Mutiny on the Bounty Undeterred, Christian and an armed party surveyed the island, and decided it would be suitable for their purposes. However, to create a permanent settlement, they needed compliant native labour and women. The most likely source for these was Tahiti, to which "Bounty" returned on 6 June. To ensure the co-operation of the Tahiti chiefs, Christian concocted a story that he, Bligh, and Captain Cook were founding a new settlement at Aitutaki. Cook's name ensured generous gifts of livestock and other goods and, on 16 June, the well-provisioned "Bounty" sailed back to Tubuai. On board were nearly 30 Tahitian men and
Bounty Day Bounty Day Bounty Day is a holiday on both Pitcairn Island, destination of the HMS "Bounty" mutineers, and on Norfolk Island. It is celebrated on 23 January on Pitcairn, and on 8 June on Norfolk Island, the day that the descendants of the mutineers arrived on the island. It is named for the "Bounty", although the ship never saw Norfolk Island. Bounty Day is celebrated on Pitcairn Island on 23 January, in commemoration of the burning of the HMS "Bounty" by the mutineers in 1790. Model replicas, made by the islanders, are burned. Bounty Day is the national holiday of