PITCAIRN

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 April 1933, Page 2

PITCAIRN

ISLANDERS’ CUSTOMS. The customs of the inhabitants of Pitcairn island —the lonely outpost in the Pacific made famous by the mutiny of the Bounty—were related by Mr. Charles Chauvel, the motion picture prdoucer, at the Millions Club, Sydney, last month. . Mr. Chauvel said he found the islanders extremely religious. Their principal recreation was to go to church. Visitors were not allowed to smoke. They would iiot dare to ppen a bottle of whisky or brandy; and even dress was a matter of far-reaching importance. Some of the women residents were so incensed at the visitors wearing shorts that, yielding to their entreaties, they changed their attire. There was a unique form of government there. On New Year’s Day the six members of the Upper House and the six members of the Lower House, as well as the magistrate, who controlled them like a patriach, wfere elected. The islanders lived on goat flesh and fish. Because of their isolation they were self-supporting. Cocoanuts and other fruits brought to the island by the crew of the Bounty were still growing, and the cocoanut was used to supply milk, butter and cream. The islanders, said Mr. Chauvel, believed with religious fervour that the end of the world was in sight, and for that, reason made no provision for the future. They were not planting young cocoanuts. They did not believe in storing up anything on earth for future use. At first their agriculural implements were made from the iron of the Bounty, but subsequently a shipment of farm implements arrived from England, which were still in use. “Apparently,” said Mr. Chauvel, “it is a place for freedom from nagging wives. I met a Scotsman there who had left his wife in New Zealand, and who boasted that she would have difficulty in finding him.” (Laughter.)