Language/Pitcairn-norfolk/Culture/Norfolk-Island-Timeline

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Historical Timeline for Norfolk Island - A chronology of key events
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Norfolk Island Timeline[edit | edit source]

  • The first men to populate Norfolk Island were Polynesians from either the Kermadec Islands or the North Island of New Zealand. Landed between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, their civilization disappeared before the arrival of Europeans. The main site was located at Emily Bay, where tools, Polynesian rat and banana trees bear witness to their presence. The reason for their disappearance is unknown.
  • The first European to see the island was James Cook, in 1774, on his second voyage to the South Pacific aboard HMS Resolution. He named her after the Duchess of Norfolk, wife of Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk. Having left England in 1772, Cook was unaware of the Duchess’s death in May 1773.
  • Cook and his men landed on October 11, 1774. He says he was impressed by the tall, straight trees, as well as plants related to flax, specimens of which he brought back to England. At that time, the United Kingdom was extremely dependent on flax and hemp which it imported from the shores of the Baltic Sea and which were used in the manufacture of sails and ropes for ships. If the country were to run out of these resources, its status as a maritime power would be threatened. It had, moreover, already lost its main source of timber for masts in New England after the American Revolutionary War. Some historians, including Geoffrey Blainey, see it as one of the main motivations for England to establish colonies in New South Wales and then on Norfolk Island.

First penal colony[edit | edit source]

  • When the First Fleet landed at Port Jackson, on the Australian coast, in January 1788, Arthur Phillip ordered Lieutenant Philip Gidley King to take possession of Norfolk Island with fifteen prisoners and seven freemen and prepare for exploitation there. The group made landfall on March 6, 1788. The penal colony supplied grain and vegetables to Sydney, threatened by famine in its early years. However, the lack of a sufficiently protected natural harbor made communications and transport difficult.
  • In 1790, HMS Sirius brought in new detainees and soldiers that Sydney was unable to feed. The expedition, supposed to ease pressure on the mainland, turned into disaster when the Sirius was wrecked. No loss of life was to be deplored, but the ship's crew remained immobilized for ten months. Combined with the arrival of the Second Fleet in Sydney, the situation of the two colonies became increasingly difficult.
  • Despite this, the population of Norfolk Island grew slowly, reaching a thousand inhabitants in 1792. Several governors succeeded each other at the head of the island between 1789, when Robert Ross replaced King, and 1800, when Joseph Foveaux landed for become the new lieutenant governor. He found the colony in very poor condition and undertook extensive renovations. He also demanded that the population receive basic education.
  • King had recommended closing the penal colony as early as 1794, too far from the mainland and too expensive to maintain. In 1803, Secretary of State Lord Hobart ordered the transfer of some of the detainees and soldiers to Tasmania. A first group of 159 people left Norfolk Island in February 1805. Between November 1807 and September 1808 five groups, totaling 554 people, emigrated. The island's population was only about 200 people, who remained there until the colony was closed in 1813. Norfolk Island was uninhabited from February 15, 1814 until June 6, 1825.

Second penal colony[edit | edit source]

  • In 1824, the British government ordered the governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane, to re-occupy Norfolk Island to send the most difficult inmates there. First seen as a disadvantage, the island's remoteness had become a means of removing its most disruptive elements from Sydney. There were no plans to bring the prisoners back to the mainland, let alone reintegrate them into civilian life. Following an inmate mutiny in 1834, Father William Ullathorne, Vicar General of Sydney, traveled to Norfolk Island, charged with the spiritual accompaniment of mutineers on death row. He reports that at the time of sentencing, pardoned inmates burst into tears while death row inmates thanked Heaven.
  • The report written in 1846 by Robert Pringle Stuart lamented the scarcity and poor quality of food, unsanitary housing, the use of torture and the corruption of supervisors. That same year, Bishop Robert Willson denounced the colony to the House of Lords. During his second visit in 1849, he found the situation somewhat improved. However, rumors of further abuse prompted him to undertake a new journey to Norfolk Island, where he returned the colony to its former state. He delivered a damning report, denouncing the system which gave absolute power over the colony to one person.
  • Among the successive commanders at the head of the colony, Alexander Maconochie stood out for his conviction that indiscriminate brutality towards the detainees only fueled their criminal tendency and encouraged mutinies. He attempted to reform the colony and introduced rewards for good behavior. He was accused of laxity and quickly replaced.
  • Still, voices grew louder and the British government decided to close the colony from 1847 and the last prisoners were transferred to Tasmania in May 1855.

Occupation by residents of Pitcairn[edit | edit source]

  • On June 8, 1856, 194 inhabitants of Pitcairn landed. The descendants of the Bounty mutineers had grown too numerous, and the British government allowed them to migrate to Norfolk Island and establish a colony there separate from New South Wales, but under the administration of the latter's commander.
  • The newcomers occupied the old penal colony buildings and continued there their two main activities in Pitcairn, farming and whaling. Despite the decision by some families to return to Pitcairn in 1858 and 1863, the island's population grew slowly.

20th century[edit | edit source]

  • Norfolk Island Act 1913 transferring the island to the Commonwealth of Australia (transfer effective July 1, 1914). After the creation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, Norfolk Island came under the authority of the new Commonwealth of Government as an outer territory.
  • During World War II, the island served as an air and supply base between Australia and New Zealand. Located in the latter's area, Norfolk Island is occupied by a contingent of the New Zealand Army. Too remote and of limited strategic interest, it is not the object of any attack.
  • In 1979, the Australian government passed the Norfolk Island Act, granting autonomy to Norfolk Island. The island has an elected government that manages most of the internal affairs. The people of Norfolk Island, however, are not represented as such in the Australian Parliament, making it the only Australian state or territory without parliamentary representation.

21st century[edit | edit source]

  • After the 2008 crisis, the island obtained a forgiveness of its debts in exchange for reintegration into Australian territory. It becomes a region of New South Wales as of July 1, 2016. Nevertheless, the elected regional council is in favor of self-determination and is taking steps in this direction with the United Nations.

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