Pitcairn Island has more "place names" per square acre than anywhere else I know of!! Each memorializes a story, some long forgotten, of joys, sorrows and people long gone.

Source:Hardwicke Knight, SURVEY, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. 1964.

For example: "Tom Off," probably refers to someone being swept off the rocks into the sea; "Where Dick Fall," probably refers to a plunge to the death of several hundred feet while gathering gull eggs from nests on the cliff face; and "Down the God' refers to when the mutineers discovered a prehistoric Polynesian sacred altar and tossed a stone statue over the cliff into the sea in a pious rage. Adamstown, with its 15 or so occupied houses is the only village.

Visiting some of the island's locales is hard work as over 80% of pitcairn is almost vertical!! Let's start at The Edge which looks over Bounty Bay.

In the foreground is The Landing with jetty and boatsheds visible. The rock spire on the left is Tall Point. The high, distinctly pointed peak at the far right is Ship Landing Point. The view from the top is spectacular.

Below us clustered the workshop and generator buildings, then "Big Fence," the home of Steve and Olive and the village of Adamstown. Further back is Pulau and the 900'+ high "Look Out! Peak."

On the eastern tip of the island is St.Paul's Point with its lovely Big Pool.

Useful Links:

http://www.government.pn/homepage.htm
http://www.lareau.org/pitc.html
http://www.pisg.org
http://library.puc.edu/pitcairn/

Intoducing Pitcairn Getting There More Pitcairn Places Pitcairn People Pitcairn Crafts Pitcairn in 1957