salapatek, 29
Joshua Scornavacchi, 25
Anna Sprague, 20
Mark Warner, 33
Christopher Barksdale, 56
Laura Groves, 28
Jessica Hewitt, 25
Jessica Black, 34
Recovered:
Claudene Christian, 42
Missing are:
Robin Walbridge, 63
The Bounty was built in Nova Scotia in 1960 specifically for the 1962 film, Mutiny on the Bounty, and has also been used in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End. As of this year, the vessel has been offered up for sale at a price of $4.6 million.
https://gcaptain.com/bounty-abandons-ship-heavy-seas/
Yesterday, we were all saddened to hear that US Coast Guard crews recovered the body of Claudene Christian, 42, a crew member on the Bounty and 1 of 16 people on board when the ship went down. Tragic by any means, but a quick look at her Facebook profile reveals something even more devastating. She was a USC grad who was excited to work on the HMS Bounty and eager to share its rich history with people, especially children. But there was a greater connection. She was also great-great-great-great-great granddaughter of Fletcher Christian, the master’s mate who took command of the original HMS Bounty from William Bligh in the infamous mutiny in 1789.
“I live, work & Travel the Sea aboard the HMS Tall Ship Bounty” She says on her Facebook page. “A Sailing Museum traveling from port to port sharing our ship and our history, we are a replica Ship of the infamous story of “Mutiny on the Bounty” on Pitcairn Island.”
She then continues: As a descendant of Fletcher Christian, played in four movies by Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Marlin Brando & Mel Gibson, I’m sure my ancestor would be proud… However this time, there will be no Mutiny on this Bounty… At least not at the hands of me, a new generation of Christian Family Sailors! This ship has been used in MANY Movies, including the 1962 version of “Mutiny on the Bounty” starring Marlin Brando & the two most recent Pirates of the Carribean movies starring Johnny Depp.
Simon Young – Deputy Mayor of Pitcairn
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...
The Bounty, a detailed replica of the Royal Navy’s tall ship HMS Bounty and itself often referred to as HMS Bounty, was built in 1962 specifically for the filming of Mutiny on the Bounty. After filming, the ship was berthed in St. Petersburg, Florida and used to teach tourists about its maritime history. In the 1990’s and early 2000’s the Bounty would change ownership a few times–including another brief stint in the movie business with the Pirates of the Caribbean movies–before ending up in the hands of the HMS Bounty Organization, LLC, where Christian would eventually be hired on as part of the crew.
...
“I have a marketing background, so I wasn’t sure if they’d take me because I didn’t have a sailing background, although I’ve been totally interested in it all my life,” said Christian in an interview during a recent tall ship festival in Nova Scotia and obtained by Canada’s Chronicle Herald. “I just decided I was going to apply for who I am, and they took me, and what I want to do is increase attendance and get the numbers up. I think there’s so much opportunity here for Bounty because no one’s really doing anything like that. They’re not marketing yet to schoolchildren as much as I’d like to do.”
Undated portrait of Captain William Bligh.
The Chronicle Herald interview went on to quote Christian: “The cool thing about this ship, besides the fact that it was made about a historic, landmark monumental event in time that changed maritime laws (about how) captains are better to their crew, (is) this ship has its own history now, and has been in so many movies and travelled the world.”
Fletcher Christian who led 1789 mutiny on HMS Bounty
The Bounty left New London, Connecticut, heading for St. Petersburg, Florida but would of course never make it. Meanwhile the search for Captain Robin Walbridge from St. Petersburg, FL, continues.
https://gcaptain.com/bounty-victim-claudene-christian-related-to-fletcher-christian/
The Coast Guard has reported that the body of a woman, identified as Ms. Claudene Christian, has been recovered. A crew aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., located Christian who was unresponsive, hoisted her into the helicopter and took her to Albemarle Hospital in Elizabeth City. The search for the captain, Robin Walbridge, continues approximately 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, N.C., Monday.
Rescuers at the United States Coast Guard swung into action this morning after receiving word that the crew of the 180-foot, three-masted tall ship, Bounty, abandoned ship approximately 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, North Carolina. The 16-person crew donned cold water survival suits and lifejackets before launching in two 25-person lifeboats. US Coast Guard watchstanders dispatched a pair of MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., to rescue the crew.
The first Jayhawk crew arrived on scene at approximately 6:30 a.m. and hoisted five people into the aircraft, and a second helicopter arrived and rescued nine people. The 14 people are being flown to Air Station Elizabeth City where they will be met by awaiting emergency medical services personnel. The C-130 Hercules aircraft remains on scene and is searching for the two missing crewmembers and a third Jayhawk crew is en route to assist search and rescue efforts.
Coast Guard Sector North Carolina initially received a call from the owner of the Bounty saying she had lost communication with the vessel’s crew late Sunday evening. The Coast Guard 5th District command center in Portsmouth subsequently received a signal from the emergency position indicating radio beacon registered to the Bounty, confirming the distress and position.
Bounty survivors Doug Faunt, from left, Chris Barksdale and Josh Scornavacchi.
An air crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City launched aboard an HC-130 Hercules aircraft, which later arrived on scene and reestablished communications with the Bounty’s crew. The vessel was reportedly taking on water and was without propulsion. On scene weather is reported to be 40 mph winds and 18-foot seas. For the last couple days the crew of the Bounty has been posting updates to their facebook page. Here’s the latest image along with a note from her captain below.
Latest Communication from Captain Robin Walbridge. Sent (Saturday night).
Good evening Miss Tracie
I think we are going to be into this for several days, the weather looks like even after the eye goes by it will linger for a couple of days. We are just going to keep trying to go fast and squeeze by the storm and land as fast as we can.I am thinking that we will pass each other sometime Sunday night or Monday morning. All else is well
Robin
The following is a list of those who were rescued, and those who are still missing:
Rescued were:
Daniel Cleveland, 25
John Svendsen, 41
Matthew Sanders, 37
Adam Prokosh, 27
Douglas Faunt, 66
John Jones, 29
Drew Salapatek, 29
Joshua Scornavacchi, 25
Anna Sprague, 20
Mark Warner, 33
Christopher Barksdale, 56
Laura Groves, 28
Jessica Hewitt, 25
Jessica Black, 34
Recovered:
Claudene Christian, 42
Missing are:
Robin Walbridge, 63
The Bounty was built in Nova Scotia in 1960 specifically for the 1962 film, Mutiny on the Bounty, and has also been used in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End. As of this year, the vessel has been offered up for sale at a price of $4.6 million.
https://gcaptain.com/bounty-abandons-ship-heavy-seas/
Ten pigtails of hair thought to be from seven mutineers of "Mutiny on the Bounty" fame and three of their female Polynesian companions will be analysed in a new collaboration between the Pitcairn Islands Study Centre at Pacific Union College (California, US) and the forensic DNA group at King's College London (UK).
The forensic DNA group at King's has been sent hair strands from the ten pigtails, which are currently on display in the California-based centre, to help establish as much information as possible on their origins.
As the pigtails purportedly date back to the pre-1800s, the King's team will first attempt to extract DNA from the historical hair samples after cleaning the outside and then digesting the hair matrix using a chemical process. Nuclear DNA is not found in hair shafts, only the roots which are not available here; however, mitochondrial DNA may be present. If sufficient mitochondrial DNA can be collected, the first step will be to investigate the ancestral origins of the owners of the pigtails.
Unlike nuclear DNA, mitochondrial DNA does not discriminate between all individuals as people sharing a common maternal ancestor will also share a similar profile. However, this type of DNA can provide some indication of maternal geographic origin e.g. whether someone is likely to be of European descent, so the team will aim to establish whether the hair samples do indeed come from seven Europeans and three Polynesian individuals, as the documentation accompanying the samples suggests.
Further, more detailed identification will require genealogical methods to trace the ancestors of the pigtail owners, to be able to link samples to names from historical records and other sources of information. A lot has been written about the possible descendants of the mutineers but this information will not be helpful with regards to the male mutineers; instead, their maternal line will need be traced. The study will therefore try to identify their maternal ancestors, such as their respective mothers and maternal grandmothers, and research other direct female descendants down to individuals living today.
Dr Denise Syndercombe-Court, project lead from the Analytical and Environmental Sciences Division at King's College London, said: "First, we will have to determine whether we can recover mitochondrial DNA of appropriate quality to be analysed. The hairs, if from the mutineers, are over two hundred years old and we have no idea what environments they might have been exposed to in the intervening time."
"Potentially as problematic will be the genealogical research as civil registration in the UK did not start until 1837, some 50 years after the mutiny and so, at best, the death of the mother may be listed in these records but other processes would need to be used to gather more information. Because of the patrilineal transmission of surnames we would not even expect to find someone who believes they may be linked to the mutineers and so we will have to depend on this research and hope for the agreed consent from any identified living descendant to act as a modern day reference. We do not anticipate that this will be easy and it will require other interested parties to get involved in this part of the study."
Herbert Ford, Director of the Pitcairn Islands Study Centre, said: "This hair is a gift from Joy Allward, wife of the late Maurice Allward of Hatfield, UK, who successfully bid for the hair at a Sotheby's auction in London in 2000."
"If the tests and genealogical studies of this hair authenticates that it is of seven of the nine mutineers who hid out from British justice on Pitcairn Island in 1790, it will be the only tangible physical evidence of their having existed. There is only one known mutineer grave on Pitcairn, that of John Adams. Of the whereabouts of the remains of the eight others, we can only speculate."
The pigtails on display in the US were housed in a nineteenth-century cylindrical tobacco tin. Also with the locks of hair was a handkerchief said to have belonged to Sarah, the daughter of William McCoy, one of the Bounty mutineers.
A worn, faded label with the pigtails notes that it is attached to the hair of William McCoy. The mutineer McCoy died on Pitcairn Island in 1800. Notes written on the label also state that the pigtails are of seven of the mutineers of H.M.S. Bounty and "also that of three of the Tahitian women," who accompanied the mutineers to Pitcairn in 1789.
https://phys.org/news/2016-08-forensic-analysis-pigtails-mutineers-hms.html
Celebrated as Bounty Day, on June 8, 2016, Norfolk Islanders mark the 160th anniversary of the landing of their forebears after a four-week voyage from overcrowded Pitcairn to the abandoned Norfolk Island penal colony.
The 193 descendants of Fletcher Christian’s Bounty mutineers abandoned their wooden, thatched-roof huts to board the ship Morayshire on May 3, 1856. A baby was born on the 6200km voyage. Another infant died within days of landing on Norfolk.
After a tearful prayer and farewell to relatives buried on Pitcairn, residents loaded their worldly possessions. One passenger, George Adams, son of mutineer John, complained he would “rather be run through with a sword than leave his home”.
The first attempt to evacuate Pitcairners as their population outstripped island resources was in 1831, when the British government arranged their relocation to Tahiti. A cultural clash between increasingly religious islanders and liberal Tahitians, as well as the death of 12 Pitcairners, sent them home after six months.
Merchant sailor George Nobbs, who arrived at Pitcairn in 1828 to become a pastor and teacher, sailed to Britain in 1852 to lobby for support. Admiral Fairfax Moresby and his wife Eliza organised a committee to raise funds for Nobbs’ return passage to deliver medicines, clocks, clothing, furniture and cooking utensils.
Nobbs returned to find the islanders badly affected by a prolonged drought and an outbreak of influenza. Moresby’s committee then lobbied to have Pitcairners moved to Norfolk Island, a former British penal colony off the NSW coast where roads and houses had been constructed and the land cultivated.
Once inhabited by Polynesians, Norfolk Island was uninhabited when Captain James Cook landed in 1774. Cook claimed the island for Britain, reporting favourably on supplies of pine and flax for shipbuilding. First Fleet commander Arthur Phillip was ordered to “send a small establishment to ... prevent it being occupied by any other European powers’’, although French explorer Jean-Francois Comte de La Perouse in 1789 dismissed settlement at Norfolk, after finding it impossible to land.
Phillip sent his second-in-command, Lieutenant Philip Gidley King, to the island with a small detachment of soldiers and convicts to establish Norfolk as a farm to supply food to the starving settlement at Port Jackson.
The cost of running the outpost and its isolation led the government to wind up the settlement in 1804. The last people left by 1815, when buildings were burned down and farm animals and crops left to go wild.
In 1824, it was decided that the island’s isolation made it the perfect place to send the worst criminals. Governor Ralph Darling decreed Norfolk as “a place of the extremist punishment short of death”. The first prisoners arrived in June 1825, although expense and distance again became hindrances to settlement. Britain’s decision to abandon transportation saw Norfolk evacuated in 1853. Britain then offered the island to the descendants of some of the most infamous criminals in the history of the English navy.
Fletcher Christian had led disaffected sailors in usurping Captain William Bligh, after gathering breadfruit in Tahiti in April 1789. Bligh, put in the ship’s launch with some loyal crewmen, navigated his way to the island of Tofua in Tonga and then Timor. He later returned to England to raise the alarm.
Knowing the admiralty would hunt them down if word of their mutiny reached England, mutineers tried to settle on the island of Tubuai, but fighting with Tubuaians forced them away. They returned briefly to Tahiti, where several mutineers remained. Captain Edward Edwards tracked down 14 mutineers in Tahiti. Four would drown but 10 were brought to justice, although only three were hanged. Christian and eight other mutineers and 19 Tahitians including 14 women, sailed on to find a more remote hide-out.
Within 20 years of settling on Pitcairn, eight of nine mutineers were dead, mostly murdered in fights over “ownership” of Tahitian women. The lone male survivor John Adams lived with a harem of nine women, surrounded by 25 children; all called him father.
Although big houses and farm implements on Norfolk appealed to Pitcairners, living in barracks until land was allocated led to regrets “at leaving their beloved Pitcairn”.
Within 18 months 16 people from two families returned to Pitcairn, followed by another 27 in 1863.
Nobbs expressed their disappointment in a letter to Moresby in 1866: “We own nothing beyond our 50 acre (20ha) allotments, not sheep, nor ground on which the sheep feed; all is Government property and may be best.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/today-in-history/mutineers-descendants-found-their-new-home-on-abandoned-penal-colony-less-than-bountiful/news-story/2a6c76b8f7e7eda83c78a9470a2ddb12
If the management and the captain of the sunken tall ship HMS Bounty had "exercised the proper responsibility, judgment and prudence," the deaths of two people would have been prevented, according to a U.S. Coast Guard investigation report released Thursday.
Nineteen months after the Bounty sank in Hurricane Sandy off North Carolina, and more than a year after investigative hearings, the Coast Guard issued a wide range of recommendations in the disaster that killed rookie deckhand Claudene Christian and left Capt. Robin Walbridge missing and presumed dead. Fourteen crew members survived. Before it sank roughly 100 miles off Hatteras, the Bounty was arguably the most famous three-masted wooden square rigger in the world.
The Coast Guard investigation asked life-and-death questions about proper ship maintenance, the crew's experience and the captain's decision to sail from Connecticut to Florida as Sandy pointed toward the East Coast. The report could determine who, if anyone, might lose maritime licenses as a result of the disaster. During the investigation, officials said the report's findings could be forwarded to prosecutors who would determine whether to file criminal charges.
The "most critical" cause of the sinking, the report said, was the "failure of the Bounty's management and [captain] to exercise effective oversight and risk management in the overall operation of the Bounty and specifically with undertaking its final voyage in the face of an impending hurricane." The "leading cause that contributed to the loss" of Walbridge and to Christian's death was the captain's "decision to order the crew to abandon the ship much too late," the report said.
"It was just so hard," said Bounty survivor Jessica Hewitt, describing her feelings as the report was made public. "It was hard thinking about Robin and Claudene." Hewitt, a deckhand on the Bounty, nearly drowned after Sandy's winds and waves tossed her and fellow sailors into the Atlantic.
The decision to abandon ship so late after hurricane conditions worsened and the "fact that the crew had not drilled in months," led the report to determine that the captain's "actions/and or inactions in this regard constitutes negligence."
...
Hewitt said she agrees with the report's conclusion that Walbridge waited too long to give the order to abandon ship. "But at the same time I can't even put myself in his shoes when it comes to making that call in a hurricane," she said. Since the disaster Hewitt has been struggling to overcome repeated nightmares and deep-seated fears linked to the Bounty, while working on an oil rig supply ship in the Gulf of Mexico.
The ships' owner -- HMS Bounty Organization LLC, according to the report, "committed acts of negligence that contributed to" Christian's death and the presumed death of Walbridge. Fatigue played a contributing factor in the disaster, the report said. The "crew was suffering from fatigue which was born out of lack of sleep, being sea sick, and from the physical exertion of fighting to save the vessel while in extreme weather conditions for over 24 hours."
George Adams
The Bounty operated as a recreational vessel under "less stringent safety standards," the report said. It recommended that the Coast Guard "examine if legislative, regulatory or policy changes are needed." "Inspections should be thorough and should take a long time," Hewitt said. "I would be in favor of a higher level of training when you're making passages." But Hewitt remains protective of ships like the Bounty that serve as training vessels for inexperienced sailors such as Christian. "You've got to keep that going," Hewitt said. The Coast Guard handled its investigation in a way that was both thorough and respectful of the crew, she said.
The Bounty was a movie star, a re-creation of the infamous 18th-century British navy vessel of the same name, constructed by a Canadian shipbuilder for the 1962 MGM film "Mutiny on the Bounty," starring Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard.
Claudene Christian, who was 42, had said she was a descendant of the original Bounty's lead mutineer, Fletcher Christian.
More recently, the Bounty had appeared in Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie franchise. But the Bounty was never designed to sail the sea for 50 years. And the aging vessel had maintenance issues that would be expected of a half-century old, 180-foot-long ship made of oak and Douglas fir.
Questioning during the Coast Guard hearing frequently centered around the crew's experience. The Bounty was Claudene Christian's first job on a sailing vessel. In fact, 10 of Bounty's 15 crew members had been aboard for less than a year, including two who'd joined less than a month before its last voyage. Christian had been hired just five months before.
Life and death on the HMS Bounty Her family remains in settlement talks in the wake of a $90 million civil lawsuit the Christians filed against the ship's owner, the New York-based HMS Bounty Organization, headed by Robert Hansen. Hansen declined to testify at the Coast Guard hearings, evoking his Fifth Amendment constitutional rights against incriminating himself. Hansen has repeatedly declined CNN requests for interviews, although he has said more than once he intended to tell his side of the story, eventually.
On Thursday, in an e-mail to CNN, Hansen wrote, "I cannot comment while there is pending litigation." An attorney for Christian's family, Ralph Mellusi, said the report will help push his case toward a final resolution. The investigation also focused on Walbridge's decision to sail despite knowing that Hurricane Sandy was threatening to move up the East Coast. Walbridge set sail for St. Petersburg, Florida, from New London, Connecticut. Crew members testified that Walbridge's plan was to stay east of the storm as it moved up the coast. But two days into the voyage, the captain diverted from his plan and ordered a course change.
Crew members testified that Walbridge wanted to pilot the ship northwest of Sandy to harness its winds. Turning more westerly, the boat crossed the path of the oncoming hurricane. The weather worsened. The Bounty found itself in big trouble. Seawater leaking into the ship knocked out power to water pumps and engines, leaving the Bounty adrift while being battered by the raging storm.
Wind gusts above 100 mph and waves as high as 30 feet flipped Bounty on its side, tossing everyone into the predawn Atlantic. While the crew tried to keep their heads above the towering waves, the wind slammed the ship's mast and rigging on top of them. Getting tangled in underwater rigging nearly drowned some crew members, who were barely able to free themselves and swim to the ship's lifeboats.
Hours later, Coast Guard rescuers were able to save 14 crew members. Christian was pulled from the water. She was unresponsive and couldn't be revived. As for the captain, Walbridge's body was never found.
Shortly after Hewitt got word that the investigation report was available, she took a moment to try to read it. "I started to cry," she said. "And I said, 'I can't do this.'" Hewitt said the release of the report has brought her emotional state back to 2012, during the painful hours immediately following the crew's rescue. Officials were asking her questions. "I was sitting in a room and looking out the window and I remember the weather was really crappy outside and I'm thinking, 'Oh that's right, this nightmare is still going on. I'm being asked to tell this story.'"
For some reason, Hewitt still remembers that her hair was still wet that day, as she sat in that room. "Now, with the report coming out, I kind of feel like my hair is still wet," she said. "You know what I mean?"
During the 2013 investigative hearings, Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board officials asked surviving crew members whether Walbridge believed it was acceptable to intentionally sail near hurricanes. As evidence, the Coast Guard introduced a YouTube video of Walbridge where he says, "We chase hurricanes." In the video, Walbridge explained how to "get a good ride" out of a hurricane by sailing "as close to the eye of it as you can" and staying behind the storm in its southeast quadrant.
Without a doubt, the captain's harshest critic at the hearing was Jan Miles, one of the world's most respected tall-ship pilots and a self-described friend of Walbridge. Captain of the Pride of Baltimore II, Miles summed up Walbridge's actions in four words: "reckless in the extreme." The Coast Guard's report follows final conclutions released in February by the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB determined the Bounty tragedy was largely caused by Walbridge's "reckless decision to sail ... into the well-forecast path of Hurricane Sandy."
NTSB says captain shares blame for Bounty disaster Questions at the hearing pointed to the ship's maintenance record. Extensive repairs had been made to the Bounty twice in the past decade, and some work had been done weeks before it sailed, according to crew testimony. Rot infested 18-foot wooden planks on Bounty's forward right and left sides. Workers replaced them and caulked cracks and gaps in the ship's hull below the waterline.
Walbridge was warned by the shipyard that some of the boat's frames -- its ribs -- also contained rot, multiple witnesses testified. The shipyard manager testified that the captain said he'd do the repairs later. But not before he chose to sail toward Hurricane Sandy. The way Bounty was licensed, it wasn't subject to the toughest Coast Guard inspections or mandatory repairs. The owners chose to license the ship as an uninspected passenger vessel, a classification described by experts at the hearing as a "regulatory no man's land."
The status allowed the Bounty to avoid requirements reserved for higher classified ships -- including a sometimes expensive, time-consuming Coast Guard hull inspection every two years. The ship's classification also allowed it to hire less experienced crew to serve in officer positions.
The ship made its money by charging admission for shipboard tours at dockside. Under the regulations, the Bounty required only a simple, brief Coast Guard inspection that checked for obvious safety issues such as major leaks or malfunctioning emergency equipment. The Bounty passed one of these about two months before the disaster.
No safety inspections were required for the ship to go to sea because the Bounty carried no passengers.
https://www.cnn.com/2014/06/12/us/hms-bounty-tall-ship-sinking-investigation/index.html
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