Pitcairn Islands Guide

1200 to 1500

Polynesian voyagers pass through these islands

1606

Henderson Island sighted by Quiros expedition

1767

Pitcairn discovered by Captain Carteret

1774

Captain Cook discovers Norfolk Island

1790

Bounty mutineers and 19 Tahitian arrive on Pitcairn

1808

American seal-hunting ship contacts Pitcairn

1814

Two British warships call at Pitcairn

1819

Re-discovery of Henderson Island by Captain Henderson

1829

Death of John Adams, the last mutineer

1831

Failed attempt to resettle the Pitcairners on Tahiti

1838

Pitcairn becomes a British colony

1856

British resettle the Pitcairners on Norfolk Island

1858

Some Pitcairners return from Norfolk Island

1886

Pitcairners adopt Seventh Day Adventist religion

1898

Jurisdiction of Western Pacific High Commissioner

1902

Britain annexes Oeno, Henderson, and Ducie islands

1938

Oeno, Henderson, and Ducie joined to Pitcairn

1940

First Pitcairn postage stamps issued

1948

A prefabricated school is erected on Pitcairn

1952

Juridiction of the Governor of Fiji begins

1964

Ten-member Island Council created

1967

Public accounts switched from pounds to NZ dollars

1970

Queen Elizabeth II appoints a Governor of Pitcairn

1988

Henderson Island declared a World Heritage Site

1998

The Pitcairners become British citizens

2004

First group rape trial on Pitcairn