Newsmakers: Island on trial — the scandal that shocked the world

A tiny, isolated island in the Pacific — home to fewer than 50 people — was thrust into the global spotlight in 2004, when seven men, including the mayor, were put on trial over child sex abuse charges. Pitcairn Island, a British territory halfway between New Zealand and South America, was best known as the refuge of the HMS Bounty mutineers. Journalist Ewart Barnsley was among a handful of reporters who travelled thousands of kilometres to cover the trial. "It was just an incredible assignment," he told 1News. Reaching Pitcairn was no easy task. After flying from Auckland to Tahiti, then on to the Gambier Islands, journalists spent three days crossing the Pacific by ship, before transferring to longboats to get ashore. The island's population almost doubled during the trial. "There were more outsiders than locals," Barnsley said. "Judges, lawyers, police, doctors — it just went on and on." With no permanent court facilities, proceedings were held in the island's community hall, with victims giving evidence by video link from New Zealand, more than 4000 kilometres away. The allegations, which involved girls as young as five, shook the community and exposed a stark divide. Some islanders rejected the charges and put the behaviour down to local customs, while others believed the trial was long overdue. Barnsley said there was "real resentment" from some people. "There was some sort of feeling that this was a great conspiracy by the British government to try and close down the island. They saw it as outside interference. But others welcomed it." In the close confines of the island, journalists and the accused mixed in a way unheard of in most court cases. "We ended up in Bounty Bay one day and all the accused were there with their defence lawyers celebrating one of their birthdays, and they just invited us to come along," Barnsley said. "They wouldn't talk about the court case, but they talked about life on the island. On another occasion they wanted to take us out on the longboat." After years of investigation and legal challenges over jurisdiction, British authorities confirmed the law applied on Pitcairn. In October 2004, six of the seven men were found guilty on dozens of charges. A prison had to be built on the island to hold those convicted. Barnsley said it was one of the most confronting cases he covered in his career. "In many ways, this island was tearing itself apart just over the sort of thing that they couldn't protect their children," he said. "We were told that was one reason the population was so low, a lot of people just left because they were scared for the safety of their children."