Photo by Michael Gill
 
  

 L:  Tony Probst poses at the grave marker of John Adams on Pitcairn Island.  R:  Some have suggested that Tony's profile resembles that of John Adams.

L:  Tony displays a spent shell that he found on Pitcairn Island in September 2011.  R:  Tony greets his old friend, Tom Christian.

Tony Probst
Conference Speaker
 

Title of talk:  "A Photographic Journey through Pitcairn’s Present and Past with Marie Christian and Tony Probst"
Video of talk (Marie speaks in the second half, beginning after 31 minutes) 
Photography by Tony Probst


Tony Probst’s fascination with the Bounty and Pitcairn Island started when he was six years old. In October 1967, when Tony was seven, he and his younger brother and sister, together with their mother and father, left England for a 14-year sailing trip around the world on Lorelei III, the 47-foot trimaran his father built in Cornwall, England. As England was fading out of sight, Tony’s dad gave him the books Mutiny on the Bounty and Men Against the Sea. These stories were riveted into his mind at an early age, and he made himself a promise that one day he would visit Pitcairn Island.

Although the Probst Family never made it to Pitcairn on their trip around the world, in January 2010 Mr. Probst finally fulfilled his dream of visiting Pitcairn. When he made his second visit in September 2011, he thoroughly enjoyed reuniting with the close friends he had made on his first trip. Mr. Probst's love of photography and Pitcairn is evident when one views the 13,000 photographs he has taken on his two visits. The photographs include some of the most remote and truly difficult areas to visit, such as the Petroglyphs, beach and Obsidian Vein at “Downrope” and the giant yellow boulders that have fallen down from the cliffs. The most challenging and dangerous trail was climbing down the cliffs to photograph Petroglyphs at the Gods. The trail to the Gods made the difficult trail to Downrope seem like a cake walk.

Mr. Probst is an avid maritime collector. He and Ingrid, his wife of 30 years, drink wine from glasses recovered from the Andrea Doria. He has items from the Lusitania, the Empress of Ireland and the Bounty as well as various letters and carvings which chronicle Pitcairn’s past. His most extensive collection, from the Titanic, can be viewed at the Titanic Museums in Branson, Missouri and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Additional information about Tony Probst's Pitcairn artifacts may be found in the 9.5 MB document here.  For details about his Titanic collection, please visit www.titaniccollector.com. 

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Last updated October 10, 2012