Norfolk Island#Courts

{{Main|History of Norfolk Island}}

Norfolk Island was uninhabited when first settled by Europeans, but evidence of earlier habitation was obvious. Archaeological investigation suggests that in the 13th or 14th century the island was settled by East Polynesian seafarers, either from the Kermadec Islands north of mainland New Zealand, or from the North Island of New Zealand. However, both Polynesian and Melanesian artefacts have been found, so it is possible that people from New Caledonia, relatively close to the north, also reached Norfolk Island. Human occupation must have ceased at least a few hundred years before Europeans arrived in the late 18th century. Ultimately, the relative isolation of the island, and its poor horticultural environment, were not favourable to long-term settlement.{{cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=Atholl |author1-link=Atholl Anderson |last2=White |first2=Peter |year=2001 |title=Prehistoric Settlement on Norfolk Island and its Oceanic Context |journal=Records of the Australian Museum |volume=27 |issue=Supplement 27 |pages=135–141 |doi=10.3853/j.0812-7387.27.2001.1348 |url=http://australianmuseum.net.au/Uploads/Journals/17923/1348_complete.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093613/http://australianmuseum.net.au/uploads/journals/17923/1348_complete.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |accessdate=28 April 2015 }}

{{See also|Norfolk Island Foundation Day}}

The first European known to have sighted and landed on the island was Captain James Cook, on 10 October 1774, on his second voyage to the South Pacific on {{HMS|Resolution|1771|6}}. He named it after Mary Howard, Duchess of Norfolk.[https://www.channersonnorfolk.com/about-norfolk Channers On Norfolk Island Info] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103230852/https://www.channersonnorfolk.com/about-norfolk |date=3 November 2021 }}. Channersonnorfolk.com (15 March 2013). Retrieved 16 July 2013. Sir John Call argued the advantages of Norfolk Island in that it was uninhabited and that New Zealand flax grew there.

After the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in 1775 halted penal transportation to the Thirteen Colonies, British prisons started to overcrowd. Several stopgap measures proved ineffective, and the government announced in December 1785 that it would send convicts to parts of what is now known as Australia. In 1786, it included Norfolk Island as an auxiliary settlement, as proposed by John Call, in its plan for colonisation of the Colony of New South Wales. The decision to settle Norfolk Island was taken after Empress Catherine II of Russia restricted the sale of hemp.Memorandum to Grenville on the Trade of Canada, 4 November 1789, National Archives, Kew, CO 42/66, ff.403-7; cited in Alan Frost, Convicts and Empire, a Naval Question, Melbourne, Oxford UP, 1980, pp.137, 218. At the time, practically all the hemp and flax required by the Royal Navy for cordage and sailcloth was imported from Russia.

When the First Fleet arrived at Port Jackson in January 1788, Governor Arthur Phillip ordered Lieutenant Philip Gidley King to lead a party of 15 convicts and seven free men to take control of Norfolk Island, and prepare for its commercial development. They arrived on 6 March. During the first year of the settlement, which was also called "Sydney" like its parent, more convicts and soldiers were sent to the island from New South Wales. Robert Watson, harbourmaster, arrived with the First Fleet as quartermaster of {{HMS|Sirius|1786|6}}, and was still serving in that capacity when the ship was wrecked at Norfolk Island in 1790. Next year, he obtained and cultivated a grant of {{convert|60|acre|ha}} on the island.{{cite AuDB |first=E. J. |last=Lea-Scarlett |title=Watson, Robert (1756–1819) |volume=2 |year=1967 |id2=watson-robert-2777 |access-date=7 June 2018}}

As early as 1794, Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales Francis Grose suggested its closure as a penal settlement, as it was too remote and difficult for shipping and too costly to maintain.Grose to Hunter, 8 December 1794, Historical Records of New South Wales, Sydney, 1893, Vol.2, p. 275. The first group of people left in February 1805, and by 1808, only about 200 remained, forming a small settlement until the remnants were removed in 1813. A small party remained to slaughter stock and destroy all buildings, so that there would be no inducement for anyone, especially from other European powers, to visit and lay claim to the place. From February 1814 until June 1825, the island was uninhabited.

File:Norfolk Island jail1.jpg]]

File: Norfolk Island jail.jpg]]

In 1824, the British government instructed the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane, to reoccupy Norfolk Island as a place to send "the worst description of convicts". Its remoteness, previously seen as a disadvantage, was now viewed as an asset for the detention of recalcitrant male prisoners. The convicts detained have long been assumed to be hardcore recidivists, or 'doubly-convicted capital respites' – that is, men transported to Australia who committed fresh crimes in the colony for which they were sentenced to death, but were spared the gallows on condition of life on Norfolk Island. However, a 2011 study, using a database of 6,458 Norfolk Island convicts, has demonstrated that the reality was somewhat different: More than half were detained on Norfolk Island without ever receiving a colonial conviction, and only 15% had been reprieved from a death sentence. Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of convicts sent to Norfolk Island had committed non-violent property offences, and the average length of detention there was three years.Causer, T. [http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1331354/ '"The Worst Types of Sub-Human Beings": the Myth and Reality of the Convicts of the Norfolk Island Penal Settlement] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420035423/http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1331354/ |date=20 April 2012 }}, 1825–1855', Islands of History, Sydney, 2011, pp. 8–31. Nonetheless, Norfolk Island went through periods of unrest with convicts staging a number of uprisings and mutinies between 1826 and 1846, all of which failed.Cyriax, Oliver (1993). Crime: An Encyclopedia. Andre Deutsch. 9780233988214, pp. 284–285 The British government began to wind down the second penal settlement after 1847, and the last convicts were removed to Tasmania in May 1855. The island was abandoned because transportation from the United Kingdom to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) had ceased in 1853, to be replaced by penal servitude in the UK.

File:Descendants of the mutineers, 1862.jpg

The next settlement began on 8 June 1856, as the descendants of Tahitians and the HMS Bounty mutineers, including those of Fletcher Christian, were resettled from the Pitcairn Islands, which had become too small for their growing number. On 3 May 1856, 193 people left Pitcairn Islands aboard the Morayshire.{{cite web|url=http://www.fatefulvoyage.com/search/ship.php?name=Morayshire|title=Fateful Voyage|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017171242/http://www.fatefulvoyage.com/search/ship.php?name=Morayshire|archive-date=17 October 2016|access-date=3 December 2018}} On 8 June 194 people arrived, a baby having been born in transit.{{cite web|url=http://www.discovernorfolkisland.com/norfolk/pitcairn.html|title=Discover Norfolk Island|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514031748/http://www.discovernorfolkisland.com/norfolk/pitcairn.html|archive-date=14 May 2016}} The Pitcairners occupied many of the buildings remaining from the penal settlements, and gradually established traditional farming and whaling industries on the island. Although some families decided to return to Pitcairn in 1858 and 1863, the island's population continued to grow. They accepted additional settlers, who often arrived on whaling vessels.

The island was a regular resort for whaling vessels in the age of sail. The first such ship was the Britannia in November 1793. The last on record was the Andrew Hicks in August–September 1907.Langdon, Robert (ed.) (1984) Where the whalers went: an index to the Pacific ports and islands visited by American whalers (and some other ships) in the 19th century, Canberra, Pacific Manuscripts Bureau, pp. 194–7. {{ISBN|086784471X}} They came for water, wood and provisions, and sometimes they recruited islanders to serve as crewmen on their vessels.

In 1867, the headquarters of the Melanesian Mission of the Church of England was established on the island. In 1920, the Mission was relocated from Norfolk Island to the Solomon Islands to be closer to the focus of population.

Norfolk Island was the subject of several experiments in administration during the century. It began the 19th century as part of the Colony of New South Wales. On 29 September 1844, Norfolk Island was transferred from the Colony of New South Wales to the Colony of Van Diemen's Land.{{rp|Recital 2}} On 1 November 1856 Norfolk Island was separated from the Colony of Tasmania (formerly Van Diemen's Land) and constituted as a "distinct and separate Settlement, the affairs of which should until further Order in that behalf by Her Majesty be administered by a Governor to be for that purpose appointed". The Governor of New South Wales was constituted as the Governor of Norfolk Island.{{rp|Recital 3}}

On 19 March 1897, the office of the Governor of Norfolk Island was abolished and responsibility for the administration of Norfolk Island was vested in the Governor of the Colony of New South Wales. Yet, the island was not made a part of New South Wales and remained separate. The Colony of New South Wales ceased to exist upon the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901, and from that date responsibility for the administration of Norfolk Island was vested in the Governor of the State of New South Wales.{{rp|Recitals 7 and 8}}

File:Norfolk Island Act 1913 Proclamation.jpg

The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia accepted the territory by the Norfolk Island Act 1913 (Cth),{{rp|p 886}} subject to British agreement; the Act received royal assent on 19 December 1913. In preparation for the handover, a proclamation by the Governor of New South Wales on 23 December 1913 (in force when gazetted on 24 December) repealed "all laws heretofore in force in Norfolk Island" and replaced them by re-enacting a list of such laws.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228062258 |title=Proclamation |newspaper=NSW Government Gazette |issue=205 |date=24 December 1913 |access-date=9 June 2018 |page=7659 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=15 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215223249/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/228062258 |url-status=live }} Among those laws was the Administration Law 1913 (NSW), which provided for appointment of an Administrator of Norfolk Island and of magistrates, and contained a code of criminal law.{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/228062258/13708387 |title=Administration Law 1913 |newspaper=NSW Government Gazette |issue=205 |date=24 December 1913 |access-date=9 June 2018 |page=7663 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142059/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/228062258/13708387 |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status = live}}

British agreement was expressed on 30 March 1914, in a UK Order in Council made pursuant to the Australian Waste Lands Act 1855 (Imp).{{cite book|last=Roberts-Wray|first=Kenneth|title=Commonwealth and Colonial Law|location=London|publisher=Stevens|date=1966}}{{rp|p 886}} A proclamation by the Governor-General of Australia on 17 June 1914 gave effect to the Act and the Order as from 1 July 1914.

During World War II, the island became a key airbase and refuelling depot between Australia and New Zealand and between New Zealand and the Solomon Islands. The airstrip was constructed by Australian, New Zealand and United States servicemen during 1942.{{cite web|url=http://www.norfolkisland.com.au/about-norfolk/general-information|title=There's More to Norfolk Island|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422134632/http://www.norfolkisland.com.au/about-norfolk/general-information|archive-date=22 April 2016}} Since Norfolk Island fell within New Zealand's area of responsibility, it was garrisoned by a New Zealand Army unit known as N Force at a large army camp that had the capacity to house a 1,500-strong force. N Force relieved a company of the Second Australian Imperial Force. The island proved too remote to come under attack during the war, and N Force left the island in February 1944.

In 1979, Norfolk Island was granted limited self-government by Australia, under which the island elected a government that ran most of the island's affairs.

In 2006, a formal review process took place in which the Australian government considered revising the island's model of government. The review was completed on 20 December 2006, when it was decided that there would be no changes in the governance of Norfolk Island.{{cite web|url=http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/TerritoriesofAustralia_NorfolkIsland_NorfolkIslandGovernanceandAdministration |title=Governance & Administration |publisher=Attorney-General's Department |date=28 February 2008 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920094021/http://ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/TerritoriesofAustralia_NorfolkIsland_NorfolkIslandGovernanceandAdministration |archive-date=20 September 2010 }}

Financial problems and a reduction in tourism led to Norfolk Island's administration appealing to the Australian federal government for assistance in 2010. In return, the islanders were to pay income tax for the first time but would be eligible for greater welfare benefits.{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2011/s3122485.htm|title=Norfolk Island is about to undergo a dramatic change in order to secure a financial lifeline|publisher=ABC News 7.30 Report|date=26 January 2011|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221060610/http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2011/s3122485.htm|archive-date=21 February 2011}} However, by May 2013, agreement had not been reached and islanders were having to leave to find work and welfare.{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/welfare-fight-forces-families-from-island-20130504-2izls.html|title=Welfare fight forces families from island|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=5 May 2013|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507011421/http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/welfare-fight-forces-families-from-island-20130504-2izls.html|archive-date=7 May 2013}} An agreement was finally signed in Canberra on 12 March 2015 to replace self-government with a local council but against the wishes of the Norfolk Island government.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/19/norfolk-island-self-government-to-be-revoked-and-replaced-by-local-council|title=Norfolk Island self-government to be revoked and replaced by local council|work=The Guardian|date=19 March 2015|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211082431/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/19/norfolk-island-self-government-to-be-revoked-and-replaced-by-local-council|archive-date=11 February 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/may/21/were-not-australian-norfolk-islanders-adjust-to-shock-of-takeover-by-mainland|title='We're not Australian': Norfolk Islanders adjust to shock of takeover by mainland|work=The Guardian|date=21 May 2015|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807154422/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/may/21/were-not-australian-norfolk-islanders-adjust-to-shock-of-takeover-by-mainland|archive-date=7 August 2017}} A majority of Norfolk Islanders objected to the Australian plan to make changes to Norfolk Island without first consulting them and allowing their say, with 68% of voters against forced changes.{{cite web|url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/273213/solid-%27yes%27-vote-in-referendum-on-norfolk-island-governance|title=Solid 'Yes' vote in referendum on Norfolk Island governance|date=8 May 2015|work=Radio New Zealand|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518095547/http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/273213/solid-%27yes%27-vote-in-referendum-on-norfolk-island-governance|archive-date=18 May 2015}} An example of growing friction between Norfolk Island and increased Australian rule was featured in a 2019 episode of Discovery Channel's annual Shark Week. The episode featured Norfolk Island's policy of culling growing cattle populations by killing older cattle and feeding the carcasses to tiger sharks well off the coast. This is done to help prevent tiger sharks from coming further toward shore in search of food. Norfolk Island holds one of the largest populations of tiger sharks in the world. Australia has banned the culling policy as cruelty to animals. Norfolk Islanders fear this will lead to increased shark attacks and damage an already waning tourist industry.

On 4 October 2015, the time zone for Norfolk Island was changed from UTC+11:30 to UTC+11:00.{{cite press release |last=Hardgrave |first=Gary |date=3 September 2015 |url=http://regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/administrator/media/2015/ni-a-mr-201526.aspx |title=Norfolk Island standard time changes 4 October 2015 |publisher=Administrator of Norfolk Island |access-date=4 October 2015 |url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003205615/http://regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/administrator/media/2015/ni-a-mr-201526.aspx |archive-date=3 October 2015}}

In March 2015, the Australian Government announced comprehensive reforms for Norfolk Island. The action was justified on the grounds it was necessary "to address issues of sustainability which have arisen from the model of self-government requiring Norfolk Island to deliver local, state and federal functions since 1979". On 17 June 2015, the Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly was abolished, with the territory becoming run by an Administrator and an advisory council. Elections for a new Regional Council were held on 28 May 2016, with the new council taking office on 1 July 2016.{{cite web |url=http://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/pf/releases/2016/June/pf060_2016.aspx |title=Norfolk Island elects its inaugural council |publisher=Minister.infrastructure.gov.au |date=3 June 2016 |access-date=17 July 2016 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160715161303/http://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/pf/releases/2016/June/pf060_2016.aspx |archive-date=15 July 2016}}

From that date, most Australian Commonwealth laws were extended to Norfolk Island. This means that taxation, social security, immigration, customs and health arrangements apply on the same basis as in mainland Australia.{{cite web |url=http://regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/reforms/index.aspx |title=Norfolk Island reform |publisher=Regional.gov.au |access-date=17 July 2016 |url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829233024/http://regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/reforms/index.aspx |archive-date=29 August 2016}} Travel between Norfolk Island and mainland Australia became domestic travel on 1 July 2016.Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development – Factsheet: Domestic travel between Norfolk Island and mainland Australia, website. Retrieved 12 November 2016 For the 2016 Australian federal election, 328 people on Norfolk Island voted in the ACT electorate of Canberra, out of 117,248 total votes.{{cite web |title=Tally room, Canberra ACT |url=https://results.aec.gov.au/20499/Website/HouseDivisionPage-20499-101.htm |publisher=Australian Electoral Commission |access-date=15 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520110217/https://results.aec.gov.au/20499/Website/HouseDivisionPage-20499-101.htm |archive-date=20 May 2019 |url-status = live}} Since 2018, Norfolk Island is covered by the electorate of Bean.{{cite news |last1=Whyte |first1=Sally |title=ACT's new federal electorates revealed |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/act/act-s-new-federal-electorates-revealed-20180406-p4z82l.html |access-date=15 May 2019 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=6 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515041014/https://www.smh.com.au/national/act/act-s-new-federal-electorates-revealed-20180406-p4z82l.html |archive-date=15 May 2019 |url-status = live}}

There is opposition to the reforms, led by Norfolk Island People for Democracy Inc., an association appealing to the United Nations to include the island on its list of "non-self-governing territories".{{cite web |url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/306686/norfolk-pleads-for-canberra-to-delay-nsw-absorption |title=Norfolk pleads for Canberra to delay NSW absorption |date=18 June 2016 |publisher=Radionz.co.nz |access-date=17 July 2016 |url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723234527/http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/306686/norfolk-pleads-for-canberra-to-delay-nsw-absorption |archive-date=23 July 2016}}{{cite news |url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/302552/norfolk-islanders-seeking-un-oversight |title=Norfolk Islanders seeking UN oversight |newspaper=RNZ |publisher=Radionz.co.nz |date=28 April 2016 |access-date=17 July 2016 |url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723234522/http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/302552/norfolk-islanders-seeking-un-oversight |archive-date=23 July 2016}} There has also been movement to join New Zealand since the autonomy reforms.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/23/norfolk-island-should-become-part-of-new-zealand-says-former-chief-minister|title=Norfolk Island should become part of New Zealand, says former chief minister|last=Roy|first=Eleanor Ainge|date=23 August 2017|work=Guardian Australia|access-date=24 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924015612/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/23/norfolk-island-should-become-part-of-new-zealand-says-former-chief-minister|archive-date=24 September 2017|url-status = live}}

In October 2019, the Norfolk Island People For Democracy advocacy group conducted a survey of 457 island residents (about one quarter of the entire population) and found that 37% preferred free association with New Zealand, 35% preferred free association with Australia, 25% preferred full independence, and 3% preferred full integration with Australia.{{Cite web|author=Julia Hollingsworth|title=Norfolk Island: Why residents want to ditch Australia for New Zealand|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/norfolk-island-governance-intl-hnk-scli/index.html|access-date=13 March 2021|website=CNN|date=30 October 2019 |language=en|archive-date=3 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210403095808/https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/norfolk-island-governance-intl-hnk-scli/index.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=24 October 2019|title=Survey reveals over 96% of people on Norfolk Island are opposed to the current governance regime imposed by Australia. – Norfolk Island People for Democracy|url=https://www.norfolkschoice.com/survey-reveals-over-96-of-people-on-norfolk-island-are-opposed-to-the-current-governance-regime-imposed-by-australia/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024111635/https://www.norfolkschoice.com/survey-reveals-over-96-of-people-on-norfolk-island-are-opposed-to-the-current-governance-regime-imposed-by-australia/|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 October 2019|access-date=13 March 2021}}

File:Norfolk Island Philip Island.jpg (foreground) and Phillip Island]]

The Territory of Norfolk Island is located in the South Pacific Ocean, east of the Australian mainland. Norfolk Island itself is the main island of the island group that the territory encompasses and is located at {{Coord|29|02|S|167|57|E|}}. It has an area of {{convert|34.6|km2}}, with no large-scale internal bodies of water and {{convert|32|km|0|abbr=on}} of coastline.{{Cite web |title=Norfolk Island: country data and statistics |url=https://www.worlddata.info/oceania/norfolk-island/index.php |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=Worlddata.info |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2020-11-23 |title=Norfolk Island Maps & Facts |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/maps/norfolk-island |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=WorldAtlas |language=en-US}}The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Norfolk Island summary." Encyclopedia Britannica, August 12, 2011. https://www.britannica.com/summary/Norfolk-Island{{Cite web |title=Geology – Norfolk Island Flora & Fauna Society |url=https://norfolkislandfloraandfauna.net/the-island/geology/ |access-date=2025-03-29 |language=en-AU}}

File: Norfolk Island-CIA WFB Map.png

The island's highest point is Mount Bates reaching {{convert|319|m|0|abbr=off}} above sea level, located in the northwest quadrant of the island. The majority of the terrain is suitable for farming and other agricultural uses. Phillip Island, the second largest island of the territory, is located at {{Coord|29|07|S|167|57|E|}}, {{convert|7|km|abbr=off|spell=in}} south of the main island. Norfolk and Phillip islands were formed from several basaltic volcanic eruptions between 3.1 and 2.3 million years ago, with much of the volcanic deposits now eroded.{{Cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=J. G.|last2=McDougall|date=1973|title=Geological history of Norfolk and Philip Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean|journal=Journal of the Geological Society of Australia|volume=20|issue=3|pages=239–257|doi=10.1080/14400957308527916|bibcode=1973AuJES..20..239J}} There are four main strata, the oldest being Ball Bay basalts, the 2.66-2.69 million years old, Duncombe Bay basalts, the about 2.4 million years old Cascade basalts and the most recent Steeles Point basalts.[http://www.norfolkisland.com.au/environment/geological_origins.cfm Geological origins], Norfolk Island Tourism. Retrieved 13 April 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907084428/http://www.norfolkisland.com.au/environment/geological_origins.cfm |date=7 September 2008 }} The islands form the highest point on the Norfolk Ridge, part of the submerged continent Zealandia.{{cite journal|last1=Mortimer |first1=N. |last2=Patriat |first2=M. |last3=Gans |first3=P.B. |last4=Agranier |first4=A. |last5=Chazot |first5=G. |last6=Collot |first6=J. |last7=Crundwell |first7=M.P.|last8=Durance|first8=P.M.J.|last9=Campbell|first9=H.J.|last10=Etienne |first10=S.|year=2021 |title=The Norfolk Ridge seamounts: Eocene–Miocene volcanoes near Zealandia’s rifted continental margin |journal=Australian Journal of Earth Sciences |volume=68|issue=3|pages=368-380|doi=10.1080/08120099.2020.1805007|doi-access=free |bibcode=2021AuJES..68..368M }} Nepean Island, also to the south of Norfolk Island consists of late Pleistocene coarse marine calcareous rock (sand, coral and shell fragments cemented with lime), a rock type also found in a small area of Norfolk Island near Kingston.

The coastline of Norfolk Island consists, to varying degrees, of cliff faces. A downward slope exists towards Slaughter Bay and Emily Bay, the site of the original colonial settlement of Kingston. There are no safe harbour facilities on Norfolk Island, with loading jetties existing at Kingston and Cascade Bay. All goods not domestically produced are brought in by ship, usually to Cascade Bay. Emily Bay, protected from the Pacific Ocean by a small coral reef, is the only safe area for recreational swimming, although surfing waves can be found at Anson and Ball Bays.

The climate is subtropical and mild, with little seasonal differentiation.

The area surrounding Mount Bates is preserved as the Norfolk Island National Park. The park, covering around 10% of the land of the island, contains remnants of the forests which originally covered the island, including stands of subtropical rainforest.

File: Government House, Norfolk Island.jpg

The park also includes the two smaller islands to the south of Norfolk Island, Nepean and Phillip islands. The vegetation of Phillip Island was devastated due to the introduction during the penal era of pest animals such as pigs and rabbits, giving it a red-brown colour as viewed from Norfolk; however, pest control and remediation work by park staff has recently brought some improvement to the Phillip Island environment.

The major settlement on Norfolk Island is Burnt Pine, located predominantly along Taylors Road, where the shopping centre, post office, bottle shop, telephone exchange and community hall are located. Settlement also exists over much of the island, consisting largely of widely separated homesteads.

Government House, the official residence of the Administrator, is located on Quality Row in what was the penal settlement of Kingston. Other government buildings, including the court, Legislative Assembly and Administration, are also located there. Kingston's role is largely a ceremonial one, however, with most of the economic impetus coming from Burnt Pine.

Norfolk Island has a maritime-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) with warm, humid summers and very mild, rainy winters. The highest recorded temperature is {{convert|28.5|C}} on 23 January 2024, whilst the lowest is {{convert|6.2|C}} on 29 July 1953.{{cite web |url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_200288_All.shtml |title = Norfolk Island Aero Climate Statistics –All|publisher = Bureau of Meteorology|access-date = 22 June 2024 }} The island has moderate rainfall {{convert|1109.9|mm}}, with a maximum in winter; and 52.8 clear days annually.{{cite web |url = http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/cdio/cvg/av?p_stn_num=200288&p_prim_element_index=0&p_comp_element_index=0&redraw=null&p_display_type=full_statistics_table&normals_years=1991-2020&tablesizebutt=normal |title = Norfolk Island Aero Climate Statistics – Full|publisher = Bureau of Meteorology|access-date = 22 June 2024 }}

{{Weather box

|location = Norfolk Island Airport (29º03'S, 167º56'E, 112 m AMSL) (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1939–2024)

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high C = 28.5

|Feb record high C = 28.4

|Mar record high C = 28.4

|Apr record high C = 27.9

|May record high C = 25.1

|Jun record high C = 23.4

|Jul record high C = 22.0

|Aug record high C = 21.8

|Sep record high C = 23.8

|Oct record high C = 24.4

|Nov record high C = 26.5

|Dec record high C = 28.2

|year record high C = 28.5

|Jan high C = 24.8

|Feb high C = 25.3

|Mar high C = 24.5

|Apr high C = 23.0

|May high C = 21.1

|Jun high C = 19.4

|Jul high C = 18.6

|Aug high C = 18.5

|Sep high C = 19.4

|Oct high C = 20.4

|Nov high C = 21.9

|Dec high C = 23.6

|year high C = 21.7

|Jan low C = 19.5

|Feb low C = 20.2

|Mar low C = 19.5

|Apr low C = 18.0

|May low C = 16.5

|Jun low C = 14.9

|Jul low C = 14.0

|Aug low C = 13.5

|Sep low C = 14.3

|Oct low C = 15.2

|Nov low C = 16.4

|Dec low C = 18.2

|year low C = 16.7

|Jan record low C = 12.1

|Feb record low C = 12.8

|Mar record low C = 12.1

|Apr record low C = 9.7

|May record low C = 6.6

|Jun record low C = 7.1

|Jul record low C = 6.2

|Aug record low C = 6.7

|Sep record low C = 7.7

|Oct record low C = 8.2

|Nov record low C = 8.7

|Dec record low C = 11.4

|year record low C = 6.2

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 80.3

|Feb precipitation mm = 86.8

|Mar precipitation mm = 106.8

|Apr precipitation mm = 95.4

|May precipitation mm = 101.5

|Jun precipitation mm = 120.6

|Jul precipitation mm = 122.5

|Aug precipitation mm = 99.6

|Sep precipitation mm = 78.4

|Oct precipitation mm = 62.0

|Nov precipitation mm = 72.0

|Dec precipitation mm = 83.9

|year precipitation mm = 1109.9

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 7.7

|Feb precipitation days = 8.8

|Mar precipitation days = 9.3

|Apr precipitation days = 10.3

|May precipitation days = 12.2

|Jun precipitation days = 13.0

|Jul precipitation days = 13.6

|Aug precipitation days = 12.2

|Sep precipitation days = 9.4

|Oct precipitation days = 7.5

|Nov precipitation days = 6.8

|Dec precipitation days = 6.7

|year precipitation days = 117.5

|Jan afthumidity= 71

|Feb afthumidity= 72

|Mar afthumidity= 69

|Apr afthumidity= 69

|May afthumidity= 69

|Jun afthumidity= 69

|Jul afthumidity= 68

|Aug afthumidity= 67

|Sep afthumidity= 69

|Oct afthumidity= 67

|Nov afthumidity= 67

|Dec afthumidity= 70

|Jan dew point C = 17.6

|Feb dew point C = 18.2

|Mar dew point C = 16.8

|Apr dew point C = 15.4

|May dew point C = 13.6

|Jun dew point C = 12.3

|Jul dew point C = 11.1

|Aug dew point C = 10.8

|Sep dew point C = 12.1

|Oct dew point C = 12.6

|Nov dew point C = 13.8

|Dec dew point C = 16.2

|Jan sun = 238.7

|Feb sun = 203.4

|Mar sun = 204.6

|Apr sun = 198.0

|May sun = 189.1

|Jun sun = 168.0

|Jul sun = 186.0

|Aug sun = 223.2

|Sep sun = 219.0

|Oct sun = 241.8

|Nov sun = 249.0

|Dec sun = 241.8

|Jan percentsun = 56

|Feb percentsun = 55

|Mar percentsun = 54

|Apr percentsun = 58

|May percentsun = 57

|Jun percentsun = 54

|Jul percentsun = 57

|Aug percentsun = 65

|Sep percentsun = 61

|Oct percentsun = 61

|Nov percentsun = 61

|Dec percentsun = 56

|source 1 = Bureau of Meteorology (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1939–2024)

}}

Norfolk Island is part of the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia region "Pacific Subtropical Islands" (PSI), and forms subregion PSI02, with an area of {{convert|3908|ha}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/nrs/science/bioregion-framework/ibra/ibracode7.html |title=Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA7) regions and codes |work=Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |year=2012 |access-date=13 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131214300/http://environment.gov.au/parks/nrs/science/bioregion-framework/ibra/ibracode7.html |archive-date=31 January 2013 |url-status = live}} The country is home to the Norfolk Island subtropical forests terrestrial ecoregion.{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|display-authors=1|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287|doi-access=free}}

File:KermadecNikau.jpg, a native palm]]

Norfolk Island has 174 native plants; 51 of them are endemic. At least 18 of the endemic species are rare or threatened.{{cite web|url=http://www.eoearth.org/article/Norfolk_Island_subtropical_forests|title=Norfolk Island subtropical forests|author=World Wildlife Fund|work=eoearth.org|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117080938/http://www.eoearth.org/article/Norfolk_Island_subtropical_forests|archive-date=17 January 2008}} The Norfolk Island palm (Rhopalostylis baueri) and the smooth tree-fern (Cyathea brownii), the tallest tree-fern in the world, are common in the Norfolk Island National Park but rare elsewhere on the island. Before European colonisation, most of Norfolk Island was covered with subtropical rain forest, the canopy of which was made of Araucaria heterophylla (Norfolk Island pine) in exposed areas, and the palm Rhopalostylis baueri and tree ferns Cyathea brownii and C. australis in moister protected areas. The understory was thick with lianas and ferns covering the forest floor. Only one small tract, {{cvt|5|km2}}, of rainforest remains, which was declared as the Norfolk Island National Park in 1986.

This forest has been infested with several introduced plants. The cliffs and steep slopes of Mount Pitt supported a community of shrubs, herbaceous plants, and climbers. A few tracts of cliff top and seashore vegetation have been preserved. The rest of the island has been cleared for pasture and housing. Grazing and introduced weeds currently threaten the native flora, displacing it in some areas. In fact, there are more weed species than native species on Norfolk Island.

As a relatively small and isolated oceanic island, Norfolk has few land birds but a high degree of endemicity among them. Norfolk Island is home to a radiation of about 40 endemic snail species.{{Cite journal|last=Neuweger|first=D|date=2001|title=Land Snails from Norfolk Island Sites|journal=Records of the Australian Museum|volume=Supplement 27|pages=115–122|doi=10.3853/j.0812-7387.27.2001.1346|doi-access=free}}{{Cite web|url=https://sites.massey.ac.nz/phoenixlab/|title=Notes from a small islands – in the Pacific|last=Morgan-Richards|first=M|date=2020|access-date=28 April 2020|archive-date=30 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530014136/https://sites.massey.ac.nz/phoenixlab/|url-status=live}} Many of the endemic bird species and subspecies have become extinct as a result of massive clearance of the island's native vegetation of subtropical rainforest for agriculture, hunting and persecution as agricultural pests. The birds have also suffered from the introduction of mammals such as rats, cats, foxes, pigs and goats, as well as from introduced competitors such as common blackbirds and crimson rosellas. Although the island is politically part of Australia, many of Norfolk Island's native birds show affinities to those of neighbouring New Zealand, such as the Norfolk kākā, Norfolk pigeon,{{Cite journal|last1=Goldberg|first1=Julia|last2=Trewick|first2=Steven A.|last3=Powlesland|first3=Ralph G.|date=2011|title=Population structure and biogeography of Hemiphaga pigeons (Aves: Columbidae) on islands in the New Zealand region|journal=Journal of Biogeography|volume=38|issue=2|pages=285–298|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2699.2010.02414.x|bibcode=2011JBiog..38..285G |s2cid=55640412 |issn=1365-2699}} and Norfolk boobook.

Extinctions include that of the endemic Norfolk kākā, Norfolk ground dove and Norfolk pigeon, while of the endemic subspecies the starling, triller, thrush and boobook owl are extinct, although the latter's genes persist in a hybrid population descended from the last female. Other endemic birds are the white-chested white-eye, which may be extinct, the Norfolk parakeet, the Norfolk gerygone, the slender-billed white-eye and endemic subspecies of the Pacific robin and golden whistler. Subfossil bones indicate that a species of Coenocorypha snipe was also found on the island and is now extinct, but the taxonomic relationships of this are unclear and have not been scientifically described yet.

The Norfolk Island Group Nepean Island is also home to breeding seabirds. The providence petrel was hunted to local extinction by the beginning of the 19th century but has shown signs of returning to breed on Phillip Island. Other seabirds breeding there include the white-necked petrel, Kermadec petrel, wedge-tailed shearwater, Australasian gannet, red-tailed tropicbird and grey ternlet. The sooty tern (known locally as the whale bird) has traditionally been subject to seasonal egg harvesting by Norfolk Islanders.[http://www.anbg.gov.au/chabg/bg-dir/082.html Norfolk Island] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024221357/http://www.anbg.gov.au/chabg/bg-dir/082.html |date=24 October 2012 }} at Australian National Botanic Gardens. Environment Australia: Canberra, 2000.

Norfolk Island, with neighbouring Nepean Island, has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area because it supports the entire populations of white-chested and slender-billed white-eyes, Norfolk parakeets and Norfolk gerygones, as well as over 1% of the world populations of wedge-tailed shearwaters and red-tailed tropicbirds. Nearby Phillip Island is treated as a separate IBA.[http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=23979 Birdlife Data Zone: Norfolk Island] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218010917/http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=23979 |date=18 February 2015 }}, BirdLife International. (2015). Retrieved 17 February 2015.

Norfolk Island also has a botanical garden, which is home to a sizeable variety of plant species. However, the island has only one native mammal, Gould's wattled bat (Chalinolobus gouldii). It is very rare, and may already be extinct on the island.

The Norfolk swallowtail (Papilio amynthor) is a species of butterfly that is found on Norfolk Island and the Loyalty Islands.{{cite book|last=Braby|first=Michael F.|title=The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia|url=https://archive.org/details/The_Complete_Field_Guide_to_Butterflies_of_Australia|year=2008|publisher=CSIRO Publishing|isbn=978-0-643-09027-9}}

Cetaceans were historically abundant around the island as commercial hunts on the island were operating until 1956. Today, numbers of larger whales have disappeared, but even today many species such humpback whale, minke whale, sei whale, and dolphins can be observed close to shore, and scientific surveys have been conducted regularly. Southern right whales were once regular migrants to Norfolk,Nichols, Daphne (2006). Lord Howe Island Rising. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Tower Books. {{ISBN|0-646-45419-6}}. Retrieved 20 November 2015 but were severely depleted by historical hunts, and further by recent illegal Soviet and Japanese whaling,{{cite journal|author1=Berzin A.|author2=Ivashchenko V.Y.|author3=Clapham J.P.|author4=Brownell L.R. Jr.|year=2008|title=The Truth About Soviet Whaling: A Memoir|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1014&context=usdeptcommercepub|journal=DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska – Lincoln|access-date=20 November 2015|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305071103/http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1014&context=usdeptcommercepub|archive-date=5 March 2016}} resulting in none or very few, if remnants still live, right whales in these regions along with Lord Howe Island.

Whale sharks can be encountered off the island, too.

File:Norfolk Island Gannet chick.jpg|Gannet

File:Norfolk Island masked boobies.jpg|Masked boobies

File:Norfolk Island white turn chick.jpg|White tern

File:Norfolk Island Emily Bay.jpg|Emily Bay

File:Norfolk-Island-Pines.jpg|Norfolk Island pines

File:Norfolk Island Captain Cook lookout.jpg|Captain Cook Lookout

File:Norfolk Island Bird Rock.jpg|Bird Rock (off the north coast)

File:Norfolk Island Cathedral Rock2.jpg|Cathedral Rock (off the north coast)

{{see also|List of birds of Norfolk Island}}

• Norfolk parakeet, Cyanoramphus cookii (endangered)
• Norfolk kākā, Nestor productus (extinct)
• Brown goshawk, Accipiter fasciatus (extirpated)
• Norfolk pigeon, Hemiphaga novaseelandiae spadicea (extinct, subspecies of NZ pigeon)
• Norfolk ground dove, Aloepecoenas norfolkensis (extinct)
• Norfolk snipe, Coenocorypha spp. (extinct, undescribed)
• Norfolk rail, Gallirallus spp. (extinct, undescribed)
• Norfolk robin, Petroica multicolor (endangered)
• Norfolk golden whistler, Pachycephala pectoralis xanthoprocta (vulnerable, subspecies of golden whistler)
• Norfolk triller, Lalage leucopyga leucopyga (extinct, nominate subspecies of long-tailed triller)
• Norfolk Island thrush, Turdus poliocephalus poliocephalus (extinct, nominate subspecies of Island thrush)
• Norfolk Island starling, Aplonis fusca fusca (extinct, nominate subspecies of extinct Tasman starling)
• Norfolk boobook, Ninox novaeseelandiae undulata (extinct except for hybrids with nominate subspecies, subspecies of Morepork\Southern boobook)
• White-chested white-eye, Zosterops albogularis (critically endangered, possibly extinct)
• Slender-billed white-eye, Zosterops tenuirostris (near threatened)
• Norfolk gerygone, Gerygone modesta (near threatened)
• Norfolk grey fantail, Rhiphidura albiscapa pelzelni (least concern, subspecies of grey fantail)
• Norfolk petrel, Pterodroma spp. (extinct, undescribed)

{{see also|Norfolk Islanders}}

The population of Norfolk Island was 2,188 in the 2021 census, which had declined from a high of 2,601 in 2001.

In 2011, residents were 78% of the census count, with the remaining 22% being visitors. 16% of the population were 14 years and under, 54% were 15 to 64 years, and 24% were 65 years and over. The figures showed an ageing population, with many people aged 20–34 having moved away from the island.{{cite web|url=http://www.info.gov.nf/reports/Census/Census_2011.pdf|title=Norfolk Island Census of Population and Housing: Census Description, Analysis and Basic Tables|date=9 August 2011|access-date=3 March 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324075844/http://www.info.gov.nf/reports/Census/Census_2011.pdf|archive-date=24 March 2012}}

Most islanders are of either European-only (mostly British) or combined European-Tahitian ancestry, being descendants of the Bounty mutineers as well as more recent arrivals from Australia and New Zealand. About half of the islanders can trace their roots back to Pitcairn Island.

This common heritage has led to a limited number of surnames among the islanders – a limit constraining enough that the island's telephone directory also includes nicknames for many subscribers, such as Carrots, Dar Bizziebee, Diddles, Geek, Lettuce Leaf, Possum, Pumpkin, Smudgie, Truck and Wiggy.{{cite web|url=http://phonebook.nf/|title=Norfolk Island Phone Book|access-date=21 March 2022|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219204749/http://phonebook.nf/ |archive-date=2021-12-19}}

{{Hidden begin

|title= Population by sex and age group (Census 09.VIII.2011): {{Cite web |title=UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics |url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/dyb/#statistics |access-date=2023-05-10 |website=unstats.un.org |archive-date=18 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218223334/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/dyb/#statistics |url-status=live }}

|titlestyle = background:#EEBC35;

}}

{{Hidden end}}

Population

• {{val|1,748}} (as of the 2016 census)

Population growth rate

• 0.01%

Ancestry{{Cite web|url=https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC90004?opendocument|title=2016 Census QuickStats: Norfolk Island|access-date=2 May 2021|archive-date=7 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507211725/https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC90004?opendocument|url-status=dead}}

• Australian (22.8%)
• English (22.4%)
• Pitcairn Islander (20%)
• Scottish (6%)
• Irish (5.2%)

Citizenship (as of the 2011 census)

• Australia 79.5%
• New Zealand 13.3%
• Fiji 2.5%
• Philippines 1.1%
• United Kingdom 1%
• Other 1.8%
• Unspecified 0.8%

62% of the islanders are Christians. After the death of the first chaplain Rev G. H. Nobbs in 1884, a Methodist church was formed, followed in 1891 by a Seventh-day Adventist congregation led by one of Nobbs' sons. Some unhappiness with G. H. Nobbs, the more organised and formal ritual of the Church of England service arising from the influence of the Melanesian Mission, decline in spirituality, the influence of visiting American whalers, literature sent by Christians overseas impressed by the Pitcairn story, and the adoption of Seventh-day Adventism by the descendants of the mutineers still on Pitcairn, all contributed to these developments.

The Roman Catholic Church began an ongoing presence on Norfolk Island in 1957.{{Cite web |title=St Philip Howard's Catholic Church, Norfolk Island |url=http://stmaryscathedral.org.au/st-philip-howards-catholic-church-norfolk-island/ |url-status= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324020921/https://stmaryscathedral.org.au/st-philip-howards-catholic-church-norfolk-island/ |archive-date=24 March 2024 |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=St Mary's Cathedral Sydney |language=en-AU}} In the late 1990s, a group left the former Methodist (then Uniting Church) and formed a charismatic fellowship. In the 2021 Census, 22% of the ordinary residents identified as Anglican (compared to 34% in 2011), 13% as Uniting Church, 11% as Roman Catholic and 3% as Seventh-day Adventist. 9% were from other religions. 35.7% had no religion (up from 24% in 2011), and 14.7% did not indicate a religion.{{Cite web |title=2021 Norfolk Island, Census All persons QuickStats |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/90104 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324050232/https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/90104 |archive-date=24 March 2024 |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=Australian Bureau of Statistics}} Typical ordinary congregations in any church do not exceed 30 local residents {{As of|2010|lc=y}}. The three older denominations have good facilities. Ministers are usually short-term visitors.

There are two Anglican churches on Norfolk Island, being All Saints Kingston (established 1870){{Cite web |title=All Saints Church |url=https://www.norfolkisland.com.au/experiences/history-culture/kingston/all-saints-church/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324015705/https://www.norfolkisland.com.au/experiences/history-culture/kingston/all-saints-church/ |archive-date=24 March 2024 |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=www.norfolkisland.com.au}} and St Barnabas Chapel (establish 1880 as the Melanesian Mission){{Cite web |date=2014-11-26 |title=St. Barnabas |url=https://norfolkislandchurchofengland.com/sunday-services/st-barnabas/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324020027/https://norfolkislandchurchofengland.com/sunday-services/st-barnabas/ |archive-date=24 March 2024 |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=Norfolk Island Church of England |language=en}} which are both part of the Diocese of Sydney, Anglican Church of Australia.{{Cite web |title=Parish of Norfolk Island |url=https://www.anglicandirectoryaustralia.com.au/parish/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324020448/https://www.anglicandirectoryaustralia.com.au/parish/parish-of-norfolk-island-nsw-4140/ |archive-date=24 March 2024 |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=Anglican Church of Australia Directory |language=en-US}}

There is one Roman Catholic church on Norfolk Island, the Church of St Philip Howard within the Archdiocese of Sydney.

Statistics in 2016 Census:{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/norfolk-island/|title=Australia-Oceania :: NORFOLK ISLAND|date=6 October 2021|publisher=CIA The World Factbook|access-date=24 January 2021|archive-date=18 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118050134/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/norfolk-island/|url-status=live}}

• Protestant 46.8%
• Anglican 29.2%
• Uniting Church in Australia 9.8%
• Seventh-Day Adventist 2.7%
• Roman Catholic 12.6%
• Other 1.4%
• None 26.7%
• Unspecified 9.5%

All information below is from the 2016 Census.

• Australia (39.7%)
• Norfolk Island (22.1%)
• New Zealand (17.6%)
• Fiji (2.7%)
• England (2.6%)
• Philippines (2.3%)

{{main|Languages of Norfolk Island}}

Islanders speak both English and a creole language known as Norfuk, a blend of 18th-century English and Tahitian, based on Pitkern. The Norfuk language is decreasing in popularity as more tourists visit the island, and more young people leave for work and education. However, efforts are being made to keep it alive via dictionaries and the renaming of some tourist attractions to their Norfuk equivalents.

In 2004, an act of the Norfolk Island Assembly made Norfuk a co-official language of the island.The Dominion Post, 21 April 2005 (page B3){{cite news|last=Squires|first=Nick|title=Save our dialect, say Bounty islanders|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/4195917/Save-our-dialect-say-Bounty-islanders.html|access-date=6 April 2007|newspaper=The Telegraph UK|date=19 April 2005|location=London|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316041437/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/4195917/Save-our-dialect-say-Bounty-islanders.html|archive-date=16 March 2014}} The act is long-titled: "An Act to recognise the Norfolk Island Language (Norf'k) as an official language of Norfolk Island". The "language known as 'Norf'k'" is described as the language "that is spoken by descendants of the first free settlers of Norfolk Island who were descendants of the settlers of Pitcairn Island". The act recognises and protects use of the language but does not require it; in official use, it must be accompanied by an accurate translation into English.{{cite web | url = http://www.norfolkisland.com.au/AboutNorfolk_language.aspx | title = About Norfolk – Language | publisher = Norfolkisland.com.au | access-date = 13 April 2012 |url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120502163842/http://www.norfolkisland.com.au/AboutNorfolk_language.aspx | archive-date = 2 May 2012}}{{cite web | url = http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=16223 | title = Norfuk declared official language in Norfolk Island – report | publisher = Radio New Zealand International | access-date = 13 April 2012 | date = 20 April 2005 |url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120717082416/http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=16223 | archive-date = 17 July 2012}} 32% of the total population reported speaking a language other than English in the 2011 census, and just under three-quarters of the ordinarily resident population could speak Norfuk.

File:NorfolkIslandCentral School1.jpg

The sole school on the island, Norfolk Island Central School, provides education from kindergarten through to Year 12. The school had a contractual arrangement referred to as a Memorandum of Understanding with the New South Wales Department of Education regarding the provision of education services at the school, the latest of which took effect in January 2015.[http://www.norfolkisl-c.schools.nsw.edu.au/home Norfolk Island Central School] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518104248/http://www.norfolkisl-c.schools.nsw.edu.au/home |date=18 May 2015 }} (accessed 13 May 2015) In 2015 enrolment at the Norfolk Island Central School was {{val|282}} students.{{cite web|url=http://www.norfolkisl-c.schools.nsw.edu.au/our-school/school-plan|title=Norfolk Island Central School|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603160102/http://www.norfolkisl-c.schools.nsw.edu.au/our-school/school-plan|archive-date=3 June 2016|access-date=1 May 2016}} As of January, 2022, The Department of Education (Queensland) took over the running of the Norfolk Island Central School in line with the transition of state services from the New South Wales Government to the Queensland Government. The NSW curriculum will continue to be utilised until the end of the 2023 school year.{{cite press release|url=https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/territories-regions-cities/territories/norfolk_island/administrator/media/2021/ni-a-mr-202174|title=Access to the NSW curriculum on Norfolk until 2023|date=2 December 2021|publisher=The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts|access-date=4 August 2023|archive-date=4 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804052454/https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/territories-regions-cities/territories/norfolk_island/administrator/media/2021/ni-a-mr-202174|url-status=dead}}

Children on the island learn English as well as Norfuk, in efforts to revive the language.{{Cite web|url=https://norfolkisl-c.schools.nsw.gov.au/learning-at-our-school/languages.html|title=Norfolk studies – Norfolk Island Central School|access-date=2 May 2021|archive-date=2 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502033229/https://norfolkisl-c.schools.nsw.gov.au/learning-at-our-school/languages.html|url-status=dead}}

No public tertiary education infrastructure exists on the island. The Norfolk Island Central School works in partnership with registered training organisations (RTOs) and local employers to support students accessing Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses.[http://www.norfolkisland.gov.nf/education/Education%20Review%202014%20-%20September_14.pdf Page 4, Education Review, Norfolk Island, Stage One, Stage Two and Stage Three, The Report, 14 September 2014] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150420101706/http://www.norfolkisland.gov.nf/education/Education%20Review%202014%20-%20September_14.pdf |date=20 April 2015 }} (accessed 13 May 2015)

Literacy is not recorded officially, but can be assumed to be roughly at a par with Australia's literacy rate{{or|date=February 2023}}, as islanders attend a school which uses a New South Wales curriculum, before traditionally moving to the mainland for further study.

{{More citations needed|section|date=December 2021}}

While there was no "indigenous" culture on the island at the time of settlement, the Tahitian influence of the Pitcairn settlers has resulted in some aspects of Polynesian culture being adapted to that of Norfolk, including the hula dance. Local cuisine also shows influences from the same region.

Islanders traditionally spend a lot of time outdoors, with fishing and other aquatic pursuits being common pastimes, an aspect which has become more noticeable as the island becomes more accessible to tourism. Most island families have at least one member involved in primary production in some form.

File:Norfolk Island Philip Island3.jpg

Religious observance remains an important part of life for some islanders, particularly the older generations, but actual attendance is about 8% of the resident population plus some tourists. In the 2006 census, 19.9% had no religion{{cite web |url=http://www.info.gov.nf/reports/Census/Census_2006.pdf |title=Norfolk Island Census, 2006 |access-date=17 July 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040753/http://www.info.gov.nf/reports/Census/Census_2006.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 }} compared with 13.2% in 1996.{{cite web |url=http://www.info.gov.nf/reports/Census/Book1996.pdf |title=Norfolk Island Census, 1996 |access-date=17 July 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304035632/http://www.info.gov.nf/reports/Census/Book1996.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 }} Businesses are closed on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons and Sundays.

One of the island's long-term residents was the novelist Colleen McCullough, whose works include The Thorn Birds and the Masters of Rome series as well as Morgan's Run, set, in large part, on Norfolk Island. Ruth Park, notable author of The Harp in the South and many other works of fiction, also lived on the island for several years after the death of her husband, writer D'Arcy Niland. Actress/singer Helen Reddy also moved to the island in 2002, and maintained a house there.{{cite web | work=Probus South Pacific | url=https://www.probussouthpacific.org/557045e8/Helen_Reddy_My_island_home | title=Helen Reddy: My island home | access-date=17 April 2014 | date=12 April 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226235855/http://www.probussouthpacific.org/557045e8/Helen_Reddy_My_island_home | archive-date=26 February 2014 |url-status = live}}

American novelist James A. Michener, who served in the United States Navy during World War II, set one of the chapters of his episodic novel Tales of the South Pacific on Norfolk Island.

The island is one of the few locations outside North America to celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving.{{cite web|url=http://www.qppstudio.net/publicholidays2011/norfolk_island.htm|title=Norfolk Island Public Holidays 2011 (Oceania)|work=qppstudio.net|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127035617/http://www.qppstudio.net/publicholidays2011/norfolk_island.htm|archive-date=27 November 2011|access-date=6 December 2011}}

Norfolk Island has a number of museums and heritage organisations, including Norfolk Island Museum and Bounty Museum. The former has five sites within the Kingston and Arthur's Vale Historic Area, a World Heritage Site also linked to the Australian Convict Sites.{{Cite web |title=Bounty Folk Museum {{!}} Norfolk Island, Australia & Pacific {{!}} Attractions |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/australia/new-south-wales/norfolk-island/attractions/bounty-folk-museum/a/poi-sig/1160219/362277 |access-date=2023-03-29 |website=Lonely Planet |language=en |archive-date=29 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329131945/https://www.lonelyplanet.com/australia/new-south-wales/norfolk-island/attractions/bounty-folk-museum/a/poi-sig/1160219/362277 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Norfolk Island Museum {{!}} Norfolk Island Museum |url=http://norfolkislandmuseum.com.au/ |access-date=2023-03-28 |website=norfolkislandmuseum.com.au |archive-date=10 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010012744/http://norfolkislandmuseum.com.au/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Australian Convict Sites |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1306/ |access-date=2023-03-28 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en |archive-date=29 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029203618/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1306 |url-status=live }}

The cuisine of Norfolk Island is very similar to that of the Pitcairn Islands, as Norfolk Islanders trace their origins to Pitcairn. The local cuisine is a blend of British cuisine and Tahitian cuisine.{{cite web|url=http://www.jasons.com/norfolk-island/shopping-in-norfolk-island|title=Jasons|website=Jasons|access-date=9 November 2017|archive-date=9 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109191119/http://www.jasons.com/norfolk-island/shopping-in-norfolk-island|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.flightcentre.com.au/world-travel/australia/norfolk-island|title=Norfolk Island Travel Guide – Norfolk Island Tourism – Flight Centre|access-date=9 November 2017|archive-date=10 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110114547/https://www.flightcentre.com.au/world-travel/australia/norfolk-island|url-status=live}}

Recipes from Norfolk Island of Pitcairn origin include mudda (green banana dumplings) and kumara pilhi.{{cite web|url=http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2015/03/the-food-of-norfolk-island.html|title=The Food of Norfolk Island.|website=www.theoldfoodie.com|access-date=26 July 2018|archive-date=26 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726201742/http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2015/03/the-food-of-norfolk-island.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.healthy-life.narod.ru/wor_ek156.htm|title=Norfolk Island (Norfolk Island Recipes)|website=www.healthy-life.narod.ru|access-date=26 July 2018|archive-date=26 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726233943/http://www.healthy-life.narod.ru/wor_ek156.htm|url-status=live}} The island's cuisine also includes foods not found on Pitcairn, such as chopped salads and fruit pies.{{cite web|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/2013/07/05/homegrown-norfolk-island|title=Homegrown: Norfolk Island|date=5 July 2013|access-date=26 July 2018|archive-date=27 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727025751/https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/2013/07/05/homegrown-norfolk-island|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Politics of Norfolk Island}}

Norfolk Island was the only non-mainland Australian territory to have had self-governance. The Norfolk Island Act 1979, passed by the Parliament of Australia in 1979, is the Act under which the island was governed until the passing of the Norfolk Island Legislation Amendment Act 2015 (Cth). The Australian government maintains authority on the island through an Administrator, currently George Plant.{{cite news |date=11 May 2023 |title=Norfolk Island Administrator appointment |work=The Mirage |publisher= |url=https://www.miragenews.com/norfolk-island-administrator-appointment-1004127/ |url-status=live |access-date=3 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603142329/https://www.miragenews.com/norfolk-island-administrator-appointment-1004127/ |archive-date=3 June 2023}}

From 1979 to 2015, a Legislative Assembly was elected by popular vote for terms of not more than three years, although legislation passed by the Australian Parliament could extend its laws to the territory at will, including the power to override any laws made by the assembly. The Assembly consisted of nine seats, with electors casting nine equal votes, of which no more than two could be given to any individual candidate. It is a method of voting called a "weighted first past the post system". Four of the members of the Assembly formed the Executive Council, which devised policy and acted as an advisory body to the Administrator. The last Chief Minister of Norfolk Island was Lisle Snell. Other ministers included: Minister for Tourism, Industry and Development; Minister for Finance; Minister for Cultural Heritage and Community Services; and Minister for Environment.

All seats were held by independent candidates. Norfolk Island did not embrace party politics. In 2007, a branch of the Australian Labor Party was formed on Norfolk Island, with the aim of reforming the system of government.

Since 2018, residents of Norfolk Island have been required to enroll in the Division of Bean. As is the case for all Australian citizens, enrolment and voting for Norfolk Islanders is compulsory.{{cite web|url=http://www.aec.gov.au/Enrolling_to_vote/Special_Category/Norfolk_Island_electors.htm|title=Australian Electoral Commission: Norfolk Island electors|publisher=Medicare|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202190123/http://www.aec.gov.au/Enrolling_to_vote/special_category/Norfolk_Island_electors.htm|archive-date=2 February 2018}}

Disagreements over the island's relationship with Australia were put in sharper relief by a 2006 review undertaken by the Australian government. Under the more radical of two models proposed in the review, the island's legislative assembly would have been reduced to the status of a local council.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4991322.stm|title=Battle for Norfolk Island|date=18 May 2007|publisher=BBC|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061124215737/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4991322.stm|archive-date=24 November 2006}} However, in December 2006, citing the "significant disruption" that changes to the governance would impose on the island's economy, the Australian government ended the review leaving the existing governance arrangements unaltered.{{cite press release|url=http://ministers.dotars.gov.au/jl/releases/2006/December/L173_2006.htm|title=Norfolk Island Governance Arrangements|date=20 December 2006|publisher=Department of Transport and Regional Services|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031092253/http://ministers.dotars.gov.au/jl/releases/2006/December/L173_2006.htm|archive-date=31 October 2007}}

In a move that apparently surprised many islanders, the Chief Minister of Norfolk Island, David Buffett, announced on 6 November 2010 that the island would voluntarily surrender its self-government status in return for a financial bailout from the federal government to cover significant debts.{{cite news | url=http://www.news.com.au/national/mutineer-descendants-opt-for-bounty/comments-e6frfkvr-1225948125397 | first=Ean | last=Higgins | title=Mutineer descendants opt for bounty | work=The Australian |url-status = live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105211720/http://www.news.com.au/national/mutineer-descendants-opt-for-bounty/comments-e6frfkvr-1225948125397 | archive-date=5 November 2010}}

It was announced on 19 March 2015 that self-governance for the island would be revoked by the Commonwealth and replaced by a local council with the state of New South Wales providing services to the island. A reason given was that the island had never gained self-sufficiency and was being heavily subsidised by the Commonwealth, being given $12.5 million in 2015 alone. It meant that residents would have to start paying Australian income tax, but they would also be covered by Australian welfare schemes such as Centrelink and Medicare.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/19/norfolk-island-self-government-to-be-revoked-and-replaced-by-local-council|title=Norfolk Island self-government to be replaced by local council|author=Shalailah Medhora|work=The Guardian|date=19 March 2015|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211082431/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/19/norfolk-island-self-government-to-be-revoked-and-replaced-by-local-council|archive-date=11 February 2017}}

The Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly decided to hold a referendum on the proposal. On 8 May 2015, voters were asked if Norfolk Islanders should freely determine their political status and their economic, social and cultural development, and to "be consulted at referendum or plebiscite on the future model of governance for Norfolk Island before such changes are acted upon by the Australian parliament".{{cite web|url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/269780/norfolk-island-to-go-ahead-with-governance-referendum|title=Norfolk Island to go ahead with governance referendum|date=27 March 2015|work=Radio New Zealand|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402170642/http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/269780/norfolk-island-to-go-ahead-with-governance-referendum|archive-date=2 April 2015}} 68% out of 912 voters voted in favour. The Norfolk Island Chief Minister, Lisle Snell, said that "the referendum results blow a hole in Canberra's assertion that the reforms introduced before the Australian Parliament that propose abolishing the Legislative Assembly and Norfolk Island Parliament were overwhelmingly supported by the people of Norfolk Island".

The Norfolk Island Legislation Amendment Act 2015 passed the Australian Parliament on 14 May 2015 (assented on 26 May 2015), abolishing self-government on Norfolk Island and transferring Norfolk Island into a council as part of New South Wales law.

Between 1 July 2016 and 1 January 2022, New South Wales provided state-based services. Since 1 January 2022, Queensland has provided state-based services directly for Norfolk Island.{{Cite news|last=Druce|first=Alex|date=26 October 2021|title=Why island paradise is switching states|work=news.com.au|url=https://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/news/norfolk-island-to-switch-from-nsw-to-qld-jurisdiction-under-new-federal-funding-deal/news-story/922e79ae54bbcb621190c0689eaf3654|access-date=26 October 2021|archive-date=26 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026095537/https://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/news/norfolk-island-to-switch-from-nsw-to-qld-jurisdiction-under-new-federal-funding-deal/news-story/922e79ae54bbcb621190c0689eaf3654|url-status=live}}

The island's official capital is Kingston; it is, however, more a centre of government than a sizeable settlement. The largest settlement is at Burnt Pine.

The most important local holiday is Bounty Day, celebrated on 8 June, in memory of the arrival of the Pitcairn Islanders in 1856.

Local ordinances and acts apply on the island, where most laws are based on the Australian legal system. Australian common law applies when not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law. Suffrage is universal at age eighteen.

As a territory of Australia, Norfolk Island does not have diplomatic representation abroad, or within the territory, and is also not a participant in any international organisations, other than sporting organisations.

The flag is three vertical bands of green, white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centred in the slightly wider white band.

The Norfolk Island Regional Council was established in July 2016 to govern the territory at the local level in line with local governments in mainland Australia.

From 1788 until 1844, Norfolk Island was a part of the Colony of New South Wales. In 1844, it was severed from New South Wales and annexed to the Colony of Van Diemen's Land.{{rp|Recital 2}} With the demise of the third settlement and in contemplation that the inhabitants of Pitcairn Island would move to Norfolk Island,{{citation |title=Report of the Royal Commission into matters relating to Norfolk Island |chapter-url=http://www.norfolkisland.gov.nf/sites/default/files/public/documents/ANIReports/ExternalReports/1976%20Royal%20Commission%20Nimmo.pdf |chapter=Ch 5 Historical outline |publisher=Australian Government |access-date=7 June 2018 |date=October 1976 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112043756/http://www.norfolkisland.gov.nf/sites/default/files/public/documents/ANIReports/ExternalReports/1976%20Royal%20Commission%20Nimmo.pdf |archive-date=12 November 2018 |url-status = live}}Newbery v The Queen (1965) 7 FLR 34 (25 March 1965), Supreme Court of Norfolk Island. the Australian Waste Lands Act 1855 (Imp), gave the Queen in Council the power to "separate Norfolk Island from the Colony of Van Diemen's Land and to make such provision for the government of Norfolk Island as might seem expedient".{{citation |url=https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/acts/1855-29ab.pdf |title=Australian Waste Lands Act 1855 |access-date=9 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143736/https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/acts/1855-29ab.pdf |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status = live}} (Imp). In 1856, the Queen in Council ordered that Norfolk Island be a distinct and separate settlement, appointing the Governor of New South Wales to also be the Governor of Norfolk Island with "full power and authority to make laws for the order, peace, and good government" of the island.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article228770954 |title=Proclamation – Norfolk Island |newspaper=NSW Government Gazette |issue=166 |date=1 November 1856 |access-date=8 June 2018 |page=2815 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=15 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215223249/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/228770954 |url-status=live }} Under these arrangements Norfolk Island was effectively self-governing, Although Norfolk Island was a colony acquired by settlement, it was never within the British Settlements Act.{{rp|p 885 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/50-51/54|title=British Settlements Act 1887|publisher=Government of the United Kingdom|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912055705/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/50-51/54|archive-date=12 September 2015}}

The constitutional status of Norfolk Island was revisited in 1894 when the British government appointed an inquiry into the administration of justice on the island.{{cite book |last1=Kerr |first1=A |title=A Federation in These Seas: An account of the acquisition by Australia of its external territories |date=2009 |publisher=Australian Government |chapter=Ch 6: Norfolk Island |chapter-url=http://regional.gov.au/territories/publications/files/A_Federation_in_These_Seas_Part_2.pdf |access-date=8 June 2018 |archive-date=4 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404213529/http://regional.gov.au/territories/publications/files/A_Federation_in_These_Seas_Part_2.pdf |url-status=live }} By this time, there had been steps in Australia towards federation including the 1891 constitutional convention. There was a correspondence between the Governor of Norfolk Island, the British colonial office and the Governor of New Zealand as to how the island should be governed and by whom. Even within NSW, it was felt that "the laws and system of government in the Colony of New South Wales would not prove suitable to the Island Community". In 1896, the Governor of New Zealand wrote "I am advised that, as far as my Ministers can ascertain, if any change is to take place in the government of Norfolk Island, the Islanders, while protesting against any change, would prefer to come under the control of New Zealand rather than that of New South Wales".

The British government decided not to annex Norfolk Island to the Colony of NSW and instead that the affairs of Norfolk Island would be administered by the Governor of NSW in that capacity rather than having a separate office as Governor of Norfolk Island. The order-in-council contemplated the future annexation of Norfolk Island to the Colony of NSW or to any federal body of which NSW form part.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article222342410 |title=Proclamation |newspaper=NSW Government Gazette |issue=222 |date=19 March 1897 |access-date=8 June 2018 |pages=1968–9 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=15 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215223249/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/222342410 |url-status=live }} Norfolk Island was not a part of NSW and residents of Norfolk Island were not entitled to have their names placed on the NSW electoral roll.{{Cite Hansard |jurisdiction=NSW |house=Legislative Assembly |title=Norfolk Island |url=https://api.parliament.nsw.gov.au/api/hansard/search/daily/searchablepdf/HANSARD-290296563-11312 |date=22 December 1898 |page=3995 |speaker=George Reid |position=Premier |access-date=12 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142154/https://api.parliament.nsw.gov.au/api/hansard/search/daily/searchablepdf/HANSARD-290296563-11312 |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live }} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142154/https://api.parliament.nsw.gov.au/api/hansard/search/daily/searchablepdf/HANSARD-290296563-11312 |date=12 June 2018 }} Norfolk Island was accepted as a territory of Australia, separate from any state, by the Norfolk Island Act 1913 (Cth),{{cite Legislation AU|Cth|num_act|nia1913151913185|Norfolk Island Act 1913}}. passed under the territories power,{{Cite Legislation AU|Cth|act|coaca430|Constitution|122}} Government of territories. and made effective in 1914.{{cite news |url=https://www.legislation.gov.au/file/1914GN35|title=Proclamation: Norfolk Island Act 1913 |newspaper=Australian Government Gazette |issue=35 |date=17 June 1914 |access-date=8 June 2018 |page=1043 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142334/https://www.legislation.gov.au/file/1914GN35 |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status = live}}. Norfolk Island was given a limited form of self-government by the Norfolk Island Act 1979 (Cth).{{cite Legislation AU|Cth|num_act|nia1979158|Norfolk Island Act 1979}}.

There have been four challenges to the constitutional validity of the Australian Government's authority to administer Norfolk Island:

• In 1939, Samuel Hadley argued that the only valid laws in Norfolk Island were those made under the 1856 Order in Council and that all subsequent laws were invalid; his case was rejected by the High Court.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article231509159 |title=Six judges in case on jersey bull |newspaper=The Sun |date=27 November 1939 |access-date=11 June 2018 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=15 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215223336/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/231509159 |url-status=live }} (not in law reports)
• In 1965, the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island rejected Henry Newbery's appeal against conviction for failing to apply to be enrolled to vote in Norfolk Island Council elections. He had argued that in 1857 Norfolk Island had a constitution and a legislature such that the Crown could not abolish the legislature nor place Norfolk Island under the authority of Australia. In the Supreme Court, Eggleston J considered the constitutional history of Norfolk Island and concluded that the Australian Waste Lands Act 1855 (Imp) authorised any form of government, representative or non-representative, and that this included placing Norfolk Island under the authority of Australia.
• As a result of the Australian Government's decision in 1972 to prevent Norfolk Island from being used as a tax haven, Berwick Ltd claimed to be resident in Norfolk Island but was convicted of failing to lodge a tax return. One of the arguments for Berwick Ltd was that Norfolk Island, as an external territory, was not part of Australia in the constitutional sense. In 1976, the High Court unanimously rejected this argument, approving the Newbery decision and holding that Norfolk Island was a part of Australia.{{cite AustLII|HCA|12|1976|litigants=Berwick Ltd v Gray |parallelcite=(1976) 133 CLR 603 |date=30 March 1976}}.
• In 2004 the Australian Government amended the Norfolk Island Act 1979 (Cth) to remove the right for non-Australian citizens to enrol and stand for election to the Legislative Assembly of Norfolk Island.{{cite Legislation AU|Cth|num_act|niaa2004238|Norfolk Island Amendment Act 2004}}. The validity of the amendments was challenged in the High Court, arguing that as an external territory Norfolk Island was not part of Australia in the constitutional sense and that disenfranchising residents of Norfolk Island who were not Australian citizens was inconsistent with self-government. In 2007, the High Court of Australia rejected these arguments, again approving the Newbery decision and holding that Norfolk Island was part of Australia and that self-government did not require residency rather than citizenship to determine the entitlement to vote.{{cite AustLII|HCA|18|2007|litigants=Bennett v Commonwealth |parallelcite=(2007) 231 CLR 91}} {{citation |url=http://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/judgment-summaries/2007/hca18-2007-04-27.pdf |title=judgment summary |publisher=High Court (Australia) |date=27 April 2007 |access-date=9 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425143746/http://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/judgment-summaries/2007/hca18-2007-04-27.pdf |archive-date=25 April 2018 |url-status = live}}.

The Government of Australia thus holds that:

: Norfolk Island has been an integral part of the Commonwealth of Australia since 1914, when it was accepted as an Australian territory under section 122 of the Constitution. The Island has no international status independent of Australia.{{cite web |url=http://www.regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/fact-sheets/Norfolk-Island-overview.aspx |title=Fact Sheet: About Norfolk Island |publisher=Australian Government, Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development website |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401100449/http://regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/fact-sheets/Norfolk-Island-overview.aspx |archive-date=1 April 2015 |access-date=9 March 2015}}

Much of the self-government under the 1979 legislation was repealed with effect from 2016.{{cite Legislation AU|Cth|num_act|nilaa2015350|Norfolk Island Legislation Amendment Act 2015}}. The reforms included, to the chagrin of some of the locals of Norfolk Island, a repeal of the preambular sections of the Act which originally were 3–4 pages recognising the particular circumstances in the history of Norfolk Island.Norfolk Island Legislation Amendment Act 2015 (Cth) [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/num_act/nilaa2015350/sch1.html Schedule 1, Div. 1 s 1].

Consistent with the Australian position, the United Nations Decolonization CommitteeUnited Nations Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence of Colonial Countries and Peoples does not include Norfolk Island on its list of non-self-governing territories.

This legal position is disputed by some residents on the island. Some islanders claim that Norfolk Island was actually granted independence at the time Queen Victoria granted permission to Pitcairn Islanders to re-settle on the island.{{cite web|url=http://www.pitcairners.org/government3.html|title=History|work=Norfolk Island's relationship with Australia|publisher=Norfolk Island|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204204621/http://www.pitcairners.org/government3.html|archive-date=4 February 2012}}

Following reforms to the status of Norfolk Island, there were mass protests by the local population.{{cite web|title = Mass protest on Norfolk Island|url = http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/285463/mass-protest-on-norfolk-island|website = Radio New Zealand| date=28 September 2015 |access-date = 27 December 2015|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160105083257/http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/285463/mass-protest-on-norfolk-island|archive-date = 5 January 2016}} In 2015, it was reported that Norfolk Island was taking its argument for self-governance to the United Nations.{{cite web|url = https://au.news.yahoo.com/sunday-night/features/a/30360076/norfolk-island-this-isnt-australia/|title = norfolk-island-this-isnt-australia|access-date = 28 December 2015}}{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web|title = Could Australia let Christmas Island go?|url = http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/12/18/could-australia-let-christmas-island-go|website = SBS News|access-date = 27 December 2015|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151227134012/http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/12/18/could-australia-let-christmas-island-go|archive-date = 27 December 2015}} A campaign to preserve the island's autonomy was formed, named Norfolk's Choice.{{cite web |url=http://www.norfolkschoice.com/ |title=Norfolk's Choice |publisher=Norfolkschoice.com |date=20 June 2014 |access-date=17 July 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716113207/http://www.norfolkschoice.com/ |archive-date=16 July 2016 }} A formal petition was lodged with the United Nations by Geoffrey Robertson on behalf of the local population on 25 April 2016.{{cite news|url = http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/norfolk-island-residents-petition-un-over-australian-recolonisation-20160426-gofozv.html|title = Norfolk Island residents petition UN over Australian 're-colonisation'|website = The Age|date = 27 April 2016|access-date = 27 April 2016|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161017200707/http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/norfolk-island-residents-petition-un-over-australian-recolonisation-20160426-gofozv.html|archive-date = 17 October 2016}}

Various suggestions for retaining the island's self-government have been proposed. In 2006, a UK MP, Andrew Rosindell, raised the possibility of the island becoming a self-governing British Overseas Territory.{{cite web |author=Table Office, House of Commons |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmordbk1/60621w01.htm |title=UK Parliament, written questions 21 June 2006 |publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom |access-date=17 July 2016 |url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422070854/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmordbk1/60621w01.htm |archive-date=22 April 2016}} In 2013, the island's last chief minister, Lisle Snell, suggested independence, to be supported by income from fishing, offshore banking and foreign aid.{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11147246|last=Marks|first=Kathy|title=Norfolk Islanders face dire straits|work=The New Zealand Herald|date=28 October 2013|access-date=10 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308110112/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11147246|archive-date=8 March 2016|url-status = live}}

The laws of Norfolk Island were in a transitional state, under the Norfolk Island Applied Laws Ordinance 2016 (Cth), from 2016 until 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2017C00069|title=Norfolk Island Applied Laws Ordinance 2016|website=Federal Legislative Register|date=20 January 2017 |access-date=28 December 2017|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208231552/https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2017C00069|archive-date=8 December 2017}} Laws of New South Wales as applying in Norfolk Island were suspended (with five major exceptions, which the 2016 Ordinance itself amended) until the end of June 2018. From 1 July 2018, all laws of New South Wales apply in Norfolk Island and, as "applied laws", are subject to amendment, repeal or suspension by federal ordinance.{{cite web|url=http://www.norfolkisland.gov.nf/policy-and-governance/norfolk-island-legislation|title=Norfolk Island Legislation|website=Norfolk Island Regional Council|date=22 March 2017|access-date=28 December 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228113840/http://www.norfolkisland.gov.nf/policy-and-governance/norfolk-island-legislation|archive-date=28 December 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/governance/legislation-updates.aspx|title=Legislation updates|website=Australian Government: Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities|access-date=22 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321232210/https://regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/governance/legislation-updates.aspx|archive-date=21 March 2019|url-status = live}} The Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) has been amended for application to Norfolk Island.{{cite web|url=https://regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/governance/files/Local_Government_Act_1993_Comp_No.2.pdf|title=Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) (NI)|website=Australian Government: Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities|access-date=22 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190310061520/https://regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/governance/files/Local_Government_Act_1993_Comp_No.2.pdf|archive-date=10 March 2019|url-status=dead}}

{{See also|Permanent Resident of Norfolk Island visa}}

The island was subject to separate immigration controls from the remainder of Australia. Before 1 July 2016, immigration to Norfolk Island, even by other Australian citizens was heavily restricted.{{Cite web|title=Norfolk Island Legislation (Migration) Transitional Rule 2016|url=http://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2016L01117/Explanatory%20Statement/Text|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129103420/https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2016L01117/Explanatory%20Statement/Text|archive-date=29 January 2021|access-date=29 January 2021|website=Federal Register of Legislation|language=en}} In 2012, immigration controls were relaxed with the introduction of an Unrestricted Entry Permit{{cite web | url= https://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/59norfolk.htm | title= Fact Sheet 59 – Immigration Arrangements for Norfolk Island | publisher= Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Australia | date= January 2014 | access-date= 17 February 2015 |url-status = dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150216085446/http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/59norfolk.htm | archive-date= 16 February 2015}} for all Australian and New Zealand citizens upon arrival and the option to apply for residency; the only criteria were to pass a police check and be able to pay into the local health scheme.{{cite web | url= https://www.channersonnorfolk.com/move-to-norfolk-island | title= Thinking of Moving to Norfolk Island? | website= channersonnorfolk.com |url-status = dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211222193839/https://www.channersonnorfolk.com/move-to-norfolk-island | archive-date= 22 December 2021}} From 1 July 2016, the Australian migration system replaced the immigration arrangements previously maintained by the Norfolk Island Government.{{cite web|title = Speech – Second Reading, Norfolk Island Reform – Thursday, 26 March 2015 > Jamie Briggs MP > Media|url = http://www.jamiebriggs.com.au/MayoMedia/Media/tabid/64/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1516/Speech-Second-Reading-Norfolk-Island-Reform-Thursday-26-March-2015.aspx|website = jamiebriggs.com.au|access-date = 28 December 2015|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160119045907/http://www.jamiebriggs.com.au/MayoMedia/Media/tabid/64/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/1516/Speech-Second-Reading-Norfolk-Island-Reform-Thursday-26-March-2015.aspx|archive-date = 19 January 2016}} Holders of Australian visas who travelled to Norfolk Island would have departed the Australian Migration Zone before 1 July 2016. Unless they held a multiple-entry visa, the visa would have ceased; in which case they would require another visa to re-enter mainland Australia.{{cite web|url=http://regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/reforms/domestic-travel.aspx|title=Factsheet: Domestic travel between Norfolk Island and mainland Australia|first=Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and|last=Cities|website=Infrastructure and Regional Development|access-date=6 February 2018|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720172804/http://regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/reforms/domestic-travel.aspx|archive-date=20 July 2017}}

Australian citizens and residents from other parts of the nation now have an automatic right of residence on the island after meeting these criteria (Immigration (Amendment No. 2) Act 2012). Australian citizens can carry either a passport or a form of photo identification to travel to Norfolk Island. The Document of Identity, which is no longer issued, is also acceptable within its validity period. Citizens of all other nations must carry a passport to travel to Norfolk Island even if arriving from other parts of Australia.

Non-Australian citizens who are permanent residents of Norfolk Island may apply for Australian citizenship after meeting normal residence requirements and are eligible to take up residence in mainland Australia at any time through the use of a Confirmatory (Residence) visa (subclass 808).[https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/808- Confirmatory (Residence) visa (subclass 808)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702035259/http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/808- |date=2 July 2016 }} Children born on Norfolk Island are Australian citizens as specified by Australian nationality law.

Norfolk Island Hospital is the only medical centre on the island. Since 1 July 2016, medical treatment on Norfolk Island has been covered by Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme as it is in Australia. Emergency medical treatment is covered by Medicare or a private health insurer.{{cite web|url=http://regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/reforms/domestic-travel.aspx|title=Factsheet: Domestic travel between Norfolk Island and mainland Australia|publisher=Dept of Infrastructure and Regional Development|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720172804/http://regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/reforms/domestic-travel.aspx|archive-date=20 July 2017}} Although the hospital can perform minor surgery, serious medical conditions are not permitted to be treated on the island and patients are flown back to mainland Australia. Air charter transport can cost as much as {{currency|30,000|AUD}}, which is covered by the Australian Government. For serious emergencies, medical evacuations were provided by the Royal Australian Air Force; currently this service is provided by Australian Retrieval Services. The island has one ambulance, staffed by one employed St John Officer and a group of St John Ambulance Australia volunteers.

The lack of medical facilities available in most remote communities has a major impact on the health care of Norfolk Islanders.{{Cite web|url=https://www.regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/administrator/media/2018/ni-a-mr-201801.aspx|title=Providing quality health services to Norfolk Island|website=Australian Government|access-date=5 February 2020|archive-date=5 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205021253/https://www.regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/administrator/media/2018/ni-a-mr-201801.aspx|url-status=live}} As is consistent with other extremely remote regions, many older residents move to New Zealand or Australia to access the required medical care.

Defence is the responsibility of the Australian Defence Force. There are no active military installations or defence personnel on Norfolk Island. The Administrator may request the assistance of the Australian Defence Force if required. As part of "Operation Resolute", the Royal Australian Navy and Australian Border Force deploy {{sclass2|Cape|patrol boat|5}} and {{sclass|Armidale|patrol boat|0}} patrol boats to carry out civil maritime security operations in Australian mainland and offshore territories including Norfolk Island, the Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Macquarie Island, and Lord Howe Island.{{cite web |url=https://www.defence.gov.au/operations/resolute |title=Operation Resolute |website=Australian Government – Defence |access-date=20 August 2023 |archive-date=20 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820144434/https://www.defence.gov.au/operations/resolute |url-status=live }} In part to carry out this mission, as of 2023, the Navy's Armidale-class boats are in the process of being replaced by larger {{sclass|Arafura|offshore patrol vessel|1}}s.{{cite web |url=https://www.navy.gov.au/fleet/ships-boats-craft/future/opv |title=Arafura Class OPV |website=Royal Australian Navy |access-date=20 August 2023 |archive-date=8 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108031112/https://www.navy.gov.au/fleet/ships-boats-craft/future/opv |url-status=live }}

In 2023, Australian and American forces conducted joint military exercises in the vicinity of Norfolk Island signifying the island's potential as a staging base for peacekeeping, disaster-relief and other operations in the South Pacific.{{cite web |url=https://www.defence.gov.au/news-events/news/2023-07-28/largest-sea-crossing-talisman-sabre |title=Largest sea crossing for Talisman Sabre |access-date=2023-08-19 |date=28 July 2023 |website=Australian Government – Defence |archive-date=19 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819145141/https://www.defence.gov.au/news-events/news/2023-07-28/largest-sea-crossing-talisman-sabre |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.rusinsw.org.au/Papers/2021AU04.pdf |title=Forward operating bases: is there a place for them in Australia's new defence strategy? |access-date=2023-08-19 |date=March 2021 |last1=Leece |first1=D.R. |last2=Wolfe |first2=I.M.C. |website=RUSI New South Wales |archive-date=19 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819145140/https://www.rusinsw.org.au/Papers/2021AU04.pdf |url-status=live }}

Civilian law enforcement and community policing are provided by the Australian Federal Police. The normal deployment to the island is one sergeant and two constables. These are augmented by five local Special Members who have police powers but are not AFP employees.

The Norfolk Island Court of Petty Sessions is the equivalent of a Magistrates Court and deals with minor criminal, civil or regulatory matters. The Chief Magistrate of Norfolk Island is usually the current Chief Magistrate of the Australian Capital Territory. Three local Justices of the Peace have the powers of a Magistrate to deal with minor matters.

The Supreme Court of Norfolk Island deals with more serious criminal offences, more complex civil matters, administration of deceased estates and federal laws as they apply to the Territory. The Judges of the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island are generally appointed from among Justices of the Federal Court of Australia and may sit on the Australian mainland or convene a circuit court. Appeals are to the Federal Court of Australia.

As stated by the Legal Profession Act 1993,{{Cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016Q00032|title=Legal Profession Act 1993 (NI)|last=Infrastructure|publisher=legislation.gov.au|access-date=8 December 2017|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209044556/https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016Q00032|archive-date=9 December 2017}} "a resident practitioner must hold a Norfolk Island practising certificate." {{As of|2014}}, only one lawyer maintained a full-time legal practice on Norfolk Island.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/access-justice/submissions/submissions-test2/submission-counter/subdr260-access-justice.pdf|title=SUBMISSION TO PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION INQUIRY ACCESS TO JUSTICE ARRANGEMENTS By the Chief Minister of Norfolk Island as Minister for Justice and Minister responsible for the Legal Aid Act 1995 (Norfolk Island) and the Legal Profession Act 1993|last=Snell|first=Lisle|date=May 2014|website=The Government of Norfolk Island|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904092906/http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/access-justice/submissions/submissions-test2/submission-counter/subdr260-access-justice.pdf|archive-date=4 September 2017}}

Until 2016, Norfolk Island took its own censuses, separate from those taken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the remainder of Australia.{{Cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2901.0Chapter43702016|title=2901.0 – Census Dictionary, 2016 – Norfolk Island|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics|date=23 August 2016|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131185549/http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2901.0Chapter43702016|archive-date=31 January 2017}}

{{see also|Postage stamps and postal history of Norfolk Island}}

Prior to 2016, the Norfolk Island Postal Service was responsible for mail receipt and delivery on the island and issued its own postage stamps. With the merger of Norfolk Island as a regional council, the Norfolk Island Postal Service ceased to exist and all postage is now handled by Australia Post.{{Cite web|url=http://www.norfolkonlinenews.com/non-norfolk-island-in-the-news/end|title=END OF AN ERA: NORFOLK ISLAND HAS ISSUED ITS FINAL POSTAGE STAMP ... by Linn's stamp News|website=norfolkonlinenews.com|access-date=26 October 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206065236/http://www.norfolkonlinenews.com/non-norfolk-island-in-the-news/end|archive-date=6 February 2018}} Australia Post sends and receives mail from Norfolk Island with the postcode 2899.

Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years. As Norfolk Island prohibits the importation of fresh fruit and vegetables, most produce is grown locally. Beef is both produced locally and imported. The island has one winery, Two Chimneys Wines.{{cite web|title=Norfolk Island Wine|url=http://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-norfolk+island|work=Wine-Searcher.com website|publisher=Wine-Searcher.com|access-date=5 December 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301022837/http://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-norfolk+island|archive-date=1 March 2014}}

The Australian government controls the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and revenue from it extending {{convert|200|nmi|km}} around Norfolk Island equating to roughly {{cvt|428,000|km2}}, and territorial sea claims to {{convert|3|nmi|km}} from the island. There is a strong belief on the island that some of the revenue generated from Norfolk's EEZ should be available to provide services such as health and infrastructure on the island, which the island has been responsible for, similar to how the Northern Territory is able to access revenue from their mineral resources.{{cite web|url=http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php?/article/norfolk-island-dies-while-australian-government-thieves-and-thrives/|title=Norfolk Island dies while Australian Government thieves and thrives|work=Tasmanian Times|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926023128/http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php?%2Farticle%2Fnorfolk-island-dies-while-australian-government-thieves-and-thrives%2F|archive-date=26 September 2015}} The exclusive economic zone provides the Islanders with fish, its only major natural resource. Norfolk Island has no direct control over any marine areas but has an agreement with the Commonwealth through the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) to fish "recreationally" in a small section of the EEZ known locally as "the Box". While there is speculation that the zone may include oil and gas deposits, this is not proven. There are no major arable lands or permanent farmlands, though about 25 percent of the island is a permanent pasture. There is no irrigated land. The island uses the Australian dollar as its currency.

In 2015, Australian cannabis industry company AusCann was granted a licence to grow and export medicinal cannabis in Norfolk Island.{{cite news|title = Norfolk Island decision sparks calls to legalise medical cannabis|url = http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-21/norfolk-island-medical-marijuana-calls-to-legalise/6486906|newspaper = ABC News|date = 21 May 2015|access-date = 27 December 2015|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160105053717/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-21/norfolk-island-medical-marijuana-calls-to-legalise/6486906|archive-date = 5 January 2016}} The medicinal cannabis industry has been viewed by some as a means of reinvigorating the economy of Norfolk Island. The Commonwealth stepped in to overturn the decision, with the island's administrator, former Liberal MP Gary Hardgrave revoking the local licence to grow the crop.{{cite web|url=http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/campaign-to-legalise-medicinal-marijuana-gains-momentum-20140824-107rxp.html|title=Campaign to legalise medicinal marijuana gains momentum|work=The Age – Victoria|date=24 August 2014|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503030133/http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/campaign-to-legalise-medicinal-marijuana-gains-momentum-20140824-107rxp.html|archive-date=3 May 2016}} (Legislation to allow the cultivation of cannabis in Australia for medical or scientific purposes passed Federal Parliament in February 2016.{{cite web|url=https://www.odc.gov.au/medicinal-cannabis/about-medicinal-cannabis|title=About medicinal cannabis|date=22 June 2022|access-date=8 April 2024|archive-date=8 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408034911/https://www.odc.gov.au/medicinal-cannabis/about-medicinal-cannabis|url-status=live}} The Victorian Government will be undertaking a small-scale, strictly controlled cannabis cultivation trial at a Victorian research facility.{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-12/victoria-becomes-first-state-to-legalise-medicinal-cannabis/7321152|title=Medicinal cannabis legalised in Victoria, child epilepsy patients to be given access from 2017|work=News ABC|date=12 April 2016|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412111325/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-12/victoria-becomes-first-state-to-legalise-medicinal-cannabis/7321152|archive-date=12 April 2016}})

Formerly, residents of Norfolk Island did not pay Australian federal taxes,{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/ra/pacific/places/country/norfolk_islands.htm|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|title=Charting the Pacific|access-date=3 October 2007|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012031721/http://www.abc.net.au/ra/pacific/places/country/norfolk_islands.htm|archive-date=12 October 2007}} which created a tax haven for locals and visitors alike. There was no income tax so the island's legislative assembly raised money through an import duty{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}, fuel levy, medicare levy, goods and services tax of 12%, and local/international phone calls. The Chief Minister of Norfolk Island, David Buffett, announced on 6 November 2010 that the island would voluntarily surrender its tax-free status in return for a financial bailout from the federal government to cover significant debts. The introduction of income taxation came into effect on 1 July 2016. Prior to these reforms, residents of Norfolk Island were not entitled to social services.{{Cite AustLII|litigants=Goldsmith and Secretary, Department of Social Services (Social services second review)|source=AATA|num=613|year=2015|date=19 August 2015}}. The reforms extend to private persons, companies and trustees.{{Citation|title=Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (Norfolk Island Reforms) Act 2015|url=https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2015A00053|work=(Cth)|via=Federal Register of Legislation|access-date=26 October 2021|archive-date=26 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026224639/https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2015A00053|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title = Norfolk Island reforms|url = https://www.ato.gov.au/General/New-legislation/In-detail/Direct-taxes/Income-tax-for-businesses/Norfolk-Island-reforms/|website = ato.gov.au|access-date = 28 December 2015|first = Australian Taxation|last = Office|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160113160233/https://www.ato.gov.au/General/New-legislation/In-detail/Direct-taxes/Income-tax-for-businesses/Norfolk-Island-reforms/|archive-date = 13 January 2016}}

{{As of|2004}}, {{val|2532}} telephone main lines are in use, a mix of analog ({{val|2500}}) and digital ({{val|32}}) circuits. Satellite communications services are planned.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=8e5edd1d-06b5-4159-bfaf-3a99c04854c0&subId=509869|title=Re: NBN's mandated rollout in relation to Norfolk Island|last=Howard|first=Benjamin|date=March 2017|website=Parliament of Australia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520090345/https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=8e5edd1d-06b5-4159-bfaf-3a99c04854c0&subId=509869|archive-date=20 May 2019|url-status = live|access-date=9 May 2019}} The island has two locally based radio stations (Radio Norfolk), a government run station broadcasting on both AM and FM frequencies and an independent station 87.6 FM owned by the Bounty Museum Trust.{{cite web |title=Broadcasting |date=7 June 2017 |url=http://www.norfolkisland.gov.nf/services/local-services/broadcasting |publisher=Norfolk Island Regional Council |access-date=4 March 2020 |archive-date=17 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217195917/http://www.norfolkisland.gov.nf/services/local-services/broadcasting |url-status=dead }} Norfolk Island doesn't have its own dedicated ABC Local Radio station but the island is covered by ABC Western Plains which broadcasts on 95.9 FM from its studios in Dubbo in mainland Australia. Television signals were first reportedly seen on the island's only television set on 21 November 1963, with distant reception of ABN-2 Sydney by ham radio technician Ray Hoare. Since then, reception not only of ABC but also NZBC TV was possible, with its apex in the summer months, as the signals were propagated through the ionosphere.FIRST TV PICKED UP ON NORFOLK IS., Pacific Islands Monthly, January 1964 There is also one television station, Norfolk TV, featuring local programming, plus transmitters for Australian channels ABC, SBS, Nine (through Imparja Television) and Seven.{{cite book|author=Central Intelligence Agency|title=The World Factbook 2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JeQgfyJ5FLgC&pg=PA471|year=2003|publisher=Government Printing Office|isbn=978-0-16-087359-1|pages=471–|access-date=4 March 2020|archive-date=15 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215223248/https://books.google.com/books?id=JeQgfyJ5FLgC&pg=PA471|url-status=live}} The Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is .nf.{{cite web |title=Delegation Record for .NF |url=https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/nf.html |website=Internet Assigned Numbers Authority |access-date=4 March 2020 |archive-date=9 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309084519/http://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/nf.html |url-status=live }} A small GSM (2G) mobile network operates on the island across three towers, however no data transmission is available on this network. An eight-tower 4G/LTE 1800 MHz network was installed in November 2018, improving data service significantly on the island.{{cite web |title=4G Mobile Data |url=https://www.norfolkislanddataservices.com/4g-mobile-data |website=Norfolk Island Data Services |access-date=11 March 2020 |archive-date=13 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213025005/https://www.norfolkislanddataservices.com/4g-mobile-data |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Telecom |url=http://www.norfolkisland.gov.nf/services/telecom |website=Norfolk Island Regional Council |date=14 December 2016 |access-date=11 March 2020 |archive-date=25 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225213345/http://www.norfolkisland.gov.nf/services/telecom |url-status=dead }}

File:Norfolk Island jetty2.jpg

There are no railways, waterways, ports or harbours on the island.{{cite web|url=http://www.asiarooms.com/travel-guide/australia/australia-tourist-attractions/norfolk-island.html|title=Norfolk Island information|publisher=Asia Rooms|access-date=4 October 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109221659/http://www.asiarooms.com/travel-guide/australia/australia-tourist-attractions/norfolk-island.html|archive-date=9 January 2008}} 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. A mobile crane picks up the freight using nets and straps and lifts the freight onto the pier. Which jetty is used depends on the prevailing weather of the day; the jetty on the leeward side of the island is often used. If the wind changes significantly during unloading/loading, the ship will move around to the other side. Visitors often gather to watch the activity when a supply ship arrives.{{citation needed|date = June 2016}} Norfolk Forwarding Services is the primary Freight Forwarding service for Norfolk Island handling both sea and airfreight. In 2017 Norfolk Forwarding Services shipped most of the freight for the Cascade Pier Project over a period of 18 months.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}

The island hosts {{convert|80|km}} of roads, of which {{convert|53|km|0|abbr=on}} are paved and {{convert|27|km|0|abbr=on}} unpaved. As with the rest of Australia, driving is on the left side of the road. Uniquely, local law gives livestock right of way. Speed limits are lower than most mainland Australian roads; the general speed limit is {{convert|50|km/h|0|abbr=on}}, reducing to {{convert|40|km/h|0|abbr=on}} in town and {{convert|30|km/h|0|abbr=on}} near schools. Drivers on the island wave to other passing vehicles, this tradition is nicknamed the "Norfolk wave".{{cite web |title = Norfolk Is speed limits |url = http://www.norfolkislands.com/faqs/faqs.htm |website = NorfolkIslands.com |access-date = 24 March 2013 |url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130213123420/http://www.norfolkislands.com/faqs/faqs.htm |archive-date = 13 February 2013}}

There is one airport, Norfolk Island Airport. Qantas operates direct flights to Sydney and Brisbane, and Air Chathams flies to Auckland. A local airline, Norfolk Island Airlines, ran flights to Auckland and Brisbane until 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/norfolk-island-airlines-ceases-flights/|title=Norfolk Island Airlines Ceases Flights|last=Graham|first=Matt|date=3 March 2018|website=The Australian Frequent Flyer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020011605/https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/norfolk-island-airlines-ceases-flights/|archive-date=20 October 2018|url-status = live|access-date=20 October 2018}} In mid 2018, Air Chathams announced it was looking to re-establish flights between Auckland and Norfolk Island.{{cite news |title=Air Chathams may fly to Norfolk direct from Auckland |url=https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/354827/air-chathams-may-fly-to-norfolk-direct-from-auckland |work=Radio New Zealand |agency=RNZ |date=12 April 2018 |access-date=21 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321033621/https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/354827/air-chathams-may-fly-to-norfolk-direct-from-auckland |archive-date=21 March 2019 |url-status = live}} It began a weekly service between Auckland and Norfolk Island on 6 September 2019 using a Convair 580.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

Since the reopening of the Trans-Tasman bubble in 2021,{{Cite web|url=https://sh1.sendinblue.com/vdneggmett7e.html?t=1618455077|title=Norfolk Island Flights Resume May 27th!|access-date=22 April 2021|archive-date=16 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416033921/https://sh1.sendinblue.com/vdneggmett7e.html?t=1618455077|url-status=live}} the Air Chathams Auckland service operates on Thursdays using a 36-seater Saab 340 aircraft.

{{clear}}

Electricity is provided by diesel generators operated by Norfolk Island Electricity, a government organisation. Some electricity is also provided by privately owned rooftop solar panels.[http://www.norfolkisland.gov.nf/services/electricity "Norfolk Island Electricity"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102231924/http://www.norfolkisland.gov.nf/services/electricity |date=2 January 2023 }} Retrieved: 03 January 2023.

Norfolk Island competes at the Commonwealth Games, and has won two bronze medals, both in lawn bowls.{{cite web | last=Pender | first=Kieran | title=Norfolk Island: the tiny territory that is a Commonwealth Games bowls powerhouse | website=the Guardian | date=2022-08-04 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/aug/05/norfolk-island-the-tiny-territory-that-is-a-commonwealth-games-bowls-powerhouse | access-date=2024-04-05}} The territory also competes in the Pacific Games and Pacific Mini Games.

The island supports national rugby league, cricket and netball teams. It is a member of World Athletics.{{cite web | title=Member Federations | website=World Athletics | url=https://worldathletics.org/about-iaaf/structure/member-federations/oceania | access-date=2024-04-05 | archive-date=17 February 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217044455/https://worldathletics.org/about-iaaf/structure/member-federations/oceania | url-status=live }}

{{Portal|Australia|Geography|Islands|Oceania}}

• Bibliography of Norfolk Island
• List of islands of Australia
• List of volcanoes in Australia
• Outline of Norfolk Island

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{Cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=Atholl |author1-link=Atholl Anderson |last2=White |first2=Peter |year=2001 |title=The Prehistoric Archaeology of Norfolk Island, Southwest Pacific |journal=Records of the Australian Museum |volume=27 |publisher=Australian Museum |issue=Supplement 27 |pages=1–142 |url=http://publications.australianmuseum.net.au/pdf/1334_complete.pdf |doi=10.3853/j.0812-7387.27.2001.1334 |access-date=21 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706123941/http://publications.australianmuseum.net.au/pdf/1334_complete.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2011 |url-status = dead}}
• Andrew Kippis, The Life and Voyages of Captain James Cook, Westminster 1788, Reprint London and New York 1904, pp. 246 ff
• Nobbs, Raymond, Norfolk Island and its Third Settlement: The First Hundred Years 1856–1956 Sydney, Library of Australian History, 2006.

; History of penal settlements

• Causer, Tim [http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1331354/ '"The Worst Types of Sub-Human Beings": the Myth and Reality of the Convicts of the Norfolk Island Penal Settlement] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420035423/http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1331354/ |date=20 April 2012 }}, 1825–1855', Islands of History, Sydney, 2011, pp. 8–31. ({{ISBN|978-0-9803354-5-3}}).
• Causer, Tim [http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1331355/ 'Norfolk Island's "Suicide Lotteries": Myth and Reality'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420035449/http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1331355/ |date=20 April 2012 }}, Islands of History, Sydney, 2011, pp. 61–68. ({{ISBN|978-0-9803354-5-3}}).
• Clark, Manning, A History of Australia, Vols. I–III, Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, 1962, 1968, 1973.
• Clarke, Marcus, For the Term of his Natural Life (novel).
• Hazzard, Margaret, Punishment Short of Death: a history of the penal settlement at Norfolk Island, Melbourne, Hyland, 1984. ({{ISBN|0-908090-64-1}}).
• Murray-Brown, David, Norfolk Island Cancellations and Postal Markings. London: Pacific Islands Study Circle, 3rd edition, 2012, 978-1-899833-20-7, 130pp; http://www.pisc.org.uk {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511160224/http://pisc.org.uk/ |date=11 May 2022 }}
• Hughes, Robert, The Fatal Shore, London, Pan, 1988. ({{ISBN|0-330-29892-5}}).
• Wright, R., The Forgotten Generation of Norfolk Island and Van Diemen's Land, Sydney, Library of Australian History, 1986.

• Barry, John Vincent – Alexander Maconochie of Norfolk Island.
• Clune, Frank – Norfolk Island Story.
• Hazzard, Margaret – Punishment Short of Death: A history of the Penal Settlement at Norfolk Island.
• Hoare, Merval – Norfolk Island: An Outline of Its History 1774–1987.
• Specht, Jim – The Prehistoric Archaeology of Norfolk Island.

{{Sister project links|voy=Norfolk Island}}

{{Wikisource1911Enc|Norfolk Island}}

Government

• [http://www.norfolkisland.gov.nf/ Official government website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115142412/http://www.norfolkisland.gov.nf/ |date=15 January 2016 }}
• [http://www.regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/index.aspx Australian Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150517072419/http://www.regional.gov.au/territories/norfolk_island/index.aspx |date=17 May 2015 }}

General information

• [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/norfolk-island/ Norfolk Island] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118050134/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/norfolk-island/ |date=18 January 2021 }}. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
• {{wikiatlas|Norfolk Island}}
• [https://www.norfolkisland.com.au/ Tourism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116141155/https://www.norfolkisland.com.au/ |date=16 November 2021 }}

Archaeology and Polynesian settlement in prehistory

• {{Cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=Atholl |author1-link=Atholl Anderson |last2=White |first2=Peter |year=2001 |title=The Prehistoric Archaeology of Norfolk Island, Southwest Pacific |journal=Records of the Australian Museum |volume=27 |publisher=Australian Museum |issue=Supplement 27 |pages=1–142 |url=http://publications.australianmuseum.net.au/pdf/1334_complete.pdf |doi=10.3853/j.0812-7387.27.2001.1334 |access-date=21 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706123941/http://publications.australianmuseum.net.au/pdf/1334_complete.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2011 |url-status = dead}}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=Atholl |author1-link=Atholl Anderson |last2=White |first2=Peter |year=2001 |title=Approaching the Prehistory of Norfolk Island |journal=Records of the Australian Museum |volume=27 |publisher=Australian Museum |issue=Supplement 27 |pages=1–9 |url=http://publications.australianmuseum.net.au/pdf/1335_complete.pdf |doi=10.3853/j.0812-7387.27.2001.1335 |access-date=21 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706123949/http://publications.australianmuseum.net.au/pdf/1335_complete.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2011 |url-status = dead}}
• {{Cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=Atholl |author1-link=Atholl Anderson |last2=Smith |first2=Ian |last3=White |first3=Peter |year=2001 |title=Archaeological Fieldwork on Norfolk Island |journal=Records of the Australian Museum |volume=27 |publisher=Australian Museum |issue=Supplement 27 |pages=11–32 |url=http://publications.australianmuseum.net.au/pdf/1336_complete.pdf |doi=10.3853/j.0812-7387.27.2001.1336 |access-date=21 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706123910/http://publications.australianmuseum.net.au/pdf/1336_complete.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2011 |url-status = dead}}

Others

• [http://www.regional.gov.au/territories/publications/files/Report_on_Governance_on_Norfolk_Island_2003.pdf Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Inquiry into Governance on Norfolk Island] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130505135040/http://regional.gov.au/territories/publications/files/Report_on_Governance_on_Norfolk_Island_2003.pdf |date=5 May 2013 }} Commonwealth Parliament, Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories, 2003
• [http://anglicanhistory.org/oceania/campbell_norfolk1879.html Norfolk Island and Its Inhabitants] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610051817/http://anglicanhistory.org/oceania/campbell_norfolk1879.html |date=10 June 2011 }} 1879 account by Joseph Campbell
• {{WWF ecoregion|id=aa0114|name=Norfolk Island subtropical forests}}
• [http://anglicanhistory.org/oceania/ni/ Anglican history on Norfolk Island] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610052431/http://anglicanhistory.org/oceania/ni/ |date=10 June 2011 }} Primary texts and photographs
• [https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/permalink/61SLQ_INST/tqqf2h/alma99183959420902061 Colonial Secretary's papers 1822–1877], State Library of Queensland- Includes digitised letters to the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales regarding the Norfolk Island colony

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