Norfolk Island is an external territory of Australia located 990 miles (1,600 kilometres) to the east-north-east of Sydney with an area of 13.4 square miles (34.6 square km). The island was first settled by East Polynesian seafarers during the 13th or 14th century. They had left by the time Great Britain took control of the island in 1788 as part of the settlement of Australia. The island was used as a harsh penal colony from 1788 until 1855, except for an 11-year hiatus between 1814 and 1825. Soon after the penal colony closed, descendants of the Bounty mutineers were relocated from Pitcairn Island, and became permanent residents of the island.
Kingston
Saturday, 17th September 2022
View of the natural scenery at Kingston with a small area of marshland in the foreground. The landscape beyond is gentle rolling hills covered with grass and rows of distinctive Norfolk Island pine trees.Ruins of the Convict or Civil Hospital built in 1829 for the second penal settlement. Stone steps can be seen leading up to the main entrance. The building’s stone walls survive but the roof is gone. Conditions for convicts in the hospital were very poor with frequent overcrowding, excessive heat in summer, and exposure to cold and damp in winter. The second penal settlement began in 1825 and lasted until 1855.The ruins of the Crankmill. Here prisoners of the second penal colony were forced to carry out backbreaking labour by grinding corn using only human-powered machinery. The building was originally constructed in 1827 as a granary, before being converted into barracks in 1835, and then converted again into the Crankmill in 1837. It was destroyed by fire in 1856 and today only the thick stone outer walls survive. Remains of the Crankmill’s machinery can be seen in the Commissariat Store Museum.View at the rear of the Convict or Civil Hospital. A wooden fence runs along the side with an area of marshland beyond. This marshland separated the prisoners’ barracks and the associated buildings from the civil and military buildings along Quality Row.Tatiana and Tony stood in front of the gates to the New Gaol. The rectangular outer walls of the compound can be seen. The inner buildings were later quarried for stone and only ruined walls close to ground level now survive. The jail was constructed between 1836 and 1847. It contained a central pentagonal building of 84 cells. Each cell was 6 feet (1.8 metres) long, 5 feet (1.5 metres) wide, almost 11 feet (3.4 metres) high and could be occupied by up to three prisoners. There were also solitary confinement cells where prisoners were deprived of all sound and light, often sending the occupants insane.Tony sat on a stone convict prison toilet within the New Gaol compound. Tatiana is sat opposite on a rock.View out into the Pacific Ocean with penal colony ruins in the foreground. In the distance Nepean Island can be seen. Nepean Island is a small uninhabited island located about 800 metres off Norfolk Island’s south coast.Outside the entrance to the New Military Barracks. The site is surrounded by outer stone walls, while the building itself has an elegant Georgian façade. A flight of steps leading up to the main entrance can be seen. The barracks were built between 1835 and 1837 in response to fears of possible convict uprisings. The complex housed 164 soldiers and four sergeants. Today the building is used as the Administrator’s Office and Council Offices.Another view of the New Military Barracks taken from inside a passing vehicle.Looking from inside a vehicle with a field of cows off to the side and a row of Norfolk Island pines behind.he driveway leading to Government House with a row of tall Norfolk Island pines down one side. Government House, which is out of view, is a Georgian mansion built in 1829 and is the official residence of the Administrator of Norfolk Island.At the entrance to the Old Military Barracks built between 1829 and 1834. The site is similar in design to the New Military Barracks with stone outer walls and a large building with a Georgian façade in the middle of the compound. It included soldiers’ barracks and officers’ quarters as well as a military hospital. Today the ground floor houses Norfolk Island’s courthouse.A group of metal memorial plaques on stone bases in Norfolk Island’s Cemetery. These are mostly dedicated to people who arrived in Norfolk Island on the First Fleet starting in March 1788. The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships which carried Australia’s first European settlers. It sailed from Portsmouth, England, and took over 250 days to eventually arrive in Botany Bay, New South Wales. From there ships were sent to Norfolk Island in order to take control of the island and establish a penal colony.Norfolk Island Cemetery at Kingston. Rows of graves, many of which are adorned with flowers.
Sunday, 18th September 2022
Outside the Royal Engineer’s Office with the front doorway in view. This building dates from 1851 when Norfolk Island was used as a penal settlement. Today it is home to Kingston Information Centre providing local information and museum tickets.Tony outside a doorway at the Commissariat Store Museum. The building is four storeys in height and dates from 1835. The Commissariat were responsible for supplying food and other goods to the penal settlement’s convicts and jailers. Today the basement houses the museum while the rest of the building is a church.A large crankwheel on display inside the Commissariat Store Museum. This was once part of a machine used to grind corn using only human power. Prisoners of the penal colony were forced to operate this machine as part of their punishment.Metal machine parts at the Commissariat Store Museum, perhaps part of the crankwheel, or some other agricultural machinery.Small stone and metal tools in a display case at the Commissariat Store Museum. These are probably from archaeological excavations and originally belonged to East Polynesian seafarers who settled in Norfolk Island from the 13th or 14th century.Outside 10 Quality Row in Kingston. This historic house was built in 1844 at a time when Norfolk Island was a harsh penal settlement. The house was first occupied by Thomas Seller, a foreman of local building works. In 1985 it became a museum and was restored to look as it would have in the 1840s. The surrounding garden has also been restored to as it would have been at that time. The house is single storey with a wide veranda around the outside.Inside 10 Quality Row. A sitting room with a sofa and books on shelves next to a fireplace. A group of visitors are also in view.A dining room table with a plate and cutlery inside 10 Quality Row. This was probably used by a Pitcairn family after 1856.A stone basin inside the kitchen of 10 Quality Row.Tony stood in front of a Norfolk Island pine tree, a species found all over the island. This native species is a symbol of the island and appears on its flag. The trees have a distinctive shape with their widely spaced branches forming a symmetrical, triangular form.Inside the Sirius Museum. Tony is touching a carronade, which is a short, large calibre cannon. This museum is located in a 19th-century Protestant chapel and is named after a British navy ship, the HMS Sirius, which was wrecked in treacherous waters off Norfolk Island in 1790. The museum contains artifacts salvaged from the wreck.View inside the Sirius Museum showing a large anchor and more carronades. The museum gives the history of the HMS Sirius including its role in transporting convicts from Europe to Australia.Tony in front of an anchor in the Sirius Museum. Other items including a model of the ship are just visible in the background.Large metal artifacts from the HMS Sirius in a display case. These are possibly gudgeons, which would have been used to attach other components to the ship, such as its rudder.View from Quality Row, Kingston, with Government House in the near distance. Government House is a Georgian mansion built in 1829 and is the official residence of the Administrator of Norfolk Island. The surrounding landscape is grass with rows of Norfolk Island pine trees. This part of Kingston, including Quality Row and Government House, is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site covering Australian convict sites.Inside Bounty Folk Museum, which contains a diverse and quirky selection of items from the first and second penal settlements and the later Pitcairn Island settlers. The photo shows a stone toilet seat made and used by convicts, dating from 1830, according to the information card. A shingle knife, used for roofing, can also be seen.A wooden stool in the Bounty Folk Museum. This was made by a convict around 1830. The information card notes the nails were also hand made.A display case containing an assortment of items including pots of various sizes, and a pair of metal deer, probably used as ornaments.Items displayed on shelves including a carved wooden female head, perhaps Melanesian, and a carving depicting the Last Supper, by Italian carver A. Gianetti according to the information card, and probably made of stone or ivory.Another display case containing items including old clay pipes used by convicts, a wooden police truncheon, glass bottle pieces from the HMS Sirius which was wrecked in 1790, an old fork, and more.More items on display at the Bounty Folk Museum, including stone ballast from the HMS Sirius, a set of old keys from the mid-19th century, and a brace (a hand tool for drilling holes) made in Sheffield around 1850 and used until the 1930s according to the information displayed.A display case containing old cutlery and other tableware at the Bounty Folk Museum.A poster showing the uniform of the colony’s first armed services, and geological samples, including a jar of volcanic ash beneath.View through a doorway inside the Bounty Folk Museum. The walls are covered with an assortment of posters and old framed pictures.An old lathe at the Bounty Folk Museum.An x-ray machine in use at Norfolk Island’s hospital until the early 1970s. At the Bounty Folk Museum.
