Bounty Islands Solander Islands. Captain William Bligh discovered the Bounty Islands en route from Spithead to Tahiti in 1788 and named them after his ship, HMS "Bounty", just months before the famous mutiny. The location of the islands were only roughly marked on charts. In early 1866 Commander W. H. Norman of HMCS Victoria was tasked with determining more accurately their position. He reported them as being latitude 47ˈ50 South and longitude 179ˈ00 East. Captain George Palmer, during the search for the "Matoaka" placed the islands at 47ˈ46ˈ24 South 178ˈ56ˈ45 East. Palmer also annexed the islands for New Zealand. During the 19th
HMS Bounty "Thirty-Six Years of a Seafaring Life by an Old Quarter Master". Beechey wrote a detailed account of the mutiny as recounted to him by the last survivor, Adams. Bechervaise, who described the life of the islanders, says he found the remains of the "Bounty" and took some pieces of wood from it which were turned into souvenirs such as snuff boxes. The details of the voyage of HMAV "Bounty" are very well documented, largely due to the effort of Bligh to maintain an accurate log before, during, and after the actual mutiny. "Bounty"s crew list is also well chronicled, down