2008 NORFOLK ISLAND TRIP
Sunday 3 February to Saturday 9 February
Even though Norfolk Island is an external Australian Territory we left from the international terminal and needed our passports. It was a 3.5 hour flight and we arrived at the little 5km x 8km island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean between Brisbane and New Zealand.
Our mobile phones and CDMA phone don’t work and due to a recent storm, the internet communications was not working either. Our satellite phone worked as did the usual IDD phone communication. Phone communication on the island between locals is totally free.
We settled into our lovely unit at the Islander Lodge situated on a hill overlooking the old penal settlement at Kingston Common Reserve, Slaughter Bay and the 2 islands off shore, Nepean Island and Phillip Island (Named after Captain Phillip). We were happy to have a little blue Mazda to get us around the very hilly little island as there is no public transport.
Our ½ day introductory tour of Norfolk Island took us all over Island and our guide was extremely knowledgeable about the history, the locals and the geology of the place.
We headed to the west coast stopping at St Barnabas Chapel which was built by the locals as a memorial to the Catholic Priest who was killed on one of the Pacific Islands being mistaken as a slave trader. People from all over the world sent various building materials including the marble and stained glass windows. The timber of the ceiling looked like the inside of the hull of a boat.
We stopped at the Anson Bay lookout with its sheer cliffs to the ocean. Our journey continued down the west coast of the island to Kingston which is the site of the old 1st and 2nd settlements with its convict ruins. There are no harbours or jetties on the island but only 2 short wharves one of which is at Kingston. Of course we saw LOTS of beautiful Norfolk Pines and the cows roam free and have right of way on the road. There were also lots of ducks, geese and other birds. Everything was very green and lush and the island was formed from volcanic eruptions 300 million years ago.
The weather had been very rough for the past 2 weeks and a ship carrying supplies was still waiting off shore for calmer weather before the small boats could be sent out to unload the goods.
We continued on to Emily Bay on the southern part of the island, passed the cemetery and up to the north of the Island to Cascade, the site of the 2nd wharf. It is also the site of the Old Whaling Station. We had morning tea at the home of one of the descendents of Fletcher Christian and enjoyed the hot tea, coffee and cake.
After the tour we spent the rest of the day exploring the main shopping area called Burnt Pine Township.
In the evening we joined the Pitcairn Islanders for the story of the Mutiny on the Bounty when Fletcher Christians organised the mutiny throwing Captain Bligh and 18 of his loyal men into a small boat with few supplies and setting them adrift. Bligh and his men survived the journey and Fletcher Christian and some of the other mutineers settled on Pitcairn Island taking Tahitian women and men with them. When the community grew too large to survive on Pitcairn Island, John Adams, the only remaining original mutineer, and the descendents of the original mutineers were granted permission by Queen Victoria to settle on Norfolk Island in 1856.
We took advantage of the Tag-A-Long museum tour of the Kingston Surround to learn about the history. The Island was first settled in 1788, shortly after the first fleet arrived in Sydney, to supplement the food supply of Sydney penal colony. The Island has rich volcanic soil and plentiful rainfall and was producing food for shipment with in months of arrival. The settlement on Norfolk was not a penal settlement but rather an agricultural one that was manned by convicts.
In 1814 the first settlement was abandoned as Sydney was self sufficient and it was very costly to both keep Norfolk Island settlement running and to ship the food to Sydney. All the buildings and crops of this first settlement were destroyed on leaving so that other countries in particular France would not be tempted to settle easily.
In 1827 the 2nd settlement was established as a penal settlement for repeat offenders from NSW and Van Dieman’s Land. The prisoners obviously had to quarry the stones and build all the buildings. Much has been restored since 1962 including many of the beautiful Georgian Buildings.
The area of the settlement is quite small as it is the only flat part of the island suitable for such a development.
It was a terrible place of punishment and due to the appalling conditions of imprisonment and cruel, sadistic treatment by some Commandants, it was closed down in 1855 with inmates being sent mainly to Port Arthur in Van Dieman’s Land.
The next period of settlement came in 1856 when Queen Victoria granted the entire population of Pitcairn Island to be transported to Norfolk Island to begin a new life. All the buildings were left standing for them to use until they could build and establish their own homes. Each family was granted 50 acres.
We really enjoyed our tour which included the convict section, the Pier Store which is now a museum and the Pier itself and the stories.
After morning tea with the rest of the group we continued to explore the museum which included a video on the sinking and finding of the ship Sirius; the ship that was used to take supplies and people between Sydney and Norfolk Island. The Ship was wrecked off the coast off Slaughter Bay.
The earliest settlers on the tiny island were Polynesians who were there about 1000 years ago and nobody knows why they suddenly left.
We then took our own tour of the island stopping at all the beautiful little spots. Ball Bay was beautiful and as we took each road on the map we realised that many of the roads just ended and you couldn’t actually get to the coastline. It was most frustrating.
The following day we took the second Tag-A-Long Tour to the rest of the settlement which included the houses along Quality Row, some restored and others in various states of disrepair, the Commissariat Store, now another museum and the All Saints Church.
We decided to explore the Cemetery both old and new. There were of course many graves with the names of the original Pitcairners; Christians, Buffets and Adams. There were also 2 graves of convicts who were hanged after an attempted escape and killing spree. This was most unusual as prisoners were not usually buried in marked graves.
We drove to Mt Pitt in the centre of the island and then took the short walk across to Mt Bates, the highest point on the island. The views were great.
In the evening we attended a play, The Trial of Fifteen, which told the story of the penal settlement. It was supposed to be funny but it was very boring and we were glad when it was over.
The following day we had lovely blue sky and very little wind for our horse riding tour of the island. Mike was on Margaret (Maggie) who was quite difficult to manage and I had the lovely quiet horse called Touch of Class. There was another couple and of course our leader and had a lovely walk along the road, through paddocks and across the back of St Barnabas Chapel. We stopped for billy tea and damper under a huge tree and then rode home through the bush which was the best part of the trip.
It was our last day on the Island. We decided to take the walk to Rocky Point. There were LOTS of birds and the views were well worth the walk. We decided to drive back to some of the lovely spots including Emily Bay where we walked along the lovely little beach.
It was a great week.
Sunday 3 February to Saturday 9 February
Even though Norfolk Island is an external Australian Territory we left from the international terminal and needed our passports. It was a 3.5 hour flight and we arrived at the little 5km x 8km island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean between Brisbane and New Zealand.
Our mobile phones and CDMA phone don’t work and due to a recent storm, the internet communications was not working either. Our satellite phone worked as did the usual IDD phone communication. Phone communication on the island between locals is totally free.
We settled into our lovely unit at the Islander Lodge situated on a hill overlooking the old penal settlement at Kingston Common Reserve, Slaughter Bay and the 2 islands off shore, Nepean Island and Phillip Island (Named after Captain Phillip). We were happy to have a little blue Mazda to get us around the very hilly little island as there is no public transport.
Our ½ day introductory tour of Norfolk Island took us all over Island and our guide was extremely knowledgeable about the history, the locals and the geology of the place.
We headed to the west coast stopping at St Barnabas Chapel which was built by the locals as a memorial to the Catholic Priest who was killed on one of the Pacific Islands being mistaken as a slave trader. People from all over the world sent various building materials including the marble and stained glass windows. The timber of the ceiling looked like the inside of the hull of a boat.
We stopped at the Anson Bay lookout with its sheer cliffs to the ocean. Our journey continued down the west coast of the island to Kingston which is the site of the old 1st and 2nd settlements with its convict ruins. There are no harbours or jetties on the island but only 2 short wharves one of which is at Kingston. Of course we saw LOTS of beautiful Norfolk Pines and the cows roam free and have right of way on the road. There were also lots of ducks, geese and other birds. Everything was very green and lush and the island was formed from volcanic eruptions 300 million years ago.
The weather had been very rough for the past 2 weeks and a ship carrying supplies was still waiting off shore for calmer weather before the small boats could be sent out to unload the goods.
We continued on to Emily Bay on the southern part of the island, passed the cemetery and up to the north of the Island to Cascade, the site of the 2nd wharf. It is also the site of the Old Whaling Station. We had morning tea at the home of one of the descendents of Fletcher Christian and enjoyed the hot tea, coffee and cake.
After the tour we spent the rest of the day exploring the main shopping area called Burnt Pine Township.
In the evening we joined the Pitcairn Islanders for the story of the Mutiny on the Bounty when Fletcher Christians organised the mutiny throwing Captain Bligh and 18 of his loyal men into a small boat with few supplies and setting them adrift. Bligh and his men survived the journey and Fletcher Christian and some of the other mutineers settled on Pitcairn Island taking Tahitian women and men with them. When the community grew too large to survive on Pitcairn Island, John Adams, the only remaining original mutineer, and the descendents of the original mutineers were granted permission by Queen Victoria to settle on Norfolk Island in 1856.
We took advantage of the Tag-A-Long museum tour of the Kingston Surround to learn about the history. The Island was first settled in 1788, shortly after the first fleet arrived in Sydney, to supplement the food supply of Sydney penal colony. The Island has rich volcanic soil and plentiful rainfall and was producing food for shipment with in months of arrival. The settlement on Norfolk was not a penal settlement but rather an agricultural one that was manned by convicts.
In 1814 the first settlement was abandoned as Sydney was self sufficient and it was very costly to both keep Norfolk Island settlement running and to ship the food to Sydney. All the buildings and crops of this first settlement were destroyed on leaving so that other countries in particular France would not be tempted to settle easily.
In 1827 the 2nd settlement was established as a penal settlement for repeat offenders from NSW and Van Dieman’s Land. The prisoners obviously had to quarry the stones and build all the buildings. Much has been restored since 1962 including many of the beautiful Georgian Buildings.
The area of the settlement is quite small as it is the only flat part of the island suitable for such a development.
It was a terrible place of punishment and due to the appalling conditions of imprisonment and cruel, sadistic treatment by some Commandants, it was closed down in 1855 with inmates being sent mainly to Port Arthur in Van Dieman’s Land.
The next period of settlement came in 1856 when Queen Victoria granted the entire population of Pitcairn Island to be transported to Norfolk Island to begin a new life. All the buildings were left standing for them to use until they could build and establish their own homes. Each family was granted 50 acres.
We really enjoyed our tour which included the convict section, the Pier Store which is now a museum and the Pier itself and the stories.
After morning tea with the rest of the group we continued to explore the museum which included a video on the sinking and finding of the ship Sirius; the ship that was used to take supplies and people between Sydney and Norfolk Island. The Ship was wrecked off the coast off Slaughter Bay.
The earliest settlers on the tiny island were Polynesians who were there about 1000 years ago and nobody knows why they suddenly left.
We then took our own tour of the island stopping at all the beautiful little spots. Ball Bay was beautiful and as we took each road on the map we realised that many of the roads just ended and you couldn’t actually get to the coastline. It was most frustrating.
The following day we took the second Tag-A-Long Tour to the rest of the settlement which included the houses along Quality Row, some restored and others in various states of disrepair, the Commissariat Store, now another museum and the All Saints Church.
We decided to explore the Cemetery both old and new. There were of course many graves with the names of the original Pitcairners; Christians, Buffets and Adams. There were also 2 graves of convicts who were hanged after an attempted escape and killing spree. This was most unusual as prisoners were not usually buried in marked graves.
We drove to Mt Pitt in the centre of the island and then took the short walk across to Mt Bates, the highest point on the island. The views were great.
In the evening we attended a play, The Trial of Fifteen, which told the story of the penal settlement. It was supposed to be funny but it was very boring and we were glad when it was over.
The following day we had lovely blue sky and very little wind for our horse riding tour of the island. Mike was on Margaret (Maggie) who was quite difficult to manage and I had the lovely quiet horse called Touch of Class. There was another couple and of course our leader and had a lovely walk along the road, through paddocks and across the back of St Barnabas Chapel. We stopped for billy tea and damper under a huge tree and then rode home through the bush which was the best part of the trip.
It was our last day on the Island. We decided to take the walk to Rocky Point. There were LOTS of birds and the views were well worth the walk. We decided to drive back to some of the lovely spots including Emily Bay where we walked along the lovely little beach.
It was a great week.
