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Despatch from Capt. Sandilands to
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His Majesty's Sloop, Comet, at Sea, April 9th, 1831.
Sir,—On my arrival at Port Jackson, in the month of October last, I had the honour to make known to your Excellency that I was expecially ordered by Rear-Admiral Sir Edward W. C. R. Owen to communicate and arrange with your Excellency for the removal of the inhabitants of Pitcairn's Island, or such of them as should be found desirous of removing, to the island of Otaheite; which service having been executed, I have now the honour to detail to your Excellency my proceedings in this duty. Your Excellency having placed the colonial government barque Lucy Anne under my orders, I sailed to the Bay of Islands, in New Zealand, on the 27th December last, at which port we arrived on the 21st January, and both ships having completed their water, we put to sea on the 26th, and arrived off Pitcairn's Island on the 28th February. Attended by three natives, who came off in their canoes, I landed in the afternoon, accompanied by Captain Walpole, of his Majesty's 39th regiment. Having made known to the inhabitants the object of the expedition, on the second day I assembled all the heads of families, and having most fully explained to them that they were perfectly at liberty either to remove to Otaheite or remain where they were, I directed Mr. Henry, whom your Excellency apointed to proceed with me, to give them every information in his power, and which he was well calculated to afford, being a son of one of the missionaries of Otaheite, a native of that island, and having been present at the meeting held by King Pomarre and his chiefs, when the promise of land, protection, and assistance was made to Captain Laws, of H.M.S. Satellite, as set forth in his letter to the Secretary of the Admiralty. One-half of the inhabitants gave in their names immediately as resolved to remove to Otaheite, and on the following day the remainder came to the same resolution. |
The whole immediately commenced preparations for embarking, by carrying down to the landing-place potatoes, yams, fruit, and household goods, which were continued to be embarked on board the ships until the 7th, on the morning of which day all the inhabitants were embarked without incident on board the Lucy Anne, being eighty-seven in number, men, women, and children. Your Excellency will perceive that this service was performed in the short space of four days, the merit of which is entirely due to Lieutenant Peake of this ship, whose zeal and judgment in directing the embarkation, under the great natural difficulties he had to contend with in the face of a most perilous surf, entitle this officer most fuly to this public expression of my acknowledgments. I arrived at Otaheite, and anchored at Papute harbour, on the 23d March, and found the island under the government of Queen Pomarre, daughter of the late King Pomarre, and I regret to say, on the eve of a civil war. This, however, I have great pleasure in making known to your Excellency, terminated without the opposing parties coming to actual hostilities; and previous to my leaving Otaheite, the governors of provinces, and the chiefs opposed to the queen and her party, having amicably arranged their differences, had retired from Papiete to their own provinces with their numerous followers. Although the island was in this distracted state on my arrival, I was greatly relieved from anxiety respecting the inhabitants of Pitcairn's Island, by receiving from the queen and chiefs on the one side, and the hostile party on the other, assurances that the promises made by her father, the late King Pomarre and them, would be most strictly executed. I therefore, at the request of the queen, landed the people of Pitcairn's Island at the residence of the queen, about three miles from the anchorage, where houses were provided for them; and at this place they remained until the contending parties had returned to their houses, when the queen gave up for their use a large dwelling belonging to herself in the town of Papute. Previous to their removing, also, a beautiful tract of very rich land, belonging to the government of the island, was well examined by the missionaries, myself, Captain Walpole, and Lieutenant Peake, and determined to be a very eligible territory for their future residence. The queen, at the same time, assembled the cheifs of districts in my presence, and formally communicated to them that she had assigned this land to the inhabitants of Pitcairn's Island, giving orders also, that her people should immediately commence the construction of houses when they had made selection of a site |
suited for a town; and the materials for erecting these houses were in a considerable state of forwardnes on my departure. It will be gratifying to your Excellency to know, that a feeling of great regard was universally manifested to the strangers by the Otaheitans, who anxiously endeavoured to find those among them who were their relatives; in which they were often successful: in one instance, in particular, a woman having come a considerable distance and discovered, in one of the four remaining Otaheitan women, a sister. I mention this in order to show on what grounds I conclude that the change from Pitcairn's Island to Otaheite will be attended with advantage to them. On my arrival off Pitcairn's Island, I found them exceedinglyn distressed for water, what they had even being procured with great difficulty; and although the fertility of the island has reared a comparatively numerous population up to the present period, yet this very circumstance, from their increasing numbers, redered the necessity for emigration more obvious. I have also the honour to report to your Excellency, that in order to provide for the subsistence of the inhabitants of Pitcairn's Island, I concluded a contract for their supply with a sufficient quantity of food for the space of six months, at the expiration of which time, from the information I obtained, they will be in a situation to support themselves on the produce of their own grant of land. Having had no instructions on this head, and his Majesty's vice-consul for the Society Islands being absent, I placed this contract under the superintendence of the three missionaries nearest to their residence, who all agreed most willingly to see it faithfully executed; and for liquidating its expense, I allowed bills to be drawn on the colonial government of New South Wales, addressed to the honourable the colonial secretary; which mode of repaying the contractor I was forced to adopt, in the absence of any government naval-agent in New South Wales, or nearer than the East Indies.
I have the honour, &c,
A. A. Sandilands. . . . .
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Source.
John Barrow Esq., F.R.S.
This article was transcribed from the volume available at Google Books.
Last updated by Tom Tyler, Denver, CO, USA, Jun 20 2022.
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