How many people live on Pitcairn Island today?
Most of the fewer than 50 permanent inhabitants of Pitcairn Island are direct descendants of the mutineers and their Polynesian wives. Several attempts have been made to relocate the Pitcairners. During a drought in 1831, they were evacuated to Tahiti, but all returned to Pitcairn within a year. In 1856, all 193 islanders were taken to the former penal colony at Norfolk Island near Australia, which seemed easier to administer and supply (a baby was born on the voyage, so 194 Pitcairners actually arrived). Two families returned to Pitcairn in 1858, followed by four more in 1864. The present island population (excluding temporary residents) is descended from those four families. There are also large numbers of Pitcairn people on Norfolk Island and in New Zealand and Australia.
