The Bounty Museum
The History of Norfolk Island
(D-F)
Norfolk Island Central School circa 1950s
Education stems from a historical base of John Adams on Pitcairn Island, teaching the first generation of children to read in the early nineteenth century. He used the Bounty Bible and a prayer book.
In July 1856, after their arrival on Norfolk Island, classes for children commenced in the New Military Barracks at Kingston. Governor Denison published laws the following year for compulsory school attendance which was the earliest legislation of its kind in the British Empire.
In the following years, many varied privately run schools were established and closed. The current Public School was established at Middlegate in 1906. Classes were taught from kindergarten to intermediate certificate level and followed the New South Wales education system. Hat plaiting and sewing lessons were for girls with woodwork classes for boys. Handicrafts also formed part of the curriculum. Education was free, taught in English and compulsory to the age of fifteen years.
The school now offers the NSW curriculum level to Year 12 with a commitment to preserving the local traditions by including Norfolk language classes and craft activities.
Education
Slaughter Bay & Emily Bay - Kingston Norfolk Island
Emily Bay, a crescent of golden sand backed by beach-grass and pines, bears a gentle, old-fashioned name.
In an old surveyor’s book Emily’s grave is marked on the west side of the bay, adjacent to the new salt house. We don’t know who Emily was. On early maps the bay was marked Sandy Bay or Turtle Bay, but by the late 1830s had acquired its present title.
Emily Bay is everyone’s favourite summer resort and, as Beryl Nobbs wrote, “es de bas side fe teak a lettle sullun narwi” - ‘the best place to take little children swimming’.
From Quality Row, drive down towards the jetty, then turn left between the prison and sea wall, pass the lime kiln and salt house ruins and find a parking spot under the trees. A grove of Norfolk Pines, planted in 1950 to stop sand drift across the golf course, provides shade, shelter from wind and good sites for summer camps.
Clear waters lap the almost semi-circular beach of deep golden sand. There are dressing sheds and a moored diving platform (‘the raft’).
Reference: Rambler’s guide to Norfolk Island - Merval Hoare, 1972.
Emily Bay
Anniversary Day (Bounty Day) celebrations
Government gazette notices have documented public holidays, inclusive of historical commemorative days which are unique to Norfolk Island and our traditional community:
• Anniversary Day (or Bounty Day): is celebrated each year on 8th June, to commemorate the arrival of the Pitcairn Islanders on 8th June, 1856.
• Thanksgiving Day: is celebrated on the third Wednesday of November each year. A public holiday, this is primarily a religious festival and indicates the strong influence of the American whalers who visited Norfolk and intermarried with the resident population.
• Foundation Day: is celebrated with a public holiday every 6th March to commemorate the arrival of the first British settlement in 1788.
• ANZAC Day: Norfolk Islanders have volunteered to fight for King and country since the Boer War and made the greatest per capita contributions of all the Commonwealth countries, in each of the world wars. ANZAC Day is therefore an important day of Remembrance for Norfolk Islanders.
• A&H Show: This is the annual exhibition of Norfolk Island’s produce, arts, crafts, education, horsemanship, and so much more.
Today, the Island’s Events Calendar has a listing of over 50 occasions. Further to the above traditional and historical celebrations, there are now sporting, music, dance, art & hobby, and special occasions on offer.
Events & Special days
Anniversary Day on Norfolk Island
In 1856, after many community deliberations and conferences with British authorities, the Pitcairn people embarked on the Morayshire and sailed to their new home... Norfolk Island.
On 8 June, the whole community: 40 men, 47 women, 53 girls and 54 boys (including a baby born on the voyage) - with family names; Adams, Buffett, Christian, Evans, McCoy, Nobbs, Quintal and Young - arrived.
Today, we commemorate this day every year as Anniversary (Bounty) Day.
Within 18 months, 17 members of the Young family sailed back to Pitcairn, to be joined five years later by a further 27 islanders.
Those who remained on Norfolk adapted to the new conditions.
Each family had been granted 50 acres of land and, in common, 1,300 sheep, 430 cattle, 22 horses, 10 pigs in pens, 16 fowls.
Family Names
Fantail on Norfolk Island
Rhipidura fuliginosa pelzelni - 143mm
This tiny, inquisitive and delightfully cheeky bird often follows you upon your island bushwalks. It is trusting and fearless ~ flying close to you, as you meander the forest trails.
It forages for flying insects with a repertoire of aerial stunts which are truly a delight to behold. Performing ‘mad fan’ gyrations in hawking for these insects, these little birds, are readily identified by their fan tails.
The fantail's repetitive chattering sounds like 'cheet-cheet' upon the same note. Their calls are well sustained and merge into a wonderful musical song.... Just sit and listen.
Reference: Norfolk Island: South Pacific island of history and many delights. Jean Edgecombe 1991.
Fantail
Norfolk Island Flag
The Norfolk Island flag was adopted by statute, the Norfolk Island Flag and Public Seal Act 1979.
The Act provides that the flag shall be divided vertically into three panels. The two outside panels of green with a slightly larger middle panel of white and green with the Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) centred in this panel.
The Norfolk Island Flag, protected under legislation, is to be honoured and treated with respect.
When an island resident dies, the flags are lowered to halfmast on the day of the death and also on the day of the funeral, following the radio announcement.
Flag
Seeds and spores travelled long distances in wind and water to colonise this isolated oceanic island.
Today, Norfolk supports a diverse and unique plant community, well suited to the volcanic soils and sub-tropical oceanic climate.
The island’s isolation has allowed plants and animals to develop here that are found nowhere else in the world. It is home for around 200 native plants, including more than 40 that are unique to the Island.
Before European settlement, subtropical rainforest covered almost the entire island.
Reference: Norfolk Island Parks
Flora & Fauna
Foundation Day event - celebrated annually on Norfolk Island
As a result of Captain Cook’s report that Norfolk Island’s pines would make useful masts for the Royal Navy ships, a special detachment of free settlers and convicts were sent to take possession of Norfolk Island.
The initial landing on the island was made by Lieutenant Philip Gidley King on 4 March 1788, with the rest of the party landing on the southern side of the island on 6 March.
King’s small party of nine male and six female convicts began the formidable task of establishing a settlement for commercial development. As the entire island was covered in pine trees, the clearing of land was arduous.
Further convicts and free settlers continued to arrive until the population grew to about 1,100. The practicalities of preparing flax for sails was difficult, and the pine timber proved unsuitable as a resilient product for masts.
The lack of a harbour and subsequent loss of HMS Sirius in 1790, and difficulties with communication brought the decision to remove all inhabitants to other settlements at Port Phillip or Van Diemen’s Land. Norfolk Island returned to its primitive state, after a quarter of a century of human penal occupation.
On 28 February 1814 the settlement was abandoned.
Foundation Day
1788 - 1814
First (British) Settlement
Open 7 days a week
10am to 4pm
Corner of Queen Elizabeth Avenue and Middlegate Road
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Bounty Museum
P.O Box 69
Norfolk Island
NSW 2899
Phone: 53961