Henderson Island

Henderson Island

Henderson Island is situated in the Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific Ocean and is the largest island in the group, with an area of 37.3 km². It is also one of the most isolated islands in the South Pacific. In 1902, it became part of the British Pitcairn Islands dependency. Henderson Island is one of the best-preserved examples of an elevated atoll coral island ecosystem in the world. Compared to other atoll islands, it has experienced relatively low disturbance, making this preservation particularly notable.

Henderson Island is one of the most remote islands in the South Pacific and the largest in the Pitcairn Islands of the Pacific. Covering an area of 37.3 square kilometers, it has experienced less human interference than other atoll islands, thus preserving the world’s finest elevated atoll coral island ecosystem. The significance of Henderson Island has been recognized by international organizations and individuals. In accordance with Natural Heritage criteria N (III) and (IV), it was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1988.

Due to its remote location and harsh natural environment, Henderson Island remains an undisturbed environment. The island is well known for its ten endemic plant species and four endemic bird species.

Archaeologists believe that Polynesians were the earliest inhabitants of the Pitcairn Islands, with evidence of their presence dating back as late as the 15th century. However, when Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernandes de Queirós discovered the islands, they were uninhabited. In 1767, British sailor Philip Carteret rediscovered the islands and named them after himself, with Henderson Island being the largest.

On January 15, 1790, nine mutineers from the Bounty and their Tahitian companions fled to the island. They included the mutiny leader, the ship’s first mate Fletcher Christian, eight other crew members, six Tahitian men, and twelve Tahitian women. They offloaded all supplies from the Bounty and then set the ship on fire. The wreckage of the Bounty can still be seen on the ocean floor.

On the island, the crew quickly descended into internal conflict. Coupled with disease, by 1800 only John Adams, one of the mutineers, had survived. In 1814, the British Navy rediscovered the island but, moved by the story of the inhabitants, decided not to arrest the last remaining mutineer.

In 1838, the island officially became a British colony. By the mid-1850s, the population had grown to a point that the island could no longer sustain, so the residents appealed to Queen Victoria for help. The Queen approved their relocation to Norfolk Island. On May 3, 1856, all 193 inhabitants began the move. However, 18 months later, 17 of them returned to the Pitcairn Islands, and five years after that, 27 more came back.

In 1937, the island’s population reached a historic high of 233 people, after which large-scale emigration began, mostly to nearby New Zealand, bringing the population down to around 50.