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Governor of the Pitcairn Islands - Definition and Overview |
| Related Words: Administrator, Aegis, Agent, Beg, Bey, Buffer, Bull, Bumper, Burgrave, Captain, Caretaker, Castellan, Chatelaine, Collector, Commandant, Commander, Conductor, Contraceptive, Control |
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The Pitcairn Islands are the last remaining British dependency in the Pacific. They have considerable local autonomy, but are under the authority of the colonial Governor.
Because of the dependency's small population (it peaked at 233 in the 1930s, and has since dwindled to 47), the British never considered it worthwhile to station a resident Governor on Pitcairn. Instead, the Governor of Fiji doubled as Governor of Pitcairn from 1898 onwards. When Fiji became independent in 1970, the governorship of Pitcairn was transferred to the British High Commissioner to New Zealand. The office is currently held by Richard Fell.
Throughout most of its history, the authority of the British Governor was, in practice, nominal. Since 1999, however, Richard Fell has asserted his authority by intervening in the Pitcairn rape trial of 2004, to ensure that justice (at least in the eyes of the colonial rulers) is done.
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