Pitcairners Now Prefer
p. 22 · Read in the full issue
Cash To Bartering
FOR more than 100 years the people of Pitcairn Island, descendants of the famous Bounty mutineers, have bartered with passing ships a few bunches of bananas, a dozen or so mangoes, bread fruit, and paw paws for a bag of flour, tobacco, or a pair of shoes, etc. Now, however, they demand to be paid in hard cash. They do not discriminate in terms of currency provided they get money they are content.
When the freighter Cornwallis arrived in Melbourne from America recently the crew told of their experience when they called at Pitcairn on their way to Aus tralia. Manning three large whaleboats given them by the New Zealand Govern ment, the islanders rowed out to the ves sel with baskets of limes, mangoes, oranges, and bananas. The fruit was hoisted aboard and the crew prepared to lower a bag of flour. But the Pitcairners flatly refused to have it, saying that they would not leave the Cornwallis without receiving money for their produce.
To humour them the officers supplied them with several American dollars and the hardy Islanders rowed back to shore thoroughly satisfied.