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 in life, Marden wore cuff links made of nails from the "Bounty". Marden also dived on the wreck of and left a "Bounty" nail with "Pandora". Some of the "Bounty"s remains, such as the ballast stones, are still partially visible in the waters of Bounty Bay. The last of "Bounty"s four 4-pounder cannon was recovered in 1998 by an archaeological team from James Cook University and was sent to the Queensland Museum in Townsville to be stabilised through lengthy conservation treatment, i.e. nearly 40 months of electrolysis. The gun was subsequently returned to Pitcairn Island where it has been placed