A tiny Pacific island with a dark history is advertising for a new teacher, to run a school with a roll of just three pupils.
Pitcairn Island, a remote British outpost with roots in the early European settlement of the Pacific, has placed advertisements looking for a "multi-faceted" teacher to move to the 4.5km sq dot in the ocean, which is 500km from the nearest inhabited island.
"The successful applicant will be in sole charge of Pitcairn's only school with a roll of three children aged between 10 and 13 years old," the advertisement reads, also boasting of Pitcairn's 100 per cent Covid-free status.
"The competitive package includes the use of a two-bedroom home, use of quad bikes and travel to and from the Island," the ad continues.
"There is also access to the internet, video conferencing facilities and an NZ-linked phone system."
It took until 1790 for Europeans to settle, when British mutineers from the infamous HMS Bounty and native Tahitians together landed on Pitcairn.
They lived in isolation for years, developing a unique culture with a tightly interwoven population.
By 1937, the population had reached 233 but this fell away as Pitcairners shifted to New Zealand and Australia.
The island was rocked to its core in 2004 when a third of the male population were charged with sex offences, including multiple counts of offending against children.
A deeply entrenched culture of sex with underage girls was revealed, with visiting pastor Neville Tosen noting that when he tried to raise the issue with one of the island's council members, he was told: "Look, the age of consent has always been 12 and it doesn't hurt them."
Tosen told the Independent newspaper in 2009: "I think the girls were conditioned to accept that it was a man's world and once they turned 12, they were eligible.
"If you look back, it seems that each man had his own particular young girl."
Bounty Bay on Pitcairn. Photo / AP
Life on the remote island relies on ships bringing freight into the inhospitable Bounty Bay, where it must be transferred to long boats to reach shore.
Visitors wanting to travel to the island from New Zealand on Pitcairn's dedicated ship face a cost of $5000 one-way.
The island has not succeeded in attracting new settlers and now faces a demographic crisis as its working-age population ages.
Electricity, provided by diesel generators, is only available from 7am to 10pm and paying for power and other utilities such as the internet can be expensive.
Those interested in the role can find more details on the island's website.
