Hill of Difficulty gets easier for Pitcairners

The Hill of Difficulty track from Bounty Bay up to Adamstown was etched out by the early mutineers.

Pitcairn Island's Hill of Difficulty no longer lives up to its name.

The steep track leading from Bounty Bay, where long boats negotiate the surf to land passengers and cargo, has been paved from the bay up to the settlement of Adamstown.

Pitcairn, halfway between New Zealand and South America, is one of the world's most remote inhabited islands.

Its Hill of Difficulty has often been almost impassable in heavy rain.

The project was one of a series of developments which the British Government said would enhance the infrastructure of the island.

The Hill of Difficulty climbs 70m and follows the track carved out of the cliff by early mutineers.

The island's jetty and slipway are also to be enhanced and a new museum to be built.

The first to use the newly sealed Hill of Difficulty were the island's oldest and youngest residents - Jacob Warren, 84, and Ryan Christian, eight months.

They were driven by the mayor, Jay Warren.

The island's deputy governor, Matthew Forbes, said pacing the Hill of Difficulty would be a major benefit to islanders and visitors from cruise ships. The historic British territory has a population of 47, and made world headlines last year when seven men were tried on sex charges.

Pitcairn was the home of Fletcher Christian's mutineers after they took over and burnt the British ship, His Majesty's Armed Vessel (HMAV) Bounty, in 1790.

Its population peaked at 233 in 1939 but has been steadily declining, falling to 40 in 1997. Many of the inhabitants are direct descendants of Fletcher Christian or his mutineers.

- NZPA