Governor of the Pitcairn Islands

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See main articles:

• List of Governors of Fiji (1898-1970)
• List of British High Commissioners to New Zealand (1970-present)

The Governor of the Pitcairn Islands is the representative of the British crown in the Pitcairn Islands, which are the last remaining British territory in the Pacific Ocean. 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 George Fergusson.

Throughout most of its history, the authority of the British Governor was, in practice, nominal. However, Richard Fell, Governor of the Pitcairn Islands between 2001 and 2006, used the authority vested in him to dismiss the Mayor involved in the Pitcairn rape trial of 2004.

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