Preface:
After the Mutiny on the HMAV Bounty in 1790, Fletcher Christian and his fellow Mutineers, Tahitian men & women re-discovered Pitcairn Island after searching the seas for several months later to find that the Island and that it had been charted incorrectly making it a very good hiding place.
On January 23rd 1790 the Mutineers ran the Bounty into the rocks, stripped her of anything useful and burnt her in what is now called Bounty Bay.
Today:
Pitcairn Island is now home to the descendants of the Bounty with an average population of around 50-70 year round.
Living:
Lots of people have asked me, “Do you live in thatched hut” and I tell them no, we live in normal houses, the same as in the rest of the world.
Each home has a broadband Internet connection & Telephone for communicating with friends and family around the world.
Pitcairn has, in the past few years, with funding from the British Government, caught up with the modern world. We have everything one could ask for here on the Island except the luxeries of Shopping malls, Fast food chains & Cinemas, but we have our own unique Island paradise.
Climate:
The Climate is tropical; hot and humid; modified by southeast trade winds and has a rainy season (November to March)
Income:
The inhabitants of this tiny isolated economy exist on fishing, subsistence farming, handicrafts, and postage stamps. The fertile soil of the valleys produces a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, including citrus, sugarcane, watermelons, bananas, yams, and beans. Bartering is an important part of the economy. The major sources of revenue are the sale of handicrafts to passing ships.
Imports:
Almost everything we need to survive has to be imported to the Island like food, fuel and building materials. These are shipped to the Island about every 3-4 months.
Islanders do grow a lot of fruit and vegetables and go fishing regularly for a meal or to sell to passing ships.
Exports:
There are several Bee Keepers on the Island. Pitcain has the purest, bug and disease free honey in the world. Annually about 5,000 jars of honey are exported around the world.
