Pitcairn Island was sighted on 3 July 1767 by the crew of the British sloop HMS Swallow, commanded by Captain Philip Carteret. The island was named after Midshipman Robert Pitcairn, a fifteen-year-old crew member who was the first to sight the island. Robert Pitcairn was a son of British Marine Major John Pitcairn, who later was killed at the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolution.

British colony.

Traditionally, Pitcairn Islanders consider that their islands "officially" became a British colony on 30 November 1838, at the same time becoming one of the first territories to extend voting rights to women. By the mid-1850s, the Pitcairn community was outgrowing the island; its leaders appealed to the British government for assistance, and were offered Norfolk Island. On 3 May 1856, the entire population of 193 people set sail for Norfolk on board the Morayshire, arriving on 8 June after a difficult five-week trip. However, just eighteen months later, seventeen of the Pitcairn Islanders returned to their home island, and another 27 followed five years later.

The coat of arms of the Pitcairn Islands was granted by royal warrant dated4 November 1969. The flag of the Pitcairn Islands was adopted on 2 April 1984. The design was suggested by the Pitcairn Island Council in December 1980 and approved by Queen Elizabeth II in April 1984. The flag was flown on Pitcairn for the first time in May 1984, during a visit by the then Governor, Sir Richard Stratton (1980—‘84)

Arms: Per chevron Azure and Vert a chevron Or, in base the anchor and Bible from HMS Bounty.

Crest: On a helmet lambrequined Or and Vert a flowering slip of miro (Thespesia populnea –Malvaceæ) and a Pitcairn Island wheelbarrow proper.[1]

Governor’s flag

Police

Sleeve patch