Pitcairn Islanders

Pitcairn Islanders

Thursday October Christian I Thursday October Christian II Moses Young & Albina McCoy File:Tom Christian on Pitcairn Island.jpg Tom Christian
Total population
(54 (2012 Census) 45 (Resident islanders) & 9 (overseas professionals))
Regions with significant populations
Pitcairn Islands 54 (2012)
Norfolk Island	38.4% (2011)
New Zealand	201 (2006)
Australia	15 (Households)
Languages
English · Pitkern
Religion
Seventh-day Adventist Church
Related ethnic groups
English · Tahitians · Scottish · Irish · Descendants of the Bounty mutineers ·

Pitcairn Islanders also referred to as Pitkerners, are the inhabitants or citizens of the Pitcairn Islands. The Pitcairn Islands is a nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds. Despite its composition, the culture held in common by most Pitcairn Islanders is referred to as mainstream Pitcairn culture, a mix of western and Polynesian culture largely derived from the traditions of western European immigrants, primarily of English, Scottish, Tahitian descent (descendants of the Bounty mutineers) and other Polynesians.

There is also a Pitcairn diaspora particularly in New Zealand, Norfolk Island and mainland Australia as a result that in 1856 all 193 Pitkerners immigrated to Norfolk Island but 16 of them returned to Pitcairn the following year followed by a further four families in 1864.

History

Pitcairn Island was sighted on 3 July 1767 by the crew of the British sloop HMS Swallow, commanded by Captain Philip Carteret. The island was named after Scottish Midshipman Robert Pitcairn, a fifteen-year-old crew member who was the first to sight the island. Robert Pitcairn was a son of British Marine Major John Pitcairn, who later was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolution.

In 1790, nine of the mutineers from the Bounty, along with the native Tahitian men and women who were with them (six men, eleven women and a baby girl), settled on Pitcairn Islands and set fire to the Bounty. The wreck is still visible underwater in Bounty Bay, discovered in 1957 by National Geographic explorer Luis Marden. Although the settlers survived by farming and fishing, the initial period of settlement was marked by serious tensions among them. Alcoholism, murder, disease and other ills took the lives of most mutineers and Tahitian men. John Adams and Ned Young turned to the scriptures, using the ship's Bible as their guide for a new and peaceful society. Young eventually died of an asthmatic infection. The Polynesians also converted to Christianity. They later converted from their original form of Christianity to Seventh-day Adventism, following a successful Adventist mission in the 1890s. After the rediscovery of Pitcairn, John Adams was granted amnesty for his part in the mutiny.

Population history

Year	Population	Year	Population	Year	Population	Year	Population	Year	Population	Year	Population
1790	27	1880	112	1970	96	1992	54	2002	48	2012	48
1800	34	1890	136	1975	74	1993	57	2003	59	2013	56
1810	50	1900	136	1980	61	1994	54	2004	65	2014	56***
1820	66	1910	140	1985	58	1995	55	2005	63	2015
1830	70	1920	163	1986	68	1996	43	2006	65
1840	119	1930	190	1987	59	1997	40	2007	64
1850	146	1936	250 (highest)	1988	55	1998	66	2008	66
1856*	193	1940	163	1989	55	1999	46	2009	67
1859**	16 (lowest)	1950	161	1990	59	2000	51	2010	64
1870	70	1960	126	1991	66	2001	44	2011	67

* 1856 Immigration to Norfolk Island left Pitcairn uninhabited.
** 1859 First group returns from Norfolk Island.
*** As of July 2014

Culture

Hattie Andre's school, Pitcairn Island.

Pitcairn Islanders, 1916.

The once-strict moral codes, which prohibited dancing, public displays of affection, smoking, and consumption of alcohol, have been relaxed in recent years. Islanders and visitors no longer require a six-month licence to purchase, import, and consume alcohol. There is now one licensed café and bar on the island, and the Government Store sells alcohol and cigarettes.

Fishing and swimming are two popular recreational activities. A birthday celebration or the arrival of a ship or yacht will involve the entire Pitcairn community in a public dinner in the Square, Adamstown. Tables are covered in a variety of foods, including fish, meat, chicken, philhi, baked rice, boiled plun (banana), breadfruit, vegetable dishes, an assortment of pies, bread, breadsticks, an array of desserts, pineapple and watermelon.

Public work ensures the ongoing maintenance of the island's numerous roads and paths. The island has a labour force of over 35 men and women (as of 2011).

Language

Main article: Languages of the Pitcairn Islands

The majority of the resident Pitcairn Islanders are the descendants of the Bounty mutineers and Tahitians (or other Polynesians). Pitkern is a creole language derived from 18th-century English, with elements of the Tahitian language. It is spoken as a first language by the population and is taught alongside standard English at the island's only school. It is closely related to the creole language Norfuk, spoken on Norfolk Island, because Norfolk was repopulated in the mid-19th century by Pitcairners.

Religion

Church of Adamstown.

The entire population is Seventh-day Adventist. A successful Seventh-day Adventist mission in the 1890s was important in shaping Pitcairn society. In recent years, the church has declined, with only about eight islanders worshipping regularly, but most of them still attend church on special occasions. The Sabbath is observed as a day of rest and as a mark of respect for observant Adventists.

The church was built in 1954 and is run by the Church board and resident pastor, who usually serves a two-year term. The Sabbath School meets at 10 am on Saturday mornings, and is followed by Divine Service an hour later. On Tuesday evenings there is another service in the form of a prayer meeting.

Diaspora

Australia

In the 2011 Australian census, there were 75 people speaking the Pitkern language (also called Pitcairnese) at home, an increase of 21% from the 2006 census which had 62 people speaking the language.

Norfolk Island

As in previous censuses, the 2011 Census asked a question relating to Pitcairn descent. Though for the first time, the 2011 Norfolk Island Census focuses on the Pitcairn descent of the “ordinarily resident population” rather than the “permanent population” of previous Censuses. 45.0 percent of the permanent population are of Pitcairn descent and 38.4 percent of the ordinarily resident population were of Pitcairn descent. Thus for every two persons of Pitcairn descent, there are three persons of non-Pitcairn descent in the ordinarily resident population on Norfolk Island. Norfolk’s Pitcairn descendants are already at least 7th or 8th generation, and those in younger age groups are probably 9th generation and the affinity with their heritage is naturally waning.

New Zealand

In the 2006 NZ population census 201 people identified themselves as Pitcairn Islanders. The Survey identified 85 NZ households.

See also

• Law enforcement in the Pitcairn Islands
• Bibliography of Pitcairn Islands
• Bounty Bible
• Bounty Day
• Island Council (Pitcairn)
• List of islands
• Outline of the Pitcairn Islands