The coat of arms of the Pitcairn Islands is an official emblem of the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

of the

Pitcairn Islands The Pitcairn Islands (; Pitkern: '), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four isl ...

and was granted by royal warrant on 4 November 1969. The flag of the Pitcairn Islands, also an official emblem, consists of a

Blue Ensign The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated or formerly associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain or Defacement (flag), defaced with a Heraldic badge, ...

displaying the coat of arms and was granted on 2 April 1984.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms features several symbols relevant to the ancestral history and culture of the

Pitcairn Islanders Pitcairn Islanders, also referred to as Pitkerners and Pitcairnese, are the inhabitants or citizens of the Pitcairn Islands. The Pitcairn Islands are a British Overseas Territory, mainly inhabited by Euronesians of British and Tahitian descent. ...

, most of whom are descended from the sailors who

mutinied Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among members ...

on in 1789: the blue, yellow and green of the shield symbolise the island of Pitcairn rising from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, while the anchor and

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

are symbols of the ''Bounty''. Additionally, the Bible symbolises

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, which the mutineers brought to the island. The shield is surrounded by a green and gold wreath, and crested by a helmet bearing a wheelbarrow and a slip of miro, a local tree, which represent the role agriculture played in helping the mutineers survive on the island. The slip of miro also represents the wood used by Pitcairn Islanders for crafting souvenirs.

Flag

The Pitcairn flag features a Blue Ensign with the Pitcairn coat of arms defaced on the

fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

. The design was suggested by the Island Council in December 1980 and approved on 2 April 1984. It was first flown in May 1984, during a visit by the then-governor Sir Richard Stratton.

Gallery

File:The flag of Pitcairn flies on the Foreign Office building in London, 23 January 2013.jpg, Flag flying over the then Foreign and Commonwealth Office (now Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) in London, 23 January 2013 File:Judicial Committee of the Privy Council court room 3 in United Kingdom Supreme Court.jpg, Flag of the Pitcairn Islands (seventh from the back) in Court 3 of the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...

References

Sources

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External links

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Flag of the Pitcairn Islands
at the

Flag Institute The Flag Institute is a UK membership organisation headquartered in Kingston upon Hull, England, concerned with researching and promoting the use and design of flags. It documents flags in the UK and internationally, maintains a UK Flag Registr ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pitcairn Islands, Flag and coat of arms of the

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

National flags Blue Ensigns Flags of British Overseas Territories Flags introduced in 1984 British Overseas Territories coats of arms National coats of arms Symbols introduced in 1969 Coats of arms with anchors Coats of arms with books Coats of arms with wheels 1984 establishments in the Pitcairn Islands Pitcairn Islands culture