Norfolk Island 1

I recently had the opportunity to spend a week on Norfolk Island with a photography workshop led by Michael Snedic. Fortunately the wet weather had cleared and we were treated to some fine days but windy at times. 

Being in the middle of the Tasman Sea, strong winds had produced some good swells which produced great wave action crashing onto the rocks at times. I was also taken by the very clear blue water as there are no rivers on the island taking sediment into the surrounding seas although there are several small streams.

The island is part of the continent of Zealandia with volcanic activity about 3 million years ago. Most of the land is around 100 above sea level with two prominent peaks around 320 m. Several bays allowing access down to the sea. 

Norfolk Island Airstrip from Mount Pitt, 320m.

The airstrip was built by the RNZAF in 1942 with and adjacent radar station on Mount Bates. It was used as a staging post between New Zealand and New Caledonia and onto the South West Pacific theatre. Rumours have it that sounds from the Battle of The Coral Sea were heard on Norfolk. 

The airstrip was handed to the Australian Government in 1948.

The island's history revolved around its discovery by Captain Cook who deduced that it was uninhabited but there is evidence of earlier Polynesian habitation which was abandoned, convict settlement and the arrival of descendants of the Mutiny on the Bounty. There is an excellent cyclorama which follows the history of HMAV Bounty from Portsmouth, 1787, to the arrival of descendants on Norfolk in 1856. This is a must for any visit to Norfolk Island.

The first settlement was at Kingston where landings were made with the first settlers and the settlement established. I am not going into many details here but the is plenty of information on Google. 

Kingston.

Driving down on Rooty Hill Road there is are great views of the settlement which is now no longer used as is was.

Quality Row Houses. Officers housing 1832-1847

The remains of the convict prisons seen in the background above the military barracks and officers quarters.

A number of buildings around Kingston are worth exploring as there is a rich history of two convict settlements here. When reading about what went on, one would had a miserable life as a convict and some were executed and buried in the nearby cemetery.

The Crankmill

Inside this building from 1827 to 1838, rows of 48 chained convicts worked milling corn into porridge and coarse flour in 2 hour shifts producing around 20 bushels a day. Sabotage frequently interrupted production and this sort of punishment ceased in1847. There were other uses for the building too. 

Inside the Crankmill.

Old cemeteries provide an insight into lives and historical events taken place in the past. The cemetery at Kingston provides a fascinating window in to what life was like in the 19th Century. Numerous convicts remain here as the following indicates the gruesome ends to a number of them.

There is even a gravestone of a convict who died aged 105 but I didn't see find it. Whether he died after being freed or not I don't know.

Disease took out many individuals.  Families, convicts and military personnel not being spared.

Life as convict was a miserable existence with over 1000 being crammed into small cells. Very high stonewalls making escaped almost impossible. 

The remains for the penal buildings beyond Government House

Entrance gate to the new prison, 1847.

Over 1,000 convicts confined in very small cells.

That's a very brief account on the convict history of Kingston. This was the site of the original settlement where Governor William Bligh (Captain of The Bounty!!!) of NSW sent the first ships of settlers to land here. A good anchorage offshore but no sheltered wharf as such being possible. Even today, all supplies coming by sea are landed from lighters onto the small jetty.

Kingston jetty. Even in these seas water was crashing over it.

Lighters #3 and #4 were retired recently.

These lighters were towed from ship to jetty with large vehicles being loaded onto both lighters lashed together! A job for calm seas.

Modern motorised lighters I believe, used to today and mobile cranes used to transfer goods to shore. Perhaps stored in the sheds behind #3.

More blogs to follow featuring coastal scenes and birdlife among another topics.