In 1852, following several years of negotiations, the British Home Office decided to relocate the Pitcairners. By this time the community were devout Christians and had outgrown Pitcairn Island. With the penal settlement closure imminent, Norfolk Island was deemed to be a suitable place.
The Pitcairn community had its origins in the mutiny on HMAV Bounty. Under Captain Bligh, HMAV Bounty had sailed from Britain to Tahiti to acquire breadfruit plants as a food supply for plantation slaves in the West Indies.
On 28 April 1789, after leaving Tahiti, the crew led by Fletcher Christian mutinied and Bligh and 18 others were forced into the ship’s launch whilst the mutineers sailed the Bounty to Tahiti. Bligh sailed to Timor and returned to England in 1790. The mutineers and a group of Tahitians left Tahiti seeking to settle on a remote island. They established a community on Pitcairn Island where they scuttled the HMAV Bounty.
In Sir William Denison, the new Governor of New South Wales, dispatched Captain Stephen Fremantle in HMS Juno to Pitcairn to find out if the inhabitants wanted to move to Norfolk Island. The people of Pitcairn voted to make the transfer and on 3 May 1856, 193 persons sailed aboard the Morayshire for Norfolk Island.
On 8 June 1856, 194 persons landed at Kingston, a baby having been born during the journey.
To claim this virtual as a find take a photo of yourself (or part therof) or your geocaching name with the Bounty monument in the background and post the photo in your log.
Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.