Kingston and Arthurs Vale Historic Area

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Australian Convict Sites
UNESCO world heritage UNESCO World Heritage Emblem
Norfolk Island jail1.jpg
Kingston and Arthurs Vale Historic Area
National territory: Australia
Type: World Heritage
Criteria : (iv) (vi)
Reference No .: 1306
UNESCO region : Asia and Pacific
History of enrollment
Enrollment: 2010  (session 34)

The Kingston and Arthurs Vale Historic Area (KAVHA), which is located on 250 acres of the Pacific Norfolk Island , is an important historically preserved convict settlement from the time when Australia was still a British convict colony . The area is on the Australian National Heritage List and on the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of eleven Australian Convict Sites .

On the grounds of the KAVHA there are buildings that reflect the living conditions of the British convicts in the period from 1788 to 1855, as well as historical traces of early Polynesian settlement. Today the KAVHA site and buildings are used by the government and administration of the island as well as by those seeking relaxation.

The listed area is located near the settlement of Kingston , the official capital of the Norfolk Island, on the small bays Emily Bay and Slaughter Bay , which are part of the larger Sydney Bay .

Polynesian settlement

A number of recent archaeological studies in the cemetery and at Emily Bay have revealed early Polynesian settlement. In the dunes of Emily Bay , traces of an East Polynesian village from the 12th to 15th centuries were found, which were probably left behind by the first settlers of the Norfolk Island. They built houses and ovens from the local basalt , where they fried caught fish, turtles and birds. There were artifacts of obsidian found, the eastern of the approximately 1,300 km Kermadec Islands originate. Why these residents left the island is not known.

Convict settlement

Enclosure wall with entrance gates
Gravestone of a convict

The Norfolk Island was settled on March 2, 1788 by a group of 15 prisoners, four military and four civilian escorts under the leadership of the British lieutenant Philip Gidley King . As a result, hundreds more convicts came to the island in a short time, which led to a lack of space and famine. The commanders reacted to any form of convict resistance with draconian punishments. Thefts were committed every day and the perpetrators could only seldom be found, and only severe punishment and surprising searches of the huts deterred something. The convicts' work ethic was poor because there were not enough supervisors for the convicts.

First, convicts came to the island who had done well in New South Wales ; However, when the wood and flax processing collapsed on the island, the convict colony was completely abandoned in 1813 and the island was left to its own devices. 12 years later, Norfolk Island became a prison for serious criminals who had to work under the most extreme conditions. The death rate was correspondingly high.

This settlement became known as hell in paradise (German: Hell in Paradies), which helped fuel the debate about the treatment of convicts. When reports about the conditions there reached the public in England and the free population of Norfolk Island protested, the prison was closed in May 1855.

In 1856 the island began to be settled by islanders from Pitcairn , whose descendants now make up half of the island's population.

Buildings

The KAVHA site is administered by the official island administration. Although buildings were lost due to natural destruction, the most important buildings have been repaired and restored since the 1970s. The first structural securing of the outer walls began in 1962.

On the premises of the KAVHA are:

  • The New Military Barracks are a rare and well-preserved example of military barracks for soldiers and officers, a military hospital and ammunition depot from the early days of Australia. The building complex, in which almost 170 soldiers were housed, was completed in 1837. Today the island administration is housed there.
  • The Old Military Barracks were built from 1829 to 1834 and formed the centrally located barracks with quarters for soldiers and officers, which included a military hospital, kitchen and washrooms. The buildings are surrounded by a high wall. The first Methodist Church was built into the building complex; Later uses were for training and representative purposes. The buildings were also used by the Burns Philp Company and later served as a depot. Today it is the House of Representatives for the Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly .
  • The Government House was built in 1828, in which the existing structure of the 1804 built Government House was integrated. It was the third building on the island and is one of the oldest government buildings in Australia. The building was abandoned in 1855 and put back into operation in 1862. Today it houses a school and is the residence of the island administration.
  • The eleven officers' quarters on Quality Row were built between 1832 and 1847 as residences for military, administrative and civilian executives, separate from the convict buildings. Some of these buildings are only preserved as ruins. House No. 10, including the interiors and furnishings, was reconstructed according to the time of the 1840s and is now a museum.
  • The Commissariat Store was completed in 1835 and is one of the best preserved examples of Georgian architecture . The building contained sales rooms for goods and alcoholic beverages, dining room, offices and other business premises. In 1874 a church was built on the ground floor, with the ceiling between the ground floor and first floor being removed to create a higher room.
  • The site's historic cemetery has numerous historic tombstones that have been erected since 1825 and give examples of the convicts' fate, circumstances, revolts and deaths.

Todays use

Today the KAVHA site is visited and used by the island's residents and visitors. The restored buildings are used for museums, administrative and administrative purposes, but also for church, sporting and cultural purposes.

The area serves as a sports and picnic area, golf course and cemetery. Of great importance is Kingston Pier, construction of which began in 1839 and was completed in 1847, and is still used today to land goods from ships anchored in the bay with the help of small boats and barges. The Emily Bay and Slaughter Bay are used for swimming, snorkeling, diving, windsurfing and sport fishing.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Kingston and Arthur's Vale Historic Area - Heritage Management Plan . April 8, 2016, p. 24, 32 and 61 (English, online [PDF; 39.9 MB ; accessed on October 14, 2017]).
  2. ^ Kingston and Arthur's Vale Historic Area - Heritage Management Plan . April 8, 2016, p. 24 (English, online [PDF; 39.9 MB ; accessed on October 14, 2017]).
  3. ^ Arthur Phillip , edited by Rudolf Plischke: Australien. The establishment of the penal colony (=  Lamuv Taschenbuch . No. 293 ). 1st edition. Lamuv Verlag, Göttingen 2001, ISBN 3-88977-593-4 , p. 82 ff .
  4. ↑ No. 10 Quality Row. In: Norfolk Island Museum. Retrieved October 13, 2017 (English, information on the museum building).
  5. ^ Kingston and Arthur's Vale Historic Area - Heritage Management Plan . April 8, 2016, p. 36 (English, online [PDF; 39.9 MB ; accessed on October 14, 2017]).
  6. ^ Kingston and Arthur's Vale Historic Area - Heritage Management Plan . April 8, 2016, p. 61; Pictures p. 55 and p. 109 (English, online [PDF; 39.9 MB ; accessed on October 14, 2017]).
  7. ^ Kingston and Arthur's Vale Historic Area - Heritage Management Plan . April 8, 2016, p. 39–43 (English, online [PDF; 39.9 MB ; accessed on October 14, 2017]).

Coordinates: 29 ° 3 ′ 12 ″  S , 167 ° 57 ′ 31 ″  E