Ducie Island

Ducie was first discovered by Pedro Fernandes de Queiros in 1606. He named it Luna Puesta. When Captain Edwards went out looking for the Bounty mutineers in 1791, he came across Luna Puesta, but never reached Pitcairn where the outlaws where hiding. Captain Edwards renamed Ducie Island after his patron, Lord Ducie.

Ducie consists of a coral atoll with one large and three small islets in its lagoon. The larger island is called Acadia. It is home to lizards, Polynesian rats and numerous birds, including fairy terns, frigate birds, masked boobies, petrels and several species of tropical birds. The island has a sparse vegetation, that mainly consists of two species of hardy shrub.

A marked trail runs across the island. A huge variety of flotsam, such as glass bottles, plastic debris and fishing net floats, wash up on Acadia every year. Some of the items are the reminders of the many ship wrecks Ducie has seen over the years, including the wreck of the Acadia in 1881. The Acadia's crew made it to Pitcairn Island after 13 days of rowing in the ship's boat. The anchor of the Acadia is displayed on Pitcairn Island.

Ducie is irregularly visited by people from Pitcairn. Sometimes it is possible to join them. The only other way to get to Ducie is by private yacht or on a passing passenger or cargo ship. Ducie is 545 km east of Adamstown.