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
Bounty (1978 ship) Bounty (1978 ship) Bounty (popularly HMAV "Bounty") was built in 1977/78 for the movie "The Bounty" starring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins. She is now a tourist destination in Hong Kong, China. For the filming of "The Bounty", a replica of William Bligh's ship, was required. The "Bounty" replica was built by Whangarei Engineering Company at Whangarei, New Zealand during 1978 and 1979. The ship was designed to externally conform to the original "Bounty". The replica is in length overall, with a beam of and a draught of . To reflect the international legacy of the Mutiny on the "Bounty",