Captain James Cook in HMS Resolution on 10 October 1774:

“I took possession of this Isle.... and named it Norfolk Isle, in honour of that noble family”.

Norfolk is Senior Duke in the British peerage, head of the College of Heralds and, as Earl Marshall, holds the Eighth Great Office of State in Britain.

However, Johann Forster, one of Cook’s naturalists, tells another story.

“The name was given in honour of the Duchess of Norfolk, who recommended it to Captain Cook to have one isle named after her...”

Mary Blount, wife of the Ninth Duke, was a Devonshire lady keenly interested in her garden and in plants Cook had brought her from his previous voyage. She had died in 1773 without knowing that he would give her name to this lovely island of tall pines.

Reference: Norfolk Island: South Pacific island of history and many delights. Jean Edgecombe 1991.

The Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla) has been adopted as a symbol of the Island since the earliest colonial settlement, and today this tree graces the Norfolk Island flag.

Captain Elliott, of HMS Fly arrived in 1838 and took formal possession of Pitcairn Island on behalf of the British Crown.

He established a form of civil government which was the basis of a distinctive system of government which the Pitcairn Islanders brought with them to Norfolk Island in 1856.

Regular visits by the British Navy and American whalers assisted the community.

Visitors to the island consistently admired the well-ordered stature of this small Pitcairn society.

The island, approximately 3.2 km long and 1.6 km wide, is smaller than Norfolk but with several features in common: it is volcanic, and it possesses high cliffs which make access difficult.

The Norfolk Island community has a distinctive culture and traditions that reflect its history.

The resettlement of the Pitcairners to Norfolk Island in 1856, along with the establishment of a particular system of laws and administration, has resulted in a contemporary community that strongly values and celebrates its traditions and culture.

Today, the strong Pitcairner cultural influences which derive from the earlier settlement period are interwoven with other cultural influences and expressions. There are strong continuing links between Norfolk and Pitcairn Islands, with many people visiting the other island to renew links with family.

Key aspects of this distinctive culture include the Norf’k language, a strong sense of independence and self-reliance, celebratory events, distinctive building styles, land use and farming practices, crafts, maritime skills, and expressed in many other ways.

Family names of Norfolk Islanders still indicate specific historical connections. Adams, Christian, McCoy, Quintal and Young are the Bounty names; and Buffett, Evans and Nobbs are the Pitcairn names.

Reference: KAVHA Heritage Management Plan - April 2016

Each Pacific Island has a different approach to their plaiting. In such an isolated situation, each island’s plait is mainly characterised by its creative use of limited materials.

The pandanas is a common material growing in abundance throughout most of the islands, used for its strong leaves. Norfolk Island is the exception to this general rule with only a ‘handful’ of pandanas plants currently growing.

To plait on the island we collect moo-oo from the sides of cliffs, banana bark and corn husk from vegetable gardens, flax from creeks and palm leaves from just about any corner of the island.

Throughout the history of plaiting we can see that Norfolk Islanders are resourceful people. With food being an enjoyable part of our culture, we have even been taught to use plants that have already helped families to produce food (corn and bananas) as materials for plaiting.

Reference: Plaiting in Paradise, Dianne Buffett.

Point Hunter Reserve is located within the Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area on the southern coast of Norfolk Island and has an area of 30.91 hectares.

The Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area (KAVHA) was established in 1980 when it was entered in the Register of the National Estate.

This area was the centre of activity in the First and Second British settlements, with industrial activities reflected in the ruins of a windmill, salt house, and lime kilns. The hard labour of convicts working the stone quarries at Point Hunter and Cemetery Beach is a world away from the activities dominating the Reserve today.

Emily Bay is the Island’s most popular beach and almost half of the Reserve is used as the golf course. Prior to European settlement, there was a Polynesian village on the dunes behind Emily Bay.

Point Hunter Reserve was proclaimed a Public Reserve under the Commons and Public Reserves Act 1936 for recreation purposes on 17 October 1940. This Reserve is an important part of one of Australia’s most significant heritage sites.

Reference: Norfolk Island Public Reserves - Plans of Management

Point Ross Reserve is located on the south-western coast of Norfolk Island and has a total area of 7.952 hectares.

On 6 May 1971, Point Ross Reserve was proclaimed a public reserve under the Commons and Public Reserves Act 1936 for forestry and recreation purposes.

The Reserve has spectacular views of Norfolk’s coast and Phillip and Nepean Islands.

Although difficult to access, at the tip of Point Ross is Crystal Pool.

It has significant cultural, geological, landscape, and conservation values.

Reference: Norfolk Island Public Reserves - Plans of Management

Captain Cook had found Norfolk Island uninhabited, as did Lieutenant King on his arrival 14 years later.

However in his journal of 27 April 1788, King records finding in Arthur’s Vale: “a great quantity of plantane trees, which grow close to the Stream of fresh water which runs through the valley... the Plantane trees grow close to the Water and are so thick that they choak each other besides the very great quantity of other small aquatic shrubs and the bear-bind with which they are interlaced must necessarily retard their perfection...”

This was a most peculiar discovery on an uninhabited island. Plantains (bananas) grow, not from seed but from rooted suckers which must be planted by someone. Again, various stone tools, some incomplete, and stone flakes were found in various places.

First crops of the new settlement had been ravaged by Polynesian rats. Widespread throughout the area, they live in close association with people and were on Norfolk in large numbers when the British arrived.

Archaeological excavations in more recent years revealed a Polynesian habitation site at Emily Bay dating from c1200AD. There is a dark-coloured cultural layer below the sand, structural remains, an extensive artefacts assemblage and evidence of landscape modification. The structures include ovens, refuse pits, postholes and a paved structure interpreted as a rudimentary ‘marae’. The remains are covered with sand.

Obsidian flakes found during the excavation, which were determined after analysis to be from the Kermadecs, and other artefacts are held in the Norfolk Island Museum. It is probable they were from the Kermadec Islands north of New Zealand.

Their disappearance as a settlement remains a mystery.

Reference: Norfolk Island: South Pacific island of history and many delights. Jean Edgecombe 1991.