This story is true! There's obviously a lot more detail to it though. Fascinating stuff!

Where I first came across this story. - I always check sermon illustrations to verify that they are true before I retell it. In doing my research, I found out that it is not only true, but there is lots more to the story.

Google's Timeline of Pitcairn Island

Pitcairn Islands article at everyone's favorite source.


Pitcairn Island's official website - they are the world's smallest democracy!
Full story of the mutiny and its aftermath

Pitcairn's official history

Unfortunately, Pitcairn has been fairly widely discussed in British media over the last few years. The topic of discussion doesn't do much credit to the islanders' faith.

It appears that Pitcairn Island's history of sexual abuse didn't stop with the kidnapping of Tahitian women. In 2004, an unusual trial (conducted by New Zealand judges under the auspices of the British government, which claims sovereignty over the island) resulted in the conviction of six Pitcairn men -- including the mayor and postmaster (the entire population of the island was just 47) -- decades' worth of rape and indecency with children under 15.

From a 2002 Independent article about the origins of the case:

A Kent constable, Gail Cox, who was temporarily stationed on Pitcairn, began an inquiry that exploded into a major investigation. Over the next two years, travelling to Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Norfolk Island, police interviewed every woman and girl who had lived on the island during the past two decades, as well as each of the alleged offenders. Their file is with Simon Moore, an Auckland lawyer appointed Pitcairn Public Prosecutor by Britain for the purposes of the investigation.

While the allegations have caused ripples of shock in many quarters, some observers are less surprised. Josh Benton, a journalist with the Dallas Morning News, was struck by the sexual precocity of young girls when he spent a week on the island in 1999. He says: "I would have expected the opposite to be true, because we hear so much about the power of the media in sexualising young girls, yet none of those influences exist on Pitcairn."

Neville Tosen, a Seventh Day Adventist pastor who recently spent two years there, was also perturbed by children's conduct. "I noticed worrying signs such as inexplicable mood swings," he says. "It took me three months to realise they were being abused. I tried to raise the subject at a meeting of the island council, and one gentleman replied: 'Look, the age of consent has always been 12 and it doesn't hurt them.'"

Tosen, who now lives in Australia, says island records and personal anecdotes showed that most women had their first child between 12 and 15. "I think the girls were conditioned to accept that it was a man's world and once they turned 12, they were eligible," he says. "If you look back, it seems that each man had his own particular young girl."

He asked the mothers and grandmothers how they could allow such things. "Their reply was that nothing had changed. They said: 'We went through it too; it's all part of life on Pitcairn.' One grandmother wondered what all the fuss was about. But the girls are damaged; they can't settle or form solid relationships. They did suffer, no doubt about it."

It's a fascinating article about what life is like there now. I'm reading it. Notice this quote.

Neville Tosen is convinced that the two cases have similar origins. He points to the early years on Pitcairn, when 13 people were murdered – many in fights over women – before John Adams, the sole surviving mutineer, pacified the community with the help of the Bible. "This is the island that the gospel changed, but the changes were only superficial," Tosen says. "Deep down, they adhered to the mutineers' mentality. They must have known that their lifestyle was unacceptable, but it was too entrenched."

Glynn Christian, a direct descendant and biographer of Fletcher, blames "decades of neglect" by the British government. "There was never a police officer or anyone independent on the island, so these poor girls had no one to tell," says Christian, a former BBC television chef who lives in Auckland. "Pitcairn has been completely left to its own devices. If it were not so isolated, social attitudes would be different."

Yeah, sorry. Here's a well-written update that describes the social situation on the island as of 2004. Wikipedia also has a pretty thorough page on the trial here.

The 2004 trial concluded with guilty pleas/verdicts for six of the seven Pitcairn defendants. There was another trial in New Zealand in 2005 for six Pitcairn expatriates. I believe a total of 10 men served actual jail time (the last of them was released a year ago).

For the most part, the arguments of the defendants and their supporters on the island seem to have consisted primarily of (1) "We were framed," (2) "This is our culture, under threat from outsiders," (3) "Britain has no authority over us," and (4) "The girls liked it." Perhaps I've missed something, though.

I've been thinking, does this story just scrap the Biblical lesson? How can I look at this believe the Bible AND be intellectually honest?

Here's how: EVERY generation is responsible for their relationship with the LORD.

Look at Israel. After wandering for 40 years, Moses must reteach the law to the next generation. and how many times in the OT, do we see one generation turn back to the LORD, only to have the next one fall into the same error.

It happens over and over in the book of Judges.

And then you have King Josiah, who discovers that they have been neglecting the book of the Law of the LORD.

In the case of Pitcairn Island...I think that what happened to John Adams and the women and children with him was real, but the succeeding generations weren't faithful.

This is why the Bible puts so much stress on passing the truth on to our children.

That's my take anyway.

Sue,
I'm honored to have you here as a commenter and reader. I hope you'll come back!

Ever since I learned about Pitcairn Island just this week, I've dreamed about living there, even after I learned about the recent history. (But I don't think my wife and kids would want to live on a remote island in the Pacific. :-) I also don't know how to operate a longboat, so I'm afraid the men on the island wouldn't find me very useful. :-) I've been daydreaming about it, and I haven't been able to come up with a skill yet that would make the Town Council say, "Yes, come live here!" ;-)

My impression was that it would be very difficult to move there, since the town council has to allow it. Would you mind telling about how you came to move there? I'm really interested in the island. Still. It has captured my imagination, but I know that doesn't necessarily fit reality.

I'd love to hear more about "the lessons learned and recent developments." you referred to. Unfortunately I don't have the resources to go there and see for myself, so I've been scouring the internet for just that, and there doesn't seem to be anything recent.

You know the media...they only talk about the negative!

No, Sue, I don't believe in generalising and painting everyone with the same paintbrush anymore than you did when you said "people continue to concentrate on recent history".

Unfortunately, all I had to go on was the news stories...and from what I read at least some of the Pitcairn residents (is there a proper term? Pitcairners?) were generalising themselves when they said things like "that's the way we do things here" and "this is our culture".

I was taking them at their word when I said what you quote me as saying above.

That said, I'd love to learn more about Pitcairn Island from someone who know the real truth and not a distorted media version of it.

Would be willing to share?

If I'm wrong, say so. That's a fair standard. All I ask for is civility.

I apologize for lumping all the Pitcairn islanders in with the males who were having sex with girls. (Oh, and please forgive the generalization of the most recent post too. I didn't mean any harm by it. To refer back to the statement of Jesus' that you quoted, we are all sinners, and the call for each person of each generation to trust in Christ for themselves is for everyone, not just those on Pitcairn Island!)

I'd really love to hear your point of view. Please help us understand! If you can share some helpful information that would help us understand the real story, and the way things really are there, then I might even turn it into a real post, as opposed to it just being buried down here in the comment thread.

I'm really interested in the church there as well, if you can share more about it.

Thanks again, Sue! I'm glad you found us!