Relics of The Bounty: where are they?

Several times a week on television, ordinary people with extraordinary treasures parade before us at the popular “Antique Road Show.” Apparently, the general public has an inexhaustible supply of collectible furniture, glass, paintings and other curiosities. And every expert appraiser on the show wants to know the personal story behind every artifact, whether it’s a Chippendale chair (c.1774), a Boston Hutch (c.1800), a Hunting Helmut Eskimo (c.1825), or a Business Card. Babe Ruth baseball (circa 1927). With the abundance of valuable pieces that the Americans have, no one seems to have a relic of the HMS Bounty, the most famous ship of the mutiny. So where are they?

HMS Bounty, which left Plymouth England bound for Tahiti, was carrying a cargo of trinkets for trade that included 100 pounds of glass beads, 2808 axes, 168 mirrors, 72 shirts, 576 cheap knives, 1,000 pounds of nails and various boxes of saws. , drills and files.

In 1789, when the United States was just a teenager, Lieutenant Fletcher Christian and eight mutineers stole an armed transport ship from the British Royal Navy, and for two months they combed the South Pacific Ocean in search of a home. Desperate, they sailed east and found Pitcairn Island on January 15, 1790. And it was there, fearing retaliation from a navy known for not giving up on any lost ships, they sank it on the rocks of Bounty Bay, They cannibalized it in parts, and burned it to the waterline.

HMS Bounty was originally a merchant ship purchased by the Royal Navy and equipped with four guns, 6 revolving guns, a greenhouse, copper cladding for her hull and renamed the Bounty. In 1805, an American frigate discovered the mutineers on the island, but by then Britain was preoccupied with fighting Napoleon.

Today there are 44 inhabitants of Pitcairn Island, and only two relics of the mothership on public display. In the town square, which consists of the post office, courthouse, and church, there is a 12-foot aft anchor mounted on a concrete pedestal. It was this anchor that Fletcher Christian dropped to control his fatal run against the rocks. These days, the children of Pitcairn play at anchor with no apparent sense of the heritage in store for them.

The other treasure, the Bounty Bible, is on public display in the only church on the island. It was not actually the ship’s Bible, but a gift from Mrs. Christian to her son Fletcher, and it was among her belongings brought ashore in her trunk. (Where is the chest today?)

In 1839, the Bible was given to a Massachusetts sailor and eventually passed into the hands of the Connecticut Historical Society. In 1950 it was a rebound in London and returned to its rightful home on the island. Today it is used for special religious ceremonies and is in a church display case. (Hopefully this relic doesn’t disappear again)

In 1845, two of the four 1,200 lb. cannons were raised. One of them continues to rust in the front yard of an islander’s home, while the other has been taken to Norfolk Island.

In 1963, a great-great-great-grandson of Fletcher Christian recovered the Bounty’s rudder and many copper hull accessories from the ocean floor, most of which have disappeared.

In 1970, the third cannon was recovered and has since disappeared. Finally, in 1999, an Australian archaeologist named Nigel Erskine raised the last cannon. When Erskine set out to retrieve the cannon, he thought he had to ask the British Admiralty for permission, because, as he said, “they never relinquish their rights to their ships.” But the island’s High Commissioner told him: “We took the ship in 1789. They have nothing to do with it.”

Today there are very few artifacts left from the Bounty; three cannons, an anchor, some copper, a bible, and Fletcher Christian’s original island seem to be the only remnants left of an incredible tale of mutiny and survival. In modern times, the economy of the Bounty descendants is strongly tied to stamp collecting. The island has only a telephone, a fax machine, and a lone generator that runs four hours a day. One might wonder what the dealers at the “Antique Road Show” would price these items on. Perhaps it is fitting that most of the relics are missing, or wasted, or like HMS Bounty, stolen. Either way, the Bounty tale remains rich in history and sparse in artifacts.