Inside world's loneliest island with 50 residents - they insist it's paradise
A woman living on an island with the smallest population in the world says there are no negatives to her remote life.
Torika Christian, 21, lives on the island of Pitcairn - a two-mile-long, one-mile-wide stretch of land where she spends her days fishing, diving, and hanging out with fellow residents.
According to Torika, Pitcairn is a "unique" place to live and while there are no negatives to it, she does wish she had access to a nail technician or hair salon "as every girl loves a bit of glam". The island, located halfway between New Zealand and Peru, offers free land and residency permits to migrants looking to join its tiny population of 50.
But locals are struggling to recruit new settlers, with just one application to move to the island received in the last decade. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Jacqui Christian, who grew up on Pitcairn said at the time: "We’ve been appealing for more people to boost the population. We’ve had many enquiries but only one person has applied to move to Pitcairn. The reality is that we don’t really have any jobs to offer. Islanders used to sell stamps to raise funds but, of course, stamp collecting is not as popular as it once was."
Torika, who documents her island life on TikTok, said: "If I wake up in the morning and the weather is good I can go fishing. If it is raining, I can go gardening or just stay home. Work life here is very flexible." With no harbour or airstrip, the island can only be accessed on two steel vessels which carry people and cargo to and from ships offshore.
Boffins identify best countries to survive nuclear apocalypse or asteroid strike
The island was settled by the HMS Bounty mutineers in 1790, who found it to be an ideal haven with plenty of food, water, and fertile land. Pitcairn is now the UK's only overseas territory in the region. Torika is an eighth-generation descendant of an English sailor, Fletcher Christian, who seized command of the Royal Navy vessel HMS Bounty and led nine Englishmen and 18 native Tahitian men and women to the island. Jacqui is a seventh-generation descendant of the same man. Many of the other island inhabitants are also related to the mutinous sailors.
Torika said anyone wanting to relocate to Pitcairn "definitely [has] to be comfortable with isolation", adding "Growing up here on the island, the isolation was something that I never really took notice of until I spent my high school years in New Zealand. "In New Zealand, I discovered that there is a way out whenever you like. You could jump on a plane to Australia, America, or wherever you wanted to."
After five years of school in New Zealand Torika returned to Pitcairn as she began to feel homesick. She now helps run her family business Pitkern Islen Enterprises, selling handmade wood carvings and miniature ships online, while working part-time for the government and off-loading cargo ships. While she’s able to sustain herself with her income, she said "On a good day we would rather enjoy our home and the nature god blessed us with".
Anyone wanting to relocate to Pitcairn has to be 'comfortable with isolation' (Getty Images)Fellow residents use a supply ship that runs between Pitcairn and the Gambier Islands every week. Torika explains: "This arrives on a Thursday and departs on a Sunday taking tourists and locals. The return cost for tourists is NZ$5,500 (£2,700). If you don't catch that Sunday ship then you have to wait another week. However, sometimes the wait can be up to five weeks as the same ship sails to New Zealand about every three months to bring mail, food supplies, medical supplies, and general cargo."
Locals can purchase some supplies on the island, such as warehouse parts and frozen food at a small general store - or they may fish for their dinner in the surrounding waters. Other facilities include an old prison which has been converted into a tourism office, a library, a gym, and a medical centre with a dental room. Those in need of greater medical attention usually go to Tahiti. The island’s only school is said to be closed as the two local children who attended are now being tutored overseas.
Torika said Pitcairn desperately needed more residents for it to survive, "but we need willing, community-friendly people. Not people who want to come here and just isolate themselves from the community and be alone. For someone moving to Pitcairn, you have to be comfortable with a small community, the fact that someone knows where you're going all the time just by the sound of your quad is the reality of a small island community - that could be looked on as a bad thing but its really something that I don't notice.
"Living here also gives you a real sense of independence. On Pitcairn you are everything: the plumber, the electrician, the mechanic, the builder." She added that Pitcairn people are also "very hospitable" and willing to help where they can.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
