If any place on Earth has the right to be called paradise, Norfolk Island is it. Located in the middle of the South Pacific, a lonely spot in a million square miles of untamed ocean, this island is home to one of the most isolated communities on Earth. And for me, it’s that, combined with its enormous historical significance, that made it such a must-see destination.

I first heard about this lonely little volcanic outcrop when I saw the movie “For the End of Its Natural Life” many years ago, a story about the struggles of the prison system when Norfolk Island was a British Island. Penal Colony in the late 1700s to early 1800s.

When we decided to take the family here on vacation, friends simply said, “Why?” It seems that the island has a certain reputation for attracting the “Nearly Dead or Newlywed” type of person.

Old or newly engaged, we weren’t. And for us, the island was everything we hoped it would be.

Without dancing!

Norfolk Island is not the place for teens and young adults who want to go disco dancing. Flavored milk is as exciting as life. But that in no way detracts from the appeal of this island paradise.

The peace, quiet and relaxation are there to be enjoyed en masse. This is a place where you can leave your car with the windows open, unlocked, and the keys in the ignition when you park. There are no thieves. The sense of security that this induces only has to be experienced to be truly understood. I have traveled extensively and have never felt this sense of total security anywhere else in the world.

When did the first Europeans arrive?

European settlement was first established on Norfolk Island shortly after Captain James Cook sighted the island in 1774. The British were eager to take possession before the French. And Cook claimed it for Britain: the first British settlers arrived in March 1788, just weeks after the First Fleet landed and settled at Sydney Cove. Norfolk Island was to be a farm, worked by prisoners, to feed the fledgling colony of New South Wales.

As a farm, it did not work well. Rats, caterpillars, and the weather were some of the reasons it failed miserably. In 1814, the island was abandoned and remained uninhabited until 1825, when the British government determined that it should be used as a penal colony for the worst and repeat offenders of the New South Wales settlement.

As a penal settlement between 1825 and 1855, Norfolk Island was extremely harsh and cruel. It was most memorable for its insufficient and poor quality of food, inadequate housing, the horrors of unnecessary torture and overzealous whipping, as well as the insubordination of convicts and the corruption of overseers.

In 1855 the prison period ends and the island is abandoned again. At that time, the island became home to the people of Pitcairn Island. Pitcairians were largely descended from the officers and crew of HMS Bounty, who many years before had set the infamous Captain William Bligh adrift in a rowboat in the middle of the South Pacific. But that is another story. The inhabitants of Pitcairn were at that time too numerous and the small island (Pitcairn) was too small to feed them all.

They desperately wrote to Queen Victoria asking if she “had any place available that could offer them a home”, while allowing them to stay together as a group.

The rest is history!

The queen felt some empathy for the hardships and hardships Pitcairns had endured, despite being outlaws at the time of the mutiny a few years earlier. She kindly chartered a ship to Pitcairn and moved the entire population, en masse, to Norfolk Island. The Pitcairners could hardly believe their luck. Her new home was to be an island 3,700 km to the west and it was large enough for all her present and future needs. Norfolk was much more hospitable than Pitcairn and had a large number of limestone houses, mills and ancillary buildings already built.

Must to see?

The vast majority of these simple yet elegant Georgian buildings are still there for us to see and enjoy today. The houses, the government buildings, – everything completely preserved. Many are still used every day, although in most cases not for the original purpose, thankfully! Near Kingston’s south shore, Quality Row (which used to be called Military Row) is a fabulous example of an entire row of Georgian bungalows. These housed senior prison officers and other officials. Over the road is the Government House where, even today, the Island Administrator lives when he resides on the Island. An ongoing restoration program ensures that all remain in pristine condition.

Sadly for some, the prison complex, with its innovative hub-and-spoke design that allowed just a handful of overseers to control hundreds of prisoners, was demolished long ago. With the arrival of the new inhabitants in 1856, after decades of repressed feelings that the prison evoked in all who confronted them, the new free inhabitants saw fit to tear down this building and put the finely worked stone to more useful use elsewhere. places.

The locals

…they are a very friendly bunch and smile and greet visitors warmly. They will greet you when you pass by in the car, and they really appreciate your custom in shops and cafes.

conclusion

If peace, quiet and serenity are what appeal to you, along with charm, safety and history, then Norfolk Island in the South Pacific should be a must-see for you too.