Henderson Island-Links and Books

The only 2 other websites on the Internet about Henderson Island are Henderson Island, this site is maintained by Lynn Garry Salmon, and Henderson Island UNESCO World Heritage Website about Henderson Island. Some of the references below were collected by Lynn Salmon

I contacted Paul J. Lareau who runs thePitcairn Island Website and asked him for information about Henderson Island. This is what he replied:

I'm sure you're aware of the 1983 attempt by Arthur M. "Smiley" Ratliff to purchase or lease Henderson, put an airstrip on it, and turn it into a habitable place, making Pitcairn itself more viable. The idea was ultimately scotched by International ecological groups who felt it would destroy too many unique species of animals and plants.

That is one of the stories mentioned in Spencer Murray's "Pitcairn Island: the First 200 Years". Spence also wrote another small book, "The Five Neighbors of Pitcairn Island", where he takes a look at the history, topography, and fauna/flora of each of the Islands in the group. If you don't have that book, you should probably get it. You can write for a catalog from:

Bounty Sagas
P.O. Box 1302
La Canada, CA 91012-5302
USA

Spence runs that small bookstore that only deals with books and items about the Bounty, Pitcairn, Norfolk, and related issues.

They don't have an e-mail address. I hope he gets on line some time. I refer many people to him. You can snailmail him, or FAX him at (818)248-1098.

From Dr Marshall Weisler, Department of Anthropology,University of Otago,Dunedin, New Zealand, I received the following information:

Besides my paper in the volume edited by Benton and Spencer, the following have discussions about Henderson Island archaeology:

• Weisler, M. I. and J. D. Woodhead 1995 Basalt Pb isotope analysis and the prehistoric settlement of Polynesia. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES USA 92:1881-1885.
• Weisler, M. I. 1996 Taking the mystery out of the Polynesian 'mystery islands': a case study from Mangareva and the Pitcairn Group. In J.M. Davidson, G. Irwin, B.F. Leach, A. Pawley, and D. Brown (eds.) OCEANIC CULTURE HISTORY: ESSAYS IN HONOUR OF ROGER GREEN. New Zealand Journal of Archaeology Special Publication, pp.615-629.
• Weisler, M. I. 1998 Prehistoric long-distance interaction at the margins of Oceania. In M. I. Weisler (ed.) PREHISTORIC LONG-DISTANCE INTERACTION IN OCEANIA: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH. New Zealand Archaeological Association Monograph (forthcoming)
• Diamond, J.M. 1994 The last people alive. NATURE 370:331-332.

There will also be an article in DISCOVER magazine, probably in July (1997).

Rossman P. Irwin III a geologist, who is organizing a project to put up a permanent climate station on Ducie to study atmospheric, surface, and oceanographic data from this remote region, has sent the following comment:

I am in the process of moving and most of my binders are in boxes, so the references I can give you will be from memory at this point...but here goes:

The best references by far on Henderson Island are the recent book put out by Tim Burton and Tom Spencer and others, containing fifty or so papers from the 1991 Commemorative Expedition to Henderson, available at $50 plus postage from Spencer Murray (Bounty Sagas). I recommend supporting Spencer's business whenever possible. The book is very complete at 400 and some-odd pages.

The Smithsonian 1987 Expedition is chronicled in the Atoll Research Bulletin in an entire issue in 1989, 250 or so pages with lots of unfortunately B/W pictures. Nine papers I think in that one. This is a very uncirculated thing put out by the Smithsonian, and your best bet is to hit the nearest University library and order it.

Ian Macintyre at the Smithsonian Institution Atoll Research Bureau is the source to obtain a copy of the Atoll Research Bulletin issue mentioned above.

This is the The Sir Peter Scott Commemorative Expedition volume also referred to above:

Pitcairn Islands : Biogeography, Ecology and Prehistory by T. G. Benton (Contributor), T. Spencer (Editor)

List: $49.95

Paperback

Published by Academic Press

Publication date: May 1996

Table of Contents

1. Foreword: Introduction to the Exploration of the Pitcairn Islands By J. Diamond
2. Introduction: The Sir Peter Scott Commemorative Expedition to the Pitcairn Islands 1991-1992 By T. Spencer, T. G. Benton
3. Structure, topography and vegetation: the significance of raised reef islands By T. Spencer, T. G. Benton
4. The Pitcairn Islands, South Pacific Ocean: plate tectonic and climatic contexts By T. Spencer
5. Late Quaternary history of Henderson Island, Pitcairn Group By S. G. Blake
6. Geomorphology of the uplifted Pleistocene atoll at Henderson Island, Pitcairn Group By J. M. Pandolfi
7. The flora of the Pitcairn Islands: a review By J. Florence, S. Waldren, A. J. Chepstow-Lusty
8. A comparison of the vegetation communities from the islands of the Pitcairn Group By S. Waldren, J. Florence, A. J. Chepstow-Lusty
9. The birds of Henderson Island: ecological studies in a near pristine ecosystem By T. G. Benton, T. Spencer
10. The diet of the Henderson fruit dove Ptilinopus insularis. I. Field observations of fruit choice By M. de L. Brooke, P. J. Jones
11. Behaviour, natural history, and annual cycle of the Henderson Island Rail Porzana atra (Aves: Rallidae) By P. Jones, S. Schubel, J. Jolly, M. de L. Brooke, J. Vickery
12. The feeding ecology of Stephen's lory and nectar availability in its food plants By R. Trevelyan
13. The modern avifauna of the Pitcairn Islands By M. de L. Brooke
14. The breeding biology of the gadfly petrels Pterodroma spp. of the Pitcairn Islands: characteristics, population sizes and controls By M. de L. Brooke
15. Food of three sympatric gadfly petrels (Pterodroma spp.) breeding on the Pitcairn Islands By M. J. Imber, J. N. Jolly, M. de L. Brooke
16. Biogeographic processes at the limits of the Indo-West Pacific Province By T. G. Benton, T. Spencer
17. Biodiversity and biogeography of Henderson Island's insects By T. G. Benton
18. Biodiversity and origin of the non-flying terrestrial arthropods of Henderson Island By T. G. Benton, P. T. Lehtinen
19. Systematic review of the land snails of the Pitcairn Islands By R. C. Preece
20. Near-shore bathymetry and reef biotopes of Henderson Island, Pitcairn Group By R. A. Irving
21. Seasonality and numbers of green turtles Chelonia mydas nesting on the Pitcairn Islands By M. de L. Brooke
22. Initial checklist of fishes from Henderson Island, Pitcairn Group By R. A. Irving, J. Jamieson, J. E. Randall
23. The composition and relationships of the marine molluscan fauna of the Pitcairn Islands By R. C. Preece
24. Marine Ostracoda from Pitcairn, Oeno and Henderson Islands By R. Whatley, R. Roberts
25. The Foraminifera of the Pitcairn Islands By J. E. Whittaker, R. L. Hodgkinson
26. Man's impact on the Pitcairn Islands By T. Spencer, T. G. Benton
27. Henderson Island prehistory: colonization and extinction on a remote Polynesian island By M. I. Weisler
28. The fossil birds of Henderson Island, Pitcairn Group: natural turnover and human impact, a synopsis By G. M. Wragg
29. From castaways to throwaways: marine litter in the Pitcairn Islands By T. G. Benton

Steve Waldren (Botanic Garden Curator/Administrator), Trinity College Botanic Garden, Dublin, who spent three months on Henderson Island in 1991 (and who is returning to the island in June 1997), has sent the following list of where information on the flora of Henderson can be found:

• Brooke M. de L., Jones P.J., Vickery J.A. & Waldren S. (1996). Seasonal patterns of leaf growth and loss, flowering and fruiting on a subtropical central Pacific island. Biotropica, 28: 164-179.
• Florence J., Waldren S. & Chepstow-Lusty A.J. (1995). The flora of the Pitcairn Islands: a review. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 56: 79-119.
• Fosberg F.R., Paulay G., Spencer T. & Oliver R. (1989). New collections and notes on the plants of Henderson, Pitcairn, Oeno and Ducie islands. Atoll Research Bulletin, 329: 1-18.
• Fosberg F.R., Sachet M.-H. & Stoddart D.R. (1983). Henderson Island (South eastern Polynesia): summary of current knowledge. Atoll Research Bulletin, 272: 1-47.
• Paulay G. & Spencer T. (1989). Vegetation of Henderson Island. Atoll Research Bulletin, 328: 1-13.
• St. John H. & Philipson W.R. (1962). An account of the flora of Henderson Island, South Pacific Ocean. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Botany, 1: 179-194.
• Waldren S., Florence J. & Chepstow-Lusty A.J. (1995a). A comparison of the vegetation communities from the islands of the Pitcairn Group. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 56: 121-144.
• Waldren S., Florence J. & Chepstow-Lusty A.J. (1995b). Rare and endemic vascular plants of the Pitcairn group, south-central Pacific Ocean: a conservation appraisal. Biological Conservation, 74: 83-98.

More on Henderson Island:

• Pitcairn Island Home Page
• STS008-45-980 STS008-45-980 NASA Photo ID: STS008-45-980 File Name: 10061331.jpg Film Type: 70mm Date Taken: 09/05/83 Title: Henderson Island, Pacific Ocean Description: Henderson Island
• Pitcairn Island Details and Info
• Frank Robben Frank Robben and his 'Kialoa II' have visited Pitcairn and Henderson island.
• Frank RobbenAnother Frank Robben site
• Parrot Mountain Books A book about birds (Lories) which also are found on Henderson Island
• Weisler_21_1 About Polynesians on ecologically-marginal landfalls; islands that pushed the capabilities of Polynesian colonization to their limits. Henderson Island is one of these islands.
• Parrots of the World Includes Parrots on Henderson Island
• Two New Petrels For One Old Breeding habits of birds on Henderson Island
• BOTANY PROJECTS 1990-1995 Trinity College Dublin BOTANY PROJECTS . Includes projects on Henderson Island.
• Select a Place Where Coconuts GrowReference page about Henderson island.
• Cambridge plant evolution and palaeoecologyPlant studies on Henderson Island
• Florence, J., Waldren, S. & Chepstow-Lusty, A.J. (1995) "The flora of the Pitcairn Islands: a review." Biological Journal of the Linnaean Society 56, 79-119.
• Waldren, S., Florence, J. & Chepstow-Lusty, A.J. (1995) "A comparison of the vegetation communities from the islands of the Pitcairn Group", Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 56, 121-144.
• Documents available at the library of the Australasian Arachnological Society:
• PROCTER, D. (1991) "Spiders of Henderson Island, a world heritage site", Newsl. Br. Arachnol. Soc., November, Vol. 62, pp. 6.
• BENTON, T., LEHTINEN, P. (1995) "The arachnids of Henderson Island, South Pacific", Newsl. Br. Arachnol. Soc., Vol. 72, pp. 10-12.
• Jones, P., Schubel, S., Jolly, J., Brooke, M. de L. & Vickery, J. (1995) "Behaviour, natural history, and annual cycle of the Henderson Island Rail Porzana atra (Aves: Rallidae)". Biol. J. Linnean Soc. 56, 167-183.
• Steadman, D. W., and S. L. Olson. (1985) "Bird remains from an archaeological site on Henderson Island, South Pacific: Man caused extinctions on an 'uninhabited' island". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 82, 6191-6195.
• Graves, G.R. (1992) "The endemic land birds of Henderson Island, southeastern Polynesia: notes on natural history and conservation." Wilson Bulletin 104:32(12).

Henderson Island References

The following references were helpfully provided to Lynn Garry Salmon by Francisco Felipe

Fernandez Quiros, one of the most skillful navigators of his time, sailed in his 2nd trip from Callao (Peru) the 21st of December 1605 reaching Ducie (he named it "Luna puesta") the 26th of January 1606 and Henderson three days later. The captains of the other ships of his fleet sighted Ducie and Henderson, as well.

• Donald D. BRAND: The Pacific Basin: A History of its Geographical Explorations, New York, 1967, page 136
• M.L. Rienzi: Historia de la Oceania, o quinta parte del mundo, 4 Volumes, Barcelona 1845-1846, Volume 2, page 235
• Francisco MORALES PADRON: Los Descubrimientos de Mendana, Fernandez Quiros y Vaez de Torres y sus relaciones de viajes, published in the Anuario de Estudios Americanos, Nr. XXIII, Sevilla 1966, page 1027
• Amancio LANDIN CARRASCO:Islario Espanol del Pacifico, Madrid 1984, pages 40, 77 and 78.
• Celsus KELLY: La Austrialia del Espiritu Santo, the Journal of Fray Martin de Munilla and other documents relating to the Voyage of Pedro Fernandez Quiros to the South Sea..., 2 Volumes, Cambridge 1966, Vol. 1, table A and page 39.

Contents of this website

Henderson's History	Henderson's Geography	Henderson's Flora and Fauna
Why am I interested?	First hand accounts.	Links and Books.
Map of the Island.	Pictures of the Island.	The Monkey Story

"Robert Tomarchin, a 27-year-old U.S. citizen and his pet ape Moko" - in 1957 .
Photo courtesy of Dr. Herbert Ford , of the Pitcairn Islands Study Center at Pacific Union College.

The Monkey Story: Read the true story of Robert Tomarchin and his chimpanzee left on Henderson Island by a Canadian yacht in 1957! New information has also come to light and is now presented here.

The Monkey Story