Norfolk Island

From Prison to Paradise.
Norfolk Island has all the charm of a friendly country town with all the beauty of a Pacific island.
By Artemis Gouros

It is a little remembered fact that in the year 1788 two Sydney Towns were settled, one in NSW and one on Norfolk Island. The first penal settlement on Norfolk Island lasted until 1814 and the second was from 1825 until 1854. In 1856, the descendants of the Bounty mutineers migrated from tiny Pitcairn Island to Norfolk Island and this third settlement continues today. Before I got to Norfolk Island I had some questions along the lines of ‘what kind of place has a NSW postcode and yet expects Australian citizens to have a passport?’ In truth, some of the laws and customs of this tiny paradise may seem strange to we mainlanders but a few days on the island are enough banish any doubts. The attractions and advantages are manifold. The fact that there is no income tax, GST, snakes or poisonous spiders particularly appealed to me. The wildest animals are the feral chooks. I was quite alarmed by this until I saw these creatures. The word ‘feral’ instantly conjures up images of snarling spitting wild cats that will kill you as soon as look at you.

The feral chooks of Norfolk Island are not like that at all, they are relaxed looking things with extremely glossy feathers and the air of creatures that know they are master of all they survey. Little facts about the place kept intriguing me. There are just under two thousand people on the island and double the amount of cars. The only road rules that apply are drink driving and avoiding cattle as they have right of way (and boy do they know it). Driving at night can be alarming at first as there are no streetlights but then, there are so few cars on the road that it doesn’t matter. Another driving technique I tried to get the hang of was the ‘Norfolk wave’, where a motorist courteously acknowledges a passing driver. I’m afraid I usually waved too frantically and too late as I was keeping one nervous eye out for cattle and letting the other be distracted by the gorgeous scenery.

Describing the people as merely ‘friendly’ does not do them justice. They are lively, inquisitive and genuine. I flew to the island with Norfolk Jet whose staff gave me a preview of the kind of genuine hospitality and friendliness I was going to receive for the duration of my stay. I arrived on Wednesday which is traditionally half day on Norfolk and this particular Wednesday was also Thanksgiving, an American holiday that is celebrated on the island. I was the first person to emerge from the airport - having cannily stowed both my bags in the overhead compartment - and had naively imagined I was going to hop a taxi immediately. Standing in the bright sunshine I craned my neck in vain, trying to spy a cab amongst the tour buses. A man with a clipboard detached himself from a group of the same and approached me purposefully. Within mere moments, nay seconds, he knew my name, business, place of accommodation and had kindly stowed my bags on a trailer after dashing my taxi hopes.

So I happily hitched a ride on a tour bus to the Colonial of Norfolk Island where I was staying. The actual hotel has existed for 30 years and has been The Colonial since 1989. The hotel blends luxury and comfort, has one of the best restaurants on the island called Annabelles and is going to be even bigger and better than it already is with renovations and extensions scheduled for early this year. Like all good hotels, The Colonial goes that extra bit further with regard to service such as daily courtesy buses to the shops and Sunday church runs. My first stop when I got there was the lounge that boasts a portrait of the ninth Duchess of Norfolk, the island’s namesake. After a refreshing drink and a lovely welcome I went to my room to prepare for that night’s Sound and Light Show. The Colonial kindly lent me a vehicle so that I could meet the Pinetrees tour bus at the roundabout, an instruction that is more detailed than it may at first appear. There is only one roundabout on the island and it is located in the middle of ‘town’.

I was told that the locals drove directly over the roundabout for the first couple years it was there whereupon, having put it in its place, they then condescended to go around it in the usual fashion. The show was fantastic and extremely informative. Accompanied by the voice of a convict ghost we drove around the ruins of the old jail at Kingston (originally Sydney Town and renamed after Lieutenant King to avoid confusion with the mainland city), and witnessed re-enactments of penal life. The legend of ‘Bloody Bridge’ was especially gruesome, a convict work gang beat their overseer to death and then sealed him up in the bridge. Unfortunately for them, their tale of the overseer wandering off and leaving them was belied by the blood that seeped out of the bridge stones and ultimately gave them away.

The next day I attended the fish fry where you get a fabulous meal and cliff top sunset together. The fish was mouth watering, the local specialties including coconut bread were divine and the Norfolk language (a blend of 19th century English and Tahitian), was increasingly hard to understand with each glass of wine. The most fascinating thing about the island is the way in which it wears its past. It is living history, the past is all around you in both the atmosphere and the landscape. The locals know all about their ancestors as was evidenced by the Pinetrees tour conductors. Their talks were backed up by the diaries, letters and stories of their families and made it real in a way a textbook never can. I saw all of the island while I was there and was constantly impressed by its rich past and beautiful buildings. The Melanesian chapel with its stunning and unique stained glass windows was an absolute delight and ‘Quality Row’, a street of magnificent Georgian houses, was another of my favourites.

The Queen Elizabeth lookout, opened by her majesty in 1974 on the bicentenary of Captain Cook’s discovery of the island, affords an excellent view of Nepean and Philip Islands, the ocean and sloping hills dotted with pine trees and meandering cattle. Emily Bay is an absolutely idyllic spot, a perfect crescent of aqua water and a stunning backdrop to Norfolk’s amazing cemetery. Strolling through this little island’s graveyard is an illuminating activity. The headstones are remarkable for both their history and their inscriptions. Here is humanity in all its glory and tragedy with children’s and officer’s graves and a grassy mound just outside the fence that is the only reminder of a mass convict grave. I had an uneasy moment when I stopped by one particular headstone and had the nasty sensation I was seeing my future. Its occupier was proclaimed to have been ‘A kind and motherly aunt’. I resolved to speak to my nieces on the subject the moment I returned home, just in case.

Norfolk Island has something for everyone; some attractions include a golf course, glass bottom boats, horse riding and bushwalks. It is the type of place that motivates you to go outside and enjoy yourself, it is so pretty and unspoiled. The people of Norfolk Island have found a happy medium between convenience and simplicity. There is no mobile phone network on the island nor any desire for one. There are just four TV channels, one of which is Norfolk TV and only a couple of radio stations. After a day or two on the island you begin to wonder why you ever thought you needed a mobile phone or 50 cable TV channels to keep amused. On Norfolk Island the people are friendly, the hills are green and the shopping is an absolute bargain. I left after four days wishing that I could have stayed four weeks and vowing to return.

CONTACTS

Colonial of Norfolk Island PO Box 70, Norfolk Island 2899 South Pacific Phone: + 6723 22177 Fax: + 6723 22831 Email: reservations@colonial.nf Pinetrees Tours Norfolk Island PO Box 363, Norfolk Island 2899 South Pacific Phone: +6723 22424 / 22174 Fax: +6723 23024 Email: pinetree@ni.net.nf Tourism Norfolk Island PO Box 211, Norfolk Island 2899 South Pacific Phone: +6723 22147 Fax: +6723 23109 Email: info@nigtb.gov.nf Norfolk Jet Phone: (07) 3221 6677 Fax: (07) 3211 9823 Email: res@norfolkjet.com.au