Rosalind Amelia Young

Young was born in 1853 on Pitcairn Island to Simon Young and Mary Buffett Christian. She was also the great-granddaughter of John Adams, one of the mutineers of HMS Bounty.[1]

As a young child she was part of a migration to Norfolk Island but returned in 1864.[1] Her father led the return of several families to the Pitcairn Islands and became magistrate in 1849.[2]

From a young age she began recording the history of the Pitcairn Islands, specifically that of Elizabeth Mills, daughter of a Bounty mutineer.[3] She shared the history of the islands through letters, collecting historical information and personal stories.[1] She also began writing articles about the islands and worked as a primary schoolteacher.[4]

In 1894 she published a comprehensive history of Pitcairn Islands in the book Mutiny of the Bounty and Story of Pitcairn Island (1790–1894). Since its original publication, the book has been reprinted several times.[5] The book is one of the few documentations of the islands' history and drew upon the direct experiences of several generations of islanders, including those of HMS Bounty.[1]

Young was also a poet and composed the words to several songs which are still played on Pitcairn Islands.[6][7]

In 2017, five stamps were created in her honour, as part of the 'Prominent Pitcairners' series, and were on sale from 22 February 2017 (for a period of two years).[1]

Young married Pastor David Nield, a New Zealander, on 27 November 1907 in Auckland, New Zealand.[1][4] She died on 1 February 1924 on Pitcairn Island.[4]