HMS Pandora was dispatched from England to round up the mutineers who had taken HMS Bounty and caste Captain William Bligh and some of his officers adrift in an open cutter and left them to perish. But they grossly underestimated Captain Bligh who against all odds sailed his overladen boat to Kupang in Timor, Indonesia. He finally made it back to England and raised the alarm, then the Admiralty sent Capt. Edwards to try and locate the mutineers.

Capt. Edwards and the Pandora reached the South Pacific and Tahiti on the 23rd March 1791 and began the difficult task of recapturing the mutineers. In total, 14 were rounded up over the next 5 months, the Capt. Edwards departed the area, sailing Timor via the 'Endeavour Strait' named by Cook but now known as 'Torres Strait'. When the ship, trying to get inside the "Great Barrier Reef", was just north of Lizard Island about 72 miles east of Cape York, 2 miles or so north-west of 'Moulters Cay', in 30-34 metres of water, the ship struck a sand bar on August 28th 1791. The ship settled quickly, the pumps and bailing failing to stem the incoming water. The boats were hastily stocked with provisions and water, lowered astern and anything that persons could cling to, was thrown overboard. Captain Edwards refused to free the mutineers from 'Pandora's Box' but as the bosun's mate 'William Moulter' was leaving the ship, he tossed the keys into the 'Box'.

Seven of the prisoners escaped but four, George Stewart, John Sumner, Richard Skinner and Henry Hillbrandt were drowned. In total, 31 of the ships company died, 99 survived including 10 mutineers. The Captain continued his harsh treatment of the prisoners on shore, providing them with no shelter form the sun or the freezing cold at night. A makeshift camp was set up on a big sand bar until they could ready themselves for the voyage to Coupang (Kupang) in Timor.

The party in several boats, reached Coupang on the 17th and 19th of September 1791. Later they went on to Batavia (Jakarta), and in another twist of fate, found William and Mary Bryant with 6 other convicts, that had escaped from Botany Bay in the Colony of New South Wales. They also had carried out an amazing feat by sailing their cutter up inside the reef and finding their way to Coupang Timor. They were handed over to Captain Edwards who arranged passage back to England, where they arrived on 19th June 1792 where they stood trial. Mary Bryant was tried and found not guilty, released back into her home land. Of the other 6, three were executed. 

Captain Edwards was found not guilty for the loss of his ship, he and his officers all were acquitted. The Mutineers were handed over and subsequently faced a Court Martial for mutiny...