History of Norfolk Island transportation to Van Diemen's Land had ceased in 1853 and was replaced by penal servitude in the United Kingdom. On 8 June 1856, the next settlement began on Norfolk Island. These were the descendants of Tahitians and the HMS "Bounty" mutineers, resettled from the Pitcairn Islands, which had become too small for their growing population. The British government had permitted the transfer of the Pitcairners to Norfolk, which was thus established as a colony separate from New South Wales but under the administration of that colony's governor. They left Pitcairn Islands on 3 May 1856 and arrived with 194 persons
Mutiny on the Bounty 1790, the Admiralty despatched the frigate HMS "Pandora" under Captain Edward Edwards to capture the mutineers and return them to England to stand trial. "Pandora" arrived at Tahiti on 23 March 1791 and, within a few days, all 14 surviving "Bounty" men had either surrendered or been captured. Edwards made no distinction between mutineers and those who claimed they had been detained on "Bounty" unwillingly; all were incarcerated in a specially constructed prison erected on "Pandora"'s quarterdeck, dubbed "Pandora's Box". "Pandora" remained at Tahiti for five weeks while Captain Edwards unsuccessfully sought information on "Bounty's" whereabouts. The ship finally sailed