Following the court martial of Captain William Bligh for loss of his ship BOUNTY, Captain Edward Edwards sailed on the PANDORA in an attempt to find the mutineers made famous by the Mutiny on the BOUNTY (in which Captain Bligh was set adrift in a small boat and remarkably managed to navigate the boat 4000 miles to safety).
After surviving both the mutiny and the court martial, Bligh was determined to find the BOUNTY and its remaining survivors. At his insistence, the Admiralty despatched the PANDORA to search for it but was unable to find any trace and was wrecked in the process.
A few survivors of the mutiny were picked up in Tahiti and confined on the ship in what is now referred to as 'Pandora's Box'. Those men survived the shipwreck only to be returned to England to face trial.
Today the wreck of the PANDORA (discovered in the 1980s) is regarded as the most significant wreck in the South Pacific, and extensive archaeological and recovery work is being done on the site, including recovering the bones of some sailors who went down with the ship.
Pic: Great Cabin on the ENDEAVOUR replica with the open fireplace. The design is based on one from the Pandora (see pic centre left).
3 comments:
Your post shows not only a fascinating glimpse into past history but gives readers a sense of how you research your stories. Lovely.
Nice post which Remarkably Bligh managed to navigate the boat 4000 miles to safety. After surviving both the mutiny and the court martial, Bligh was determined to find the BOUNTY and its remaining survivors. Thanks a lot for posting this article.
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