NORFOLK ISLAND
Living History
M
OST OF US ASSOCIATE NORFOLK ISLAND with a convict past, but there is a lot more to its history than that, and the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area recognises not only the role this district has played in the island’s past, but its continued status as a site of living history.
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The first inhabitants of Kingston and Arthur’s Vale were Polynesian, and Norfolk Island remains the only site in Australia to display evidence of early Polynesian settlement. Archaeological investigations have revealed evidence of landscape modifications in the Emily Bay area, including artefacts and structural remains that have been interpreted as a rudimentary marae. Radiocarbon dating of these sites indicates the settlement of the area occurred between AD 1200 and AD 1600. Exactly where these early settlers came from is not known for certain, but the origins of the next wave
