History time🤪

Ready for your history lesson on Norfolk Island? Originally the Island was settled by Polynesian people but for some reason they abandoned it. Move along 200 years and Captain Cook sails past and notices it, ( the tree he painted is still growing in Emily Bay). Off he goes and tells England it looks good for masts and flax…..very valuable for a maritime based economy. The first fleet sails to Australia and a ship is sent with convicts to settle Norfolk and find a safe harbour. This settlement is successful in sending food to Australia but the Norfolk Pine and the flax are no good for ships. When the Sirius sinks in the bay, the decision is made to move the convicts and settlers to Tasmania. This is not a decision welcomed by the free settlers who are forced to leave as well. Everything on the island was destroyed so it could not be used if a foreign country tried to settle here. Interesting fact…you always need some….there is a memorial to the Sirius and it is made from bricks from the house of Captain Phillips .

Now you’d be wondering why they would make these decisions…..remember everything was based on economy, gaining wealth and making sure that they could support growing populations. Norfolk was just a little too far from the Australian settlement for the expense of protection and supply.

Distance from Australia was fabulous when you have repeat offenders. A new prison was set up. Eventually it would hold over 1500 inmates. Keep breaking the law,be male and possibly be between 14 and 19 and your new home was here.The oldest resident was 105 , a forger who kept getting caught. Life here was brutal. You shared a tiny cell with others. Had two wonderful meals of salted pork and gruel with a drink of water. ( Meat was salted so it would add to your punishment)If you don’t catch disease, you won’t need the gym as you will be working in a chain gang all day. There are houses, bridges,sea walls, and new prisons to build. If you are lucky, you might get to work on the farm but don’t volunteer to work in the lime kilns or salt recovery.

There is a multi-storey store building and a similar building that housed the soldiers. These have found uses as the offices for the local officials, a church and museums.

Life was not great for the soldier either. From the graves ,it seems you could be barbarously murdered by a miscreant, fall off your horse or be shot by a fellow soldier. Check your cooking skills too or if you are terrible, your victims could rebel and kill you.

Eventually the prison is closed. It is decided to offer the Island to the people of Pitcairn Island. 194 descendants of the mutineers and the Tahitian women and from the 2 American whalers ( they came later to help teach the children) decided to accept and moved to the island. The

There were eight different family groups and they settled on the island. Initially they used the existing buildings but the convict cells were eventually demolished and the limestone blocks used to build new houses on farms. Existing houses were built with  rooms off a central hall. These were for sleeping, living and entertaining .Behind the separated by a small courtyard,was the kitchen,store rooms, a room for servants if needed and a toilet for the master and a separate one for others. Of course these were long drops and with the water table quite high ,meant water in the wells could be tainted by the waste from the toilets. This was the same problem the prisons had experienced. The houses were formally occupied by officials at the prison. You could see how high the status was by the number of columns. More columns meant more status.

These families descendants now meet on Bounty day to sing traditional songs and celebrate the coming to Norfolk. The Norfolk Island language is taught in schools and the unique culture of old West Country English/ Tahitian/ American Whaler is incorporated into everyday life and celebrations. Do you feel knowledgeable now about Norfolk Island? Shall I quiz you.
  

It is quite noisy at the moment with cow mooing. For $124 your cows can wander the island. A few times a year, they are gathered up and put in a field to be drenched etc. These free roving bovines are not happy about being corralled and complain loudly. Feral chickens are also everywhere.