The Pitcairn Group of Islands, a British overseas territory in the Pacific, has officially passed gay marriage.

The law came into effect on May 15, according to the Telegraph, but due to technical problems the change was not made public on the government website until now.

Weddings will likely have to be officiated by the island administrator, a resident told the Guardian, as the island’s only preacher is a Seventh-Day Adventist, a religion opposing same-sex marriage.

British authorities suggested the change after marriage equality was passed in England, Wales and Scotland, according to Deputy Governor Kevin Lynch; the local council unanimously approved the new law.

Rodney Croome, national director of Australian Marriage Equality, welcomed the law and said it sent an important message.

‘It effectively says that gay islanders belong on Pitcairn Island as much as anyone else, and that’s a positive message.’

Home to just 48 people, the four islands are often considered to form the smallest country in the world, by population.

A notice on the town hall’s veranda and another at the island’s general store communicated the law change.

‘It’s not Pitcairn Islanders that were pushing for it,’ seventh-generation resident Meralda Warren told the Guardian.

‘But it’s like anything else in the world. It’s happening everywhere else, so why not?’

There have been no same-sex weddings since the law changed and Warren said while she knew of one gay islander, she didn’t know of any gay couples wanting to marry.

‘I kind of cracked up when I saw the Google alert in my inbox,’ she said.

‘I scanned down and smiled again, and thought, “We’ve kept that one quiet for a couple of months”.’