Norfolk Island

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Territory of Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island flag
Norfolk Island coat of arms
flag coat of arms
Motto : "In as much"
Official language English , Norfuk
Capital Kingston
Form of government Australian outskirts
Head of state Elizabeth II
Head of government Mayor Robin Adams (since 2016)
surface 34.6 km²
population 1748 (as of 2016)
Population density 51 inhabitants per km²
gross domestic product
  • Total (nominal)
 2016
  • A $ 81.8 million
currency Australian dollar (AUD)
National anthem Advance Australia Fair
Time zone UTC + 11
UTC + 12 (October to April)
License Plate no own
ISO 3166 NF , NFK, 574
Internet TLD .nf
Telephone code +672 3
Postal code: 2899
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The Norfolk Island (Norfuk: Norfuk Ailen ) is an island in the Pacific Ocean that belongs to Australia . To the north of it lies New Caledonia , to the west of Australia, to the south of New Zealand . The name of the island goes back to the English navigator James Cook , who discovered it in 1774 and named it in honor of Mary Howard, Duchess of Norfolk.

geography

View from the main island to Nepean and beyond to Phillip Island

The Norfolk Island is located around 1,400 kilometers east of the Australian continent and is part of the almost 1,100 km long Norfolk Ridge , which extends south from New Caledonia . The island is surrounded by inaccessible cliffs except for the southern area with the capital Kingston . The highest peaks on the island are the two mountains Bates (319 meters) and Pitt (318 meters). In addition to the Norfolk Island, the territory also includes the smaller, uninhabited islands of Nepean and Phillip . Like Phillip Island, Norfolk Island is of volcanic origin and therefore provides fertile soil for agriculture. The largest city on the island is Burnt Pine .

climate

There is a subtropical climate with an average annual temperature of 19 ° C and 1350 mm of annual precipitation. Cyclones , which occur particularly in the first few months of the year, represent a particular danger .


Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Norfolk Island
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 24.5 24.8 24.3 22.7 20.9 19.4 18.4 18.3 18.9 20.1 21.7 23.3 O 21.4
Min. Temperature (° C) 19.2 19.6 19.4 17.9 16.2 14.8 13.6 13.4 13.7 14.9 16.4 17.8 O 16.4
Precipitation ( mm ) 82.6 95.1 106.6 137.7 121.5 159.9 123.5 115.2 102.2 84.8 97.2 88.3 Σ 1,314.6
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 7.4 6.9 6.5 6.4 5.9 5.1 5.9 6.4 7.0 7.3 7.5 7.8 O 6.7
Rainy days ( d ) 8th 8th 10 11 12 14th 14th 14th 12 10 8th 7th Σ 128
Humidity ( % ) 82 83 83 81 80 81 80 81 81 82 81 80 O 81.2
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
24.5
19.2
24.8
19.6
24.3
19.4
22.7
17.9
20.9
16.2
19.4
14.8
18.4
13.6
18.3
13.4
18.9
13.7
20.1
14.9
21.7
16.4
23.3
17.8
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		82.6
95.1
106.6
137.7
121.5
159.9
123.5
115.2
102.2
84.8
97.2
88.3
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source: wetterkontor.de

environment

Within the Interim Biogeographic Regionalization for Australia , Norfolk Island belongs to the Bioregion Pacific Subtropical Islands (PSI) and forms the subregion PSI02 there.

flora

There are 174 native plants on the island. Of 51 endemic species, 18 are considered rare or endangered. Before European colonization, most of the island was covered by subtropical rainforest , with the Norfolk fir in exposed areas, palms and tree ferns in wetlands, and lianas and ferns in the undergrowth. An area of ​​five square kilometers was declared a Norfolk Island National Park in 1986 . The Norfolk tree fern ( Cyathea brownii ), which is considered to be the largest tree fern in the world, grows here .

The original rainforest is threatened by numerous neophytes .

fauna

John Gerrard Keulemans : Lithograph of a Norfolk Kaka

Many species and subspecies of native birds became extinct after the native subtropical rainforest was cleared . Introduced feral mammals such as rats, cats, pigs and goats as well as competing bird species such as blackbirds and parakeets have also contributed to this. Extinct species include the endemic Norfolk kaka , Norfolk earth pigeon, and Norfolk island thrush . Although the island is politically part of Australia, many bird species show similarities to the species of New Zealand. Some seabird species breed on Nepean Island , which is part of Norfolk. The solander petrel became extinct in the area at the beginning of the 19th century, but is now breeding again on the neighboring Phillip Island . Other seabirds that breed there include the Kermadec petrel , the Australian gannet , the red-tailed tropical bird and the black tern .

population

In 2016 the island had 1748 inhabitants, which corresponds to a population density of 51 inhabitants per square kilometer. One third of the population is made up of the descendants of the Bounty mutineers ( Pitcairner ) and two thirds are Australians, New Zealanders and Polynesians who have immigrated over time . There are often disputes between the two groups. While the descendants of the Pitcairners who moved to the island in 1856, who see themselves in the tradition of their ancestors, advocate a conservative policy with the independence of the Norfolk Island as the goal, the descendants of the immigrants are progressive and more cosmopolitan due to their origins - that is, they cherish close contacts to the mainland.

The majority of the population speaks English (45.5%), 40.9% can still speak Norf'k-Pitcairn , a mixture of the English language of the 18th century and old Tahitian . The Anglican Church are less than a third (29.5%) of residents in, the rest is distributed among the Uniting Church in Australia (9.6%) and the Roman Catholic denomination (12.6%). 26.8% are atheists .

The murder of 28-year-old Australian restaurant manager Janelle Patton in March 2002 kept the local police and judiciary busy for years and caused quite a stir, as no such crime had been committed on Norfolk Island for more than a century. In August 2006, the hearings in the trial of the defendant began. On March 9, 2007, the first murder trial in 151 years ended with a guilty verdict for New Zealand chef Glenn McNeill.

history

A number of recent archaeological studies have provided evidence of 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.

When the British navigator James Cook was the first European to set foot on the remote island on October 10, 1774, which he later named Norfolk Island in honor of Mary Howard, Duchess of Norfolk , he found a paradisiacal, but uninhabited landscape. The British Crown did not take possession of the area until 1788. Due to its remote location and the numerous resources useful for seafaring (such as flax and conifers ), the island was well suited for the establishment of a convict colony, which is why on March 2, 1788 a group of 15 prisoners under the leadership of Lieutenant Philip Gidley King on the Norfolk Island landed and founded the first settlement.

Initially a convict camp for criminals who had earned a transfer through good conduct on the mainland, the island developed more and more to become the most feared prison in the Pacific. The constant supply of convicts caused a lack of space and famine, the commanders reacted with draconian punishments to any form of resistance. With the collapse of wood and flax processing, the convict colony was completely abandoned in 1813; all buildings were demolished, all goods shipped home and the island was returned to its original state.

Twelve years passed before Norfolk Island became interesting again for the British government. Due to the sudden increase in the crime rate in their own country, calls for a convict colony in the vastness of the ocean were again loud. The Norfolk Island was chosen again, but this time as a prison for serious criminals. From then on, resettlement on the island with its convict colony re-established in 1825 was the maximum penalty for any criminal. In a labor camp, the prisoners were allowed to toil under extreme conditions. There were tons of injuries and deaths to complain about. In 1844, Norfolk Island became part of Van Diemens Land . At that time hardly anyone in their British homeland knew about the events in the convict colony. Gradually, however, reports became public, there were numerous protests, and so the prison had to be closed in May 1855. Due to the gold discoveries on the Australian continent, the Pacific region had lost its deterrent effect anyway, and the myth of the inhospitable and desolate sea region could no longer be upheld. Many Britons were now drawn to Oceania of their own free will.

On June 8, 1856, the 194 descendants of the Bounty mutineers (so-called Pitcainers ), who had lived on the island of Pitcairn 6000 km away , arrived on the Norfolk Island, as Pitcairn could hardly feed this number of residents. A total of five families returned to Pitcairn in 1858 and 1864, but most stayed and regarded the area as their home from then on.

politics

founding

The island was founded in March 1788 by the first convict colony of Australia in Botany Bay as the second British convict colony and was under the instructions of the governor of the first convict colony of New South Wales Arthur Phillip . After the island was abandoned in 1813, it remained deserted until 1825 when a penal prison was established on the island, which was under the direct control of the British Crown. The prison was abandoned in 1855 and in 1856 numerous descendants of bounty mutineers settled on Norfolk Island with the permission of the British colonial administration . In the same year it became a separate, New South Wales subordinate territory with the greatest possible autonomy. It wasn't until 1979 that the political situation changed again.

Norfolk Island Act 1979

As an Australian territory, Norfolk Island was administered by the Department for the Environment, Sports and Territories from 1979. The valid constitution was the Norfolk Island Act of 1979, which gave the island a certain degree of independence, for example the establishment of its own legislature , police , judiciary and customs authority . The legal basis was Australian laws, in addition to which there were a large number of local ordinances. In public areas not governed by Australian law, British law applied. Judicial bodies were the Supreme Court (Supreme Court) as well as a court for minor offenses, who was Court of Petty Sessions.

The head of state is the British Queen Elizabeth II , and the administrator appointed by the Australian Governor General and the Federal Executive Council (since April 1, 2017 Eric Hutchinson ) acts as the representative of Australia and the Crown on the island . Every four years a nine-seat parliament, the Norfolk Legislative Assembly , was elected by anyone over the age of 18. Each voter had nine equal votes available, of which he could give a candidate a maximum of four. Parliament elected the Prime Minister, who headed a five-member government. The last head of government on the island was Lisle Snell, who was only elected to the Norfolk Island Regional Council in 2016 , which consists of five members.

List of heads of government and prime ministers
  • Aug. 10, 1979 - May 21, 1986: David Ernest Buffett
  • May 21, 1986 - May 22, 1989: John Terence Brown
  • May 22, 1989 - May 20, 1992: David Ernest Buffett
  • May 20, 1992 - May 4, 1994: John Terence Brown
  • May 4, 1994 - May 5, 1997: Michael William King
  • May 5, 1997 - February 28, 2000: George Charles Smith
  • February 28, 2000 - December 5, 2001: Ronald Coane Nobbs
  • December 5, 2001 - June 2, 2006: Geoffrey Robert Gardner
  • June 2, 2006 - March 28, 2007: David Ernest Buffett
  • Mar 28, 2007 - March 24, 2010: Andre Neville Nobbs
  • March 24, 2010 - March 20, 2013: David Ernest Buffett
  • March 20, 2013 - June 17, 2015: Lisle Snell

Norfolk Island Legislation Amendment Bill 2015

With the Norfolk Island Legislation Amendment Bill 2015, which was enacted by the Australian Federal Parliament on May 14, 2015 and received the Royal Assent on May 26, 2015, the self-government of the Norfolk Island was repealed on June 30, 2016 and the island from the following 1. Subordinated to New South Wales law of July . Since then, the island has been managed by the Norfolk Island Regional Council. The affiliation with Australia is controversial among the population. The island is represented in the Australian general election in the Australian Capital Territory .

Norfolk Island Legislation (Migration) Transitional Rule 2016

Since 2016, the Norfolk Island has been included in the migration zone Australia with the Norfolk Island Legislation (Migration) Transitional Rule 2016 . This means that anlandende boat people on Flüchlingsbooten not apply for asylum in Australia you ask questions and they in immigration detention in Australia are set.

economy

Native palm species Rhopalostylis baueri

The Norfolk Island's gross domestic product was AUD 81.8 million in 2016 . The foreign trade balance is very negative; In 2016 imports of around AUD 60 million were compared to exports of less than AUD 3 million. At 1.6% (2016), unemployment is at a very low level.

The most important economic factor with a share of almost 40% in the economic activities of the country is tourism , which has brought the population a certain prosperity and above all the connection to the rest of the world. In particular, the now restored buildings of the former convict settlement in Kingston ( Kingston and Arthurs Vale Historic Area ) and the nature reserves that make up a quarter of the island (for example the bird reserve on Phillip Island, see also Norfolk Island National Park ) are popular places to go for visitors. The restriction of the maximum number of visitors decided by the government guarantees a high quality of tourism all year round. The island can be reached via an airport; There are no real harbors, only two landing stages in Kingston and Cascade. The laborious unloading with auxiliary ships leads to comparatively high prices for imported goods.

The second important branch of the economy is agriculture . The island is largely self-sufficient through the cultivation of grain , fruit and vegetables as well as the production of beef , poultry and eggs . The main exports are the seeds of the Norway firs , rhopalostylis palms , avocados and stamps of interest to philatelists all over the world . Customers can be found in the other Pacific countries, Europe and Asia .

Infrastructure

Pier in Kingston

The Norfolk Island has no waterways , ports and no rail network . Ship piers exist in Kingston and Cascade Bay, but large ships cannot be unloaded there because the piers are not designed for this. The unloading is done by smaller auxiliary vessels that can load up to five tons per trip. Frequent rapid changes in weather can cause the discharge to drag on for several days.

There is also an airport, Norfolk Island International Airport . The New Zealand airline Air New Zealand has regular flights to Brisbane and Sydney .

The road network covers around 80 kilometers, of which 53 kilometers are asphalt and 27 kilometers are unpaved. According to the law, cows have priority over other means of transport on the island.

The government-owned company "Norfolk Island Electricity" is responsible for supplying the island with electrical energy. It operates a power station in Burnt Pine with six diesel-powered generators with an output of 1 MW each. Since the maximum power requirement is only around 1.7 MW, a maximum of two of the generators work at the same time. There are also private solar systems with an installed capacity of 1.4 MW, most of which are integrated into the power grid. Because there is no storage option, the excess solar power produced during the day has to be destroyed. The power grid consists of 44 km of high-voltage lines , which are operated with 6600  volts , and 44 km of low-voltage lines .

There is a hospital on the island, but it is only allowed to carry out minor operations. In more difficult cases, patients have to be flown to mainland Australia, with the government paying the costs. In emergencies, medical evacuations are carried out by the Royal Australian Air Force .

Culture

Country-specific holidays are the founding day March 6th (in 1788 the first convicts arrived on the island on this day) and the national holiday "Bounty Day" (arrival of the former residents of Pitcairn Island in 1856) on June 8th. Numerous Australian and British public holidays also apply.

One of the island 's main attractions is the Fletcher's Mutiny Cyclorama, a realistic circular painting depicting the story of the bounty mutiny and the islanders. Part of the Norfolk Island and the offshore Phillip Island are protected as a national park (see Norfolk Island National Park ). Since 2010 the original convict camp, the Kingston and Arthurs Vale Historic Area , has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List due to its historical significance .

photos

  • Penal colony building

  • Saint Barnabas Chapel (Bishop Patteson Memorial Church)

  • Northern gannet

  • Captain Cook Lookout

  • graveyard

  • Bay and beach

  • Landscape on the Norfolk Island

literature

  • Peter Clarke: Hell and paradise - the Norfolk-Bounty-Pitcairn saga . Viking Press, Ringwood (Victoria) 1986, ISBN 0-670-81521-7 (English).
  • Merval Hoare: Norfolk Island - an outline of its history 1774-1977 . 2nd Edition. University of Queensland Press, Brisbane 1978, ISBN 0-7022-1941-X (English).
  • Dieter Kreutzkamp: Streets in Solitude. Australia. Outback, Queensland and Norfolk Island . With off-road vehicles, campers, kayaks, windjammers, bicycles and camels through the fifth continent. 2nd, revised and updated edition. Frederking and Thaler, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-89405-322-4 .
  • Colleen McCullough : Isle of the Lost - Australia saga . 1st edition. Blanvalet, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-442-36190-7 .
  • Peter Mühlhäusler, Joshua Nash (Ed.): Norfolk Island - History, People, Environment, Language . Battlebridge Publications, London 2012, ISBN 978-1-903292-25-9 (English).

Web links

Commons : Norfolk Island  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikimedia Atlas: Norfolk Island  - geographical and historical maps

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c 2016 Census QuickStats: Norfolk Island. Australian Bureau of Statistics , June 27, 2017, accessed October 21, 2017 .
  2. ^ A b Monitoring the Norfolk Island Economy - A report prepared for the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development . KPMG Australia, August 26, 2019, 3.4. Gross Territory Product, p. 10 (English, regional.gov.au [PDF; 563 kB ; accessed on April 14, 2020]).
  3. ↑ NFT time - Norfolk Time time zone. In: timeanddate.de. Time and Date AS, accessed October 8, 2019 .
  4. ^ DST News - Norfolk Island Standard Time Amendment (Daylight Saving) Ordinance 2018. In: worldtimezone.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019 .
  5. ^ A b History and culture on Norfolk Island. In: Norfolk Online News. Retrieved May 14, 2020 (English).
  6. ^ Norfolk Island. In: Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved October 21, 2017 (English).
  7. ↑ When to come. In: Norfolk Island. Australian Government - Parks Australia, accessed October 21, 2017 .
  8. ↑ WWF: Norfolk Island subtropical forests ( Memento from January 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ^ Phil Mercer: Guilty verdict on Norfolk Island. In: BBC News - Asia-Pacific. British Broadcasting Corporation , March 9, 2007, accessed October 21, 2017 .
  10. ^ Atholl John Anderson , Peter White: The Prehistoric Archeology of Norfolk Island, Southwest Pacific (=  Records of the Australian Museum . Supplement 27). Australian Museum, Sydney 2001, ISBN 0-7347-2305-9 , Prehistoric Settlement on Norfolk Island and its Oceanic Context, pp. 135–141 , doi : 10.3853 / j.0812-7387.27.2001.1348 (English, online at australianmuseum.net.au [PDF; 6.5 MB ]).
  11. ^ 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 21, 2017]).
  12. ↑ 225 Years Ago: October - December 1774. Captain Cook Society, accessed October 21, 2017 .
  13. ^ Kingston and Arthur's Vale Historic Area - Heritage Management Plan . April 8, 2016, p. 24 (English, online [PDF; 39.9 MB ; accessed on October 21, 2017]).
  14. ↑ With this phase of the first colonization of Australia and Norfolk with convicts deal with the factual novel by Colleen McCullough based on extensive research : Island of the Lost. Limes, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-8090-2459-7 (English Morgan's Run, 2000) and the research-based representation of Siân Rees: Das Freudenschiff. The true story of a ship and its female cargo in the 18th century. Piper, Munich / Zurich 2003, ISBN 3-492-23999-4 (English The Floating Brothel, 2001).
  15. ^ Norfolk Island Legislation Amendment Bill 2015. In: Parliamentary Business - Bills and Legislation. Australian Parliament , accessed October 21, 2017 .
  16. ^ Norfolk Island reform. In: Territories of Australia. Australian Government - Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, accessed October 21, 2017 .
  17. ↑ a b Andreas Stummer: Norfolk Island loses self-government - Is there a threat of mutiny on Bounty Island? In: Deutschlandfunk Kultur - Weltzeit. Deutschlandradio , June 28, 2016, accessed on October 21, 2017 .
  18. ^ Norfolk Island Governance. Australian Government, August 16, 2018.
  19. ↑ Norfolk Island Legislation (Migration) Transitional Rule 2016 , from 2016, on Commonwealth of Australia . Retrieved December 21, 2019
  20. ↑ Monitoring the Norfolk Island Economy - A report prepared for the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development . KPMG Australia, August 26, 2019, 3.3. Trade, S. 9 (English, regional.gov.au [PDF; 563 kB ; accessed on April 14, 2020]).
  21. ↑ Monitoring the Norfolk Island Economy - A report prepared for the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development . KPMG Australia, August 26, 2019, 4. Employment and industry, p. 11 (English, regional.gov.au [PDF; 563 kB ; accessed on April 14, 2020]).
  22. ↑ Monitoring the Norfolk Island Economy - A report prepared for the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development . KPMG Australia, August 26, 2019, 3.1. Tourism, S. 6 (English, regional.gov.au [PDF; 563 kB ; accessed on April 14, 2020]).
  23. ↑ Route network. In: Air New Zealand - Website Germany. Air New Zealand , accessed October 21, 2017 .
  24. ^ Battle for Norfolk Island. Mutiny. In: BBC News - Programs. British Broadcasting Corporation , May 18, 2006, accessed October 21, 2017 .
  25. ^ Norfolk Island Energy. In: Norfolk Island Living Library. Retrieved April 2, 2020 .
  26. ^ Giles Parkinson: Norfolk Island has “too much” solar, now it wants storage. In: RenewEconomy. March 30, 2017, accessed April 2, 2020 .
  27. ^ Electricity. In: norfolkisland.gov.nf. Norfolk Island Regional Council, accessed April 2, 2020 .
  28. ↑ Welcome to Fletcher's Mutiny Cyclorama. Official website of the Cyclorama. Norfolk Cyclorama, accessed October 21, 2017 .

Coordinates: 29 ° 2 ′  S , 167 ° 57 ′  E