Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island ( Norfuk: Norfuk Ailen ) is an island in the Pacific Ocean, which belongs to Australia. North of it lies Caledonia, west of Australia, in the south of New Zealand.

Geography

Norfolk Island is located about 1500 kilometers east of the Australian continent. It is surrounded to the south area with the capital Kingston from inaccessible cliffs. Highest elevations of the volcanic island are the two mountains Bates ( 318 m) and Pitt (316 m). The national territory adjacent to the Norfolk Island are also the smaller, uninhabited islands Nepean and Phillip. All three are of volcanic origin and therefore provide a fertile soil for agriculture.

Climate

It has a subtropical climate with an annual average temperature of 19 ° C and 1,350 mm annual rainfall. A particular danger are the cyclones that occur in particular from May to July.

Population

The population is made up one third of the descendants of the Bounty mutineers ( Pitcairner ) and two-thirds of immigrants over time, Australians, New Zealanders and Polynesians. Between the two groups, there are often disputes. While the descendants of 1856 they moved to the island Pitcairner who see themselves in the tradition of their ancestors may occur for a conservative policy with the independence of Norfolk Island as a destination, the descendants of the immigrants are progressive and because of their origin open to the world, that is, they cherish close contacts with the mainland.

The majority of the population speaks English, only a few are still the Norfuk powerful, a mixture of the English language of the 18th century and ancient Tahitian. The Anglican Church is a member of more than one third of the population, the rest is distributed to the Uniting Church in Australia, the Roman Catholic denomination, the Seventh- day Adventists, members of other faiths and atheists.

History

After a series of archaeological investigations traces of an early Polynesian settlement from the period of the 10th to 15th centuries have been found in the dunes of Emily Bay, the first settlers of Norfolk Iceland. They built of local basalt houses and stoves for fish, turtles and birds. It also artifacts of obsidian were found to originate from an island about 1300 kilometers east of Norfolk Island lying. Why do these residents leave the island, is not known.

When the British navigator James Cook on October 10, 1774 the first European to set foot in the remote island, which he in honor of Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk gave the name Norfolk Island later, he found a paradise, but uninhabited landscape. The British Crown took over the territory in 1788 in possession and divided it into the Australian administrative unit New South Wales. Due to its remote location and the numerous useful for navigation resources (such as flax and conifers ), the island was suitable excellently as a penal colony, which is why on March 6, 1788 a group of 15 prisoners under the command of Lieutenant Philip Gidley King landed on Norfolk Island and a first settlement founded. Initially a convict camp for criminals who had earned through good leadership on the mainland, the displacement, the most developed island becoming the dreaded convict Institute of the Pacific. The permanent supply of convicts cared for lack of space and famines, the commander responded with draconian punishments on any form of resistance. With the collapse of wood and flax processing the penal colony was completely abandoned in 1813, all the buildings demolished, all goods shipped into the country and the island returned to almost to its original condition.

Twelve years passed before the Norfolk Island again became interesting for the British government. Due to the sharp rise in the crime rate in their own country were loud again after a convict colony in the vast expanses of the ocean. Again, the Norfolk Island has been chosen, but this time as a prison for criminals severely. From then on, the relocation to the island with her 1825 re- established a penal colony, the maximum sentence for each criminal. In a labor camp allowed the prisoners to toil under extreme conditions, tons of injuries and deaths, there was to be deplored. In 1844 the Norfolk Island part of Tasmania. At that time hardly anyone knew in the British home of the events in the penal colony. Gradually, however, penetrated reports to the public, there were numerous protests, and so the detention center had to be closed in May 1855. Finding gold on the Australian continent in the Pacific had already lost its deterrent effect, the myth of the inhospitable and desolate marine region was now no longer tenable. Many Brits now moved freely to Oceania.

On June 8, 1856 met the 194 descendants of the Bounty mutineers who had lived to date at the 6000 km remote Pitcairn Island, on Norfolk Island, since this amount could feed Pitcairn residents any more. Although a total of five families returned in 1858 and 1864 from Pitcairn back, but most stayed and watched the area from now on as their home.

Politically, too, progress has been made: The Norfolk Island was on November 1, 1856 under the parent to own one, New South Wales territory with the utmost autonomy. 1897 raised to the self-government, however, again, and on 1 July 1914, the island became an Australian region. Although she received with the so-called Norfolk Island Act ( Norfolk Iceland Act ) on August 10, 1979 again a certain degree of autonomy, yet they considered Australia still considered his property, fulfilled many promises in relation to the pursuit of the local people for self-determination not and also set 1979 adopted laws for the most part not practical.

The committed in March 2002 murder of 28 -year-old Australian restaurant manager Janelle Patton employed for many years the local police and the judiciary and caused quite a stir, but was committed more than a century, no such offense on Norfolk Island. In August 2006, the hearings began in the trial of the accused. On 9 March 2007, the first murder trial went on for 151 years with a guilty verdict at the end. The 29 -year-old New Zealand chef Glenn McNeill was convicted.

Policy

As the Australian territory Norfolk Island is managed by the Ministry of Environment, Sport and Territories. Valid Constitution is the Norfolk Island Act 1979, which gives the island a certain degree of autonomy, such as the establishment of a separate legislative, police, judicial and customs authorities. Legal foundation are the Australian laws that exist next to a variety of local ordinances. In public areas, which are not governed by Australian law, attacks British law. Judicial bodies are the Supreme Court ( Supreme Court ), and a court for minor offenses, the Court of Petty Sessions.

Head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, as the representative of Australia and the crown on the island acts appointed by the Australian Governor-General Administrator (since 1 November 2003 business leader Owen Walsh). Every three years, is elected by all persons over 18 years of a nine- strong parliament seats. In this case, each voter has nine equal voices are available, of which he can send a maximum of four candidates. Parliament elects the Prime Minister, who is at the head of a five-member government.

List of Government and Prime Minister:

Economy

The most important economic factor of the country is tourism, which has brought a degree of prosperity, and especially the connection to the rest of the world population. In particular, the now restored building of the former convict settlement in Kingston and one quarter of the island making up protected areas ( for example, the bird sanctuary on the Philip Island ) are popular focal points for visitors. The authorization granted by the government restricting the number of visitors to a maximum guaranteed year-round high quality tourism. The island can be reached via an airport; there is no real ports, but only two jetties at Kingston and Cascade.

The second most important industry is agriculture. Through the cultivation of cereals, fruit and vegetables as well as the production of beef, poultry and eggs, the island can be largely self-sufficient. Exports are mainly the seeds of the characteristic of the Norfolk Island pine room, Rhopalostylispalmen, avocados and for philatelists around the world interesting stamps. Customers are in the other Pacific States, Europe and Asia.

Melanesian Chapel

Gannets

Captain Cook Lookout

Culture

Country specific holidays are the anniversary March 6 ( in 1788 the first convicts arrived that day on the island ) and the National "Bounty Day" ( arrival of the former inhabitants of Pitcairn Island 1856) on June 8. In addition, numerous Australian and British Holidays have validity.

One of the main attractions of the island, the Fletcher 's Mutiny Cyclorama, a realistic panoramic painting depicting the history of the Bounty mutiny and the islanders.

Part of Norfolk Island and the offshore island of Philip Iceland are provided as a national park protection (see Norfolk Iceland National Park ).

Since 2010, the original convict camp because of its historical significance, the Kingston and Arthur's Vale Historic Area, registered in the list of UNESCO World Heritage.

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