Miracle on Pitcairn

you Guinea men is part of this cycle of life foreman autocracy the great prophecies of the Bible bring present day events into focus my mystery pilots hello I'm Alan Lindsay and welcome to South Pacific classics it's great to be with you in this show we'll travel to one of the most remote islands on earth halfway between New Zealand and Peru the hiding place of the mutineers in the 18th century I'm speaking of course of Pitcairn Island please relax and enjoy Miracle on Pitkin in South Pacific waters in 1789 Fletcher Christian led a mutinous crew against Captain William Bligh who was trained under the famous navigator Captain Cook seized his Majesty's ship bounty and all her stores the hated Bligh and eighteen loyal men were set adrift in a small boat with little water and provisions thus was perpetrated the most famous mutiny of all time with Captain Bligh out of the way the mutineers returned to Tahiti here on beautiful Tahiti they took wives from among the island women and 16 of the English sailors elected to remain but Fletcher Christian had other plans fearing capture and death of the yardarms he took eight of the mutineers together with their wives and nine other Polynesian men and women and set sail in search of a more remote paradise early in 1790 the bounty stood off Pitcairn Island two square miles of uninhabited volcanic rock a thousand miles from Tahiti and as lonely a spot as could be found on earth stripping the bounty of all valuables they committed her to flames with mixed emotions that motley crew watched their only means of escape burn to the waterline and sink in the turbulent waters of what is now known as bounty Bay now nearly 200 years after the Mountie mutineers landed their ill-gotten possessions on this dangerous Shore they're hearty descendants continue to live in lonely exile the Pitcairn's village Adams town is perched high above the island's rocky cliffs but the peaceful solitude of this tiny island in the vast Civic follows a story of Vice tragedy and murder unbelievable in its horror hidden from the sea the first settlers built rough huts in a jungle filled Valley and for a year or two the mixed community lived in comparative peace then one day while gathering birds eggs on these precipitous cliffs John Williams wife slipped and fell to her death on the rocks below but Williams had no intention of remaining wifeless soon he had stolen the spouse of one of the Polynesians touching off bitter hatreds and a massacre that took the lives of many in a short space of time but one man remained of the 15 who had come on the bounty he was John Adams now a man old before his time he searched the horizon for passing ships half in fear half and hope but they never came torn with remorse and despair Adams thought of the women left to his care and of the children some of them his own growing up like savages then he remembered the bounty Bible hidden in an old sea chest he found it and stumbled haltingly through the salt stained pages the toughened murderer realized that here lay the only hope for the remnant of the colony Adams had had a little schooling and now as he read taught himself to read he became a changed man such was the power of the book his one desire was to atone for the acts which had helped bring the Pitcairn community to an almost hopeless state using the Bounty Bible as his textbook he held daily classes teaching the Tahitian women and the children of the mutineers to read and write and to love the virtues of the Christian life and for a change that book made in place of fear there was trust the terrors of the early years were remembered only as a nightmare in the bright dawn of a new day then in 1809 after nearly 20 years the American ship Topaz called at supposedly uninhabited Pitcairn captain Mayhew Folger was surprised to find a peaceful god-fearing community here living under the patriarchal rule of John Adams the reformed mutineer was not taken to trial but was allowed to end his days with his little flock which under God he had civilized he ended his days on the island he had learned to love when Fletcher Christian and his fellow fugitives landed at bounty Bay and beat a trail to the top of the cliff they had found the only reasonable landing place on rugged Pitcairn now nearly two centuries later the old landing place is still in use and from the sheds to Adamstown you follow Fletcher Christians trail today the Hardy Islanders fight to see their forefathers fought to see that is both their prison and their link with the outside world it lashes and crumbles their rocky shores and frequent storms smash their wooden landing stage hard physical labor is the pit cameras light whether it be hauling logs to repair the skid way or battling the waves in their 38 foot quail boats with ages ranging from 18 to 80 these men are rugged they have to be they build their own log boats and take them into seas that would make all but the stoutest hearts quail an overseas ship could arrive at midnight or in foul weather and it's a call to the oars for an hour or twos contact with civilization descended from the bounty mutineers and their Polynesian wives these muscular he men surely have a double inheritance in boats and the sea they have an inheritance - in this burden island with its rocky escarpment some deep ravines but even here maybe found the machines and electronics of the 20th century Pitcairn's radio station stands 900 feet above the sea on a windswept Ridge although it has a diesel-electric plant a wind-driven generator helps keep batteries charged and saves on fuel here tom christian is on duty this morning Tom receives a radio telegram from the South Pacific office in Fiji asking for a report on Pitcairn's new post office money is a little use on Pitcairn well there is no corner store where you may spend a dime or two but at the village square there is a little wooden post office Pitcairn's colorful postage stamps are known to collectors around the world with a population of about 100 persons this must be the smallest country in the world to issue its own stamps a little 10 by 10 post office has surely seen better days and what's this talk about a new building that's what interests Fiji and it's why they sent the telegram now being delivered to postmaster Oscar Clark please report progress new post office it seems that the new post office is something of a joke around here but joke or not Adams town does appear to need a new post office over the years termites and dry rot have done their worst the tropics are not kind to wooden buildings and a new building has been started but there's just one problem lumber supplies have run out and work has been halted on the small island all building materials have to be imported it's merely a matter of waiting for a ship several months who knows local timber suitable for building construction was soon cut out of these wooded glades by the early settlers now only firewood remains but there's plenty of that to the inhabitants of Pitcairn life is a steady round of doing the things that mean survival and cutting firewood is one of them the islands only means of transport a sturdy wheelbarrow of local design is used to wheel the firewood to the village Tom's mother flora bakes in an old stone oven that dates back to the early days a roaring fire is used to preheat the stone slabs before the food is put in according to husband Fred this oven bakes the best bread in the world best on Pitcairn anyway Fred Christian over 80 has one of the oldest houses on the island built right where his great-great grandpappy Fletcher Christian built his first check so long ago Fred's shoeless feet have tramped the trails first blazed by the mutineers themselves trails stained with blood but now there is peace on the island and peace in Fred's heart Lilly Warren could tell some stories to come hail come hurricane for more than 50 years she was the islands nurse and Midwife for these selfless services she was honored by queen elizabeth ii with the order of the british empire at 85 lily is Pitcairn's oldest inhabitant these are the old faces weathered by the passing of many summers but still battling on their homes are old too in need of a coat of paint maybe but there's little money for fancy trimmings here however there are no mortgages falling due no monthly rents to be paid no income tax department there are no traffic problems no overworked police force no overflowing Penitentiary's but you can't make a call on the telephone it may be an early model but it still works and most homes are connected to this party line system besides a refrigerator daughter Thelma has a modern food mixer all run from diesel driven home lighting plants while some Island housewives have these newfangled washing machines others stick to the old and fried method of beating the clothes with a wooden pallet high on the hillside in the shadow of 1000 foot Gannett Ridge women are picking wild beams nature is lavish here and the rich volcanic soil produces an almost endless variety of food some kneading little or no cultivation several generations have worked the soil without artificial fertilizers and it still crops well sweet potatoes are a staple item tropical fruits grow in abundance here giant papayas of delicious flavor boy wouldn't enjoy collecting them bathed by the Southern Sun citrus fruits grow to perfection grapefruit oranges and mandarins I claimed as the sweetest in the world local government on Pitcairn consists of an island Council which operates under guidance from Fiji John Christian is currently chief magistrate highest position on the island then there's cheerful Ben Christian island secretary and in the cap Vernon young chief of police he is never made an arrest the policeman with the easiest job in the world for all these people are sincere Christians all work of a public nature is carried out equally by the able-bodied men of the community everybody pitches in on such jobs as handling cargo at the landing a ship has brought a consignment of oil from Panama fuel for the islands generators electricity is one of the few luxuries that the Pitcairn is enjoy the cargo was discharged into the longboats a mile or so offshore as there is no safe Anchorage for ships now it must be unloaded at bounty Bay it's back-breaking work Adams town is about 300 feet above sea level and much of the cargo from the landing is hauled to the cliff edge by aerial cable way powered by diesel winch but once again manpower is needed as barrels of fuel are rolled to respective owners engine rooms it's a matter of you help me and I'll help you meanwhile as they rest from heavy labor the Pitcairn errs are not idle they spend every spare moment carving and whittling wooden curios to sell to passengers on passing ships there are fancy flying fish turtles and birds all cunningly and skillfully carved these quaint curios have found their way to almost as many countries as have the Pitcairn stamps as they carve they scan the horizon for passing ships and think of the trade that will mean a little money in their pockets the women folk have their hand crafts too colorful baskets fans and Sun bonnets woven from the dried leaf of the indigenous and Danis palm their fingers are always busy for a few baskets old can mean a new dress maybe for some imported luxury for their homes their children have to be clothed and school uniforms made a modern well-equipped school with a teacher from New Zealand cares for the education of the rising generation their daily ration of milk comes from cans there are no cows on tiny Pitcairn these are bright healthy youngsters as full of fun as children anywhere in the world they learn arithmetic and spelling and wish they were down swimming in the bay and they learn a far-off places most of them will never see over on the seat above bounty Bay Parkin Christian and other old timers are reminiscing about the good old days when the sailing ships called when there was no radio and it could take 18 months to get an answer to a letter they can remember when John tey an American missionary landed on Pitcairn with new ideas about the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath these were stirring times the old bounty Bible still in use on the island had given them a deep and abiding faith and Jonte found the people eagerly waiting further instruction from the good book soon the whole population had accepted the Bible Sabbath and other ideals presented and joined the worldwide community of the seventh-day Adventist Church following tazed visit a fine schooner was built and fitted up as a missionary ship and named the Pitcairn this Adventist ship made many trips to the South Seas in those days when Christian missions were being established in these areas for nearly eight decades the Pitkin Bell has called the people to worship the new way of life free from the use of tobacco and alcohol has brought peace and happiness to the sons of the Newton ears then join our happy crew we're bound for Kenan Shore the captain says there's room for you and room for millions more there is no resident physician on Pitcairn but a trained nurse is usually in attendance here mrs. WG Ferriss wife of the church pastor is on duty in the medical clinic surgeons of passing ships contacted by radio have often given help in case of emergency Pitcairn is however self-sufficient in the dental field Elwin Christian did a short course in New Zealand besides fillings and extractions he can make a snappy set of dentures this young fellow obviously has his own teeth as he chews sugarcane but it takes steel teeth to scrape coconut for Little Miss Browns pussycat lucky cat at last a ship is approaching a ship with mail and cargo for this lonely island Tom contacts her through the radio telephone and is notified of expected time of arrival he phones the news through to the village Bradley rings the bell five rings a ship is coming now the village goes into action long before the expected ship is visible on the horizon the people begin to arrive at the launching place carrying baskets of trade goods and souvenirs not everybody trades on every ship if your name is not down for this ship you get to trade on the next one that's how it goes all is excitement as the long boats are launched shouted orders and quick repartee accompany the boats as they go slithering into the bay now they're quickly loaded with baskets of curios and fruits season crewmen take their places at the oars and pull the boats out through the foaming surf they seem to have to wait for a temporary lull in the waves yes sometimes the sea is kind but usually it's dangerous boats have been capsized just getting out of bounty Bay a diesel-powered launch is the last to leave the harbor and fight its way to the open sea it will cast a line and tow the others out to the ship not till then will the men pull in the oars Pitcairn's rugged coastline and lack of harbour facilities make an offshore meeting and necessity so year after year the danger the daring and the adventure of the launching and the trip to the ship are just part of the privilege of rubbing shoulders with the outside world baskets hanging on arms they scramble up the swaying rope ladder passengers show a keen interest in the Pitkin people and their curios and the sale of these hand crafts is the main source of income it gives the money for toothpaste for offerings or even a transistor radio old Fred loves to visit the ships are you really descended from Fletcher Christian is a query that he has answered many times all is a scene of busy activity as long-awaited supplies are loaded into the island boats nobody is in a hurry here after all the passengers must have a little time for trading and talking with the descendants of the mutineers at last the cargo is discharged the big ship goes on its way and the heavily laden longboats returned to the island accompanied by the singing of the Pitcairn er the excitement is over but the toil of hauling these seven ton boats out of the bay and into the shelter of the sheds requires block-and-tackle and all available manpower and the women lend their weight to the ropes because of lack of shelter and the heavy seas which pound bounty Bay the boats are never left in the harbor overnight a thousand times 2,000 times the boats have been launched and as many times backs have bent to the task of bringing them back to safety up at the square its share-out time the ship is given a sack of flour and a supply of potatoes in exchange for island fruits 32 families collect an equal portion foreign Pitcairn all take part in the labor and all share in the rewards at last the new work on the new post office can proceed but alas progress is short-lived checking plans the builders find that some important Timbers have not arrived well maybe they'll come on the next ship let's be patient some day the island will have a new post office now it's school holidays with plenty of ways of making fun so the day is drift by the new age has brought new gadgets new entertainments new labor-saving devices but the vast sea will always be there and Pitcairn will always have its own brand of Solitude there will always be work to do in the gardens there will always be heavy loads to bear and the need for teamwork and brotherly help as long as the fit Kanner's are on their island and what of the future will this boy one day fly a real aeroplane and leave his Island far behind what are this girl's dreams will she bear her children on a faraway strand and her garden swing be forever deserted sometimes the old people wonder nobody knows the answer for sure but this they do know these are the rocks and the trails and the trees that they love and as long as the ships come the people will go out to meet them travelers from far-off lands will meet this hardy breed they will see their courage and simple faith but to really understand these people we must understand the tremendous change that was wrought by the book John Adams found the message of that book has molded their destinies and given an eternal hope to the people of lonely Pitcairn the influence of the book will never end you you I hope you enjoyed Miracle on Pitkin thanks for your company I'm Alan Lindsey see you next time on South Pacific classics you

Channel: Adventist Media

Views: 66,058

Rating: 4.5670996 out of 5

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Id: fzFngytruNU

Length: 28min 34sec (1714 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 20 2016