It has never ceased to amaze me how such a lost civilisation in the middle of nowhere can survive. 47 inhabitants, no port, no airstrip, no railway, not very much.

But as I'm sure you'd know it's not the paradise that it sounds. Obviously the rape cases in which the men, one of whom was the Mayor of the Islands, said it was common practice for centuries to have intercourse with girls as young as twelve.

And most of the people on the island are inbred. Most marry cousins.

What should we do with Pitcairn? Should the British just get rid of the island and ship the people off to Tahiti or New Zealand? Or are these people too far institutionalised to move away?

It's a unique case, that's for sure.

Leave them be. Its a little anomoli in the middle of nowhere and in time will cease to exist. YOunger members will want to move away and numbers will dwindle to nowt. Or they all get washed away when theres a big typhoon. And as a New Zealnader would they want a load of in breds turnig up en mass ?

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Nothing says "Obey Me" like a bloody head on a fence post!

Alot of them go to New Zealand anyway, either on holidays or to further education. It remains a popular holiday destination for the Islanders.

I'd like to go there actually for a short period of time and see how things work. Only problem is getting out, you've gotto send a sattelite signal and wait for however long it takes for a ship to collect you. Could be days, weeks, or even months.

I guess you're right on the last point, and I also guess you can't forcibly remove people from their homes.

Good article on Pitcairn here. Another thing is RBLC, what happens if somebody suffers a serious and immediately life threatening medical condition?

I guess the answer is that they either leave the Island or they die. They have chosen to live in an environment with no facilities, hospitals, police, laws etc. As you say, you can leave the community when the next ship comes along - anyone who doesn't like it could leave.

However, with only 47 inhabitants, it behoves the UK government to supply the money to re-house any that choose to leave, either here or to fund a move to the US or NZ.

This is an offer that should especially apply to the vulnerable young women involved in the recent case. At the end of the day, having read up a bit on the island and it's community, there seems to be a certain level of acceptance and resignation to living there. Therefore, give those who wish to leave, the funding and facilities to do so - and those who wish to stay should be left alone.

It would be nice to see the British Government donating a few generaters, laptops, satelitte links, fuel and medical supplys etc to the population though - after all, it is only 40-odd people.

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I'll have the Mouseburger please, with a side of Goldfish.

I think if there are people who want to leave, then let them leave and the Brits or whoever give them somewhere to live.

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Watch this for a perfect about.
James May

Pitcairn costs someone, somewhere, a heck of a lot of money to run. It aint cheap running an island in the middle of nowhere...

One question how can i get there? Just kidding it sounds like a wierd place they should make it into a holiday resort for sickos and petofiles. Just let them stay there if they want but they need to do something about the problems like the sexual assaults and if anyone wants to leave help them get out of there and start a new life in another country with more oppotunities.

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Bill Ponsford - The only one who could play in Bradman’s company and make it a duet.

can i just say that while 'shipping them off to NZ' might sound like a good idea . . . we prefer to import non-inbred, non child molesting pacific islanders (preferably those who are good at rugby)

i'm sure the pitcairns are closer to chile than here

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never believe anything until it is officially denied . . .

Actually, reading about the Island, it sounds like the perfect Penal Colony for me.

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I'll have the Mouseburger please, with a side of Goldfish.