Norfolk Island - not just for walking!

If ever there was a place where you can happily and seamlessly integrate walking with a whole range of other diversions, Norfolk Island is that place.

The September 2022 issue of “Walking” magazine introduced us to the delights of Norfolk Island, describing it as “360 degrees of wonder” and a place for “all year round walking and hiking.”

Since that article detailed its walks admirably, this one will focus on its more quirky character, in the hope that you will be enticed to not only go there to perambulate but also to appreciate it as an incredibly unique and fascinating place.

Many people know about its beauty - that’s a hard one to miss! And most people know rough details about the history of the Island - that it has many stories to tell about Australia’s convict settlements. They know it is part of Australia (1000km from the mainland) and that tourism is the main source of income. But often, that’s where their knowledge ends, and really, there is just so much more to discover.

The weird and wonderful things about this far-flung South Sea isle are seldom canvassed. Consider the following:

Norfolk Island is a mountain top remnant of an elongated shield volcano. The shelf around Norfolk and surrounding islands is 95 kilometres long, north to south, and 35 kilometres wide, east to west. The island itself has a total area of just 35 square kms. The population of the island was 1,748 in the 2016 census. It is a very small island that is not highly populated.

Norfolk Island has a marine subtropical climate which is best characterised as mild.

The maximum recorded temperature was 28.4°C, while the minimum is 6.2°C. The temperature almost never falls below 10°C or rises above 28°C. You can experience spring almost the entire year.

Norfolk Island is named after The Duchess of Norfolk, wife of Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk. The Duchess had already passed away but since Captain James Cook had set out from England in 1772 he had not heard of her death in 1773.

There were four periods of settlement on Norfolk Island: Polynesian settlement before 1788, the first (colonial) settlement 1788-1814, the second (penal) settlement 1825-1855, and the third (Pitcairn) settlement 1856 to present day (descendants from the famous mutiny on the Bounty).

Re-established as a penitentiary (1825–55) for the reception of the most desperate criminals from the British convict settlements in Australia, Norfolk Island became notorious as a place of merciless discipline and punishment, holding an average of 1,500 to 2,000 convicts. An uprising in 1834 saw thirteen prisoners executed. Some of their headstones are in the cemetery at Kingston.

Norfolk Island has its own language! Simply known as ‘Norf’k’, it’s a blend of 18th century English and Tahitian and was originally introduced by Pitkern-speaking settlers from Pitcairn Island. Along with English, it is the co-official language of Norfolk Island.

Norfolk Island celebrates their own public holiday, Bounty Day, on June 8 with a feast and a ball. It marks the arrival of the Bounty mutineers (from Pitcairn Island) in 1856. Approximately 20% of the population on Norfolk Island identify as having Pitcairn ancestry.

Norfolk Island is also one of the few locations outside America to celebrate Thanksgiving as a public holiday. This is a legacy from the American whaling ships, which made frequent stops at the island during the late 1800’s.

Although it is not an independent country, Norfolk Island has its own flag. The flag was approved by the Norfolk Island Council on 6th June 1979. It depicts the Norfolk Island Pine in a central white stripe between two green stripes.

The capital of Norfolk Island is Kingston and is the second oldest town in Australia, settled in 1788, six weeks after Sydney.

The Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Area (KAVHA) is one of 11 historic sites that form the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage Property and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in July 2010. Norfolk Island Golf Club is actually one of the only golf courses in the world located within a World Heritage Site! The official anthem on Norfolk

Below left: a Autumn walk among the trees.

Island is ‘God save the King’. King Charles III is the head of state here. The governance of the island is handled by an Administrator. The island officially falls under the Federal Government as an external territory.

On 19th March 1790, HMS Sirius, flagship of the First Fleet, was wrecked off the reef at Slaughter Bay on Norfolk Island. Because of her role as the flagship, it is now arguably Australia’s most important shipwreck site. Approximately 6000 artefacts recovered between 1982 and 2002 now grace a local museum.

Norfolk Island has competed in eight of the eighteen Commonwealth Games, from 1986 onwards. Norfolk has won two bronze medals, both in lawn bowls (Carmen Anderson, women’s singles, 1994; Ryan Dixon, Hadyn Evans and Phillip Jones, men’s triples, 2018).

There are no railways, waterways, ports or harbours on the island.

Loading jetties are located at Kingston and Cascade, but ships cannot get close to either of them. When a supply ship arrives, it is emptied by whaleboats towed by launches, five tonnes at a time. Which jetty is used depends on the prevailing wind of the day.

The highest point on the island is Mount Bates, which stands 1m taller than Mount Pitt, and is 319m above sea level. The average elevation is just 110m asl.

Norfolk Island has some unique laws, for example cows have the right of way. If you have cows grazing along the roads, you must have them registered, the same as your car is registered to be on the road.

There is a section in the Norfolk Island phone book that lists people by their nicknames as opposed to their formal name, as a lot of people on Norfolk are known solely by their nickname.

Norfolk Island has 174 native plants. 51 of them are endemic. At least 18 of the endemic species are rare or threatened. The Norfolk Island palm ( Rhopalostylis baueri ) and the smooth tree-fern (Cyathea brownie), the tallest tree-fern in the world, are common in the Norfolk Island National Park but are rare elsewhere on the island.

The island is known for fresh produce, grown by the locals.

There are no snakes on Norfolk Island, so you can enjoy moving about safely!

Has your interest been aroused? If so, the Footsteps Walking and Travel Club can take you there on a wonderful one-week excursion (2-9 Novem ber 2023) which combines short walks with seven special tours/events. It’ll be a beaut little pre-Christmas break and a great way to “gear up” for next summer. For more information, go to their website www.footstepswalkingclub. com, or contact them on 021 172 3244, footstepsanz@gmail.com

Above left: Lookng out from a house in the bush.

Above right: Fish is a popular dish on the island..

Below left: A very steep cliff down to this beach.

Below right: A group taking to a mountain bike trail.

Above: A group walking down a track through a pine plantation.