Repository of the vibrant cultural heritage of the country, some of the significant places to visit in Norfolk Island are the Norfolk Island museums. The museums in Norfolk Island provide a detailed insight into the first, second and third settlements on this exterior territory of Australia.
Some such places to visit in Norfolk Island are Commisariat store, Pier Store and the House Museum, which is located in the most well known No. 10 Quality row region.
The No. 10 Quality row also houses some of the oldest buildings that provide an insight into the architectural style of the era. Some of these buildings are the Old Military Barracks, New Military Barracks and the The Officers’ Baths
While the museums have an illuminating effect on the visitors, the bays and the Norfolk Island beaches produce a comely effect on the six senses.
Some of the most revered Norfolk Island bays include Slaughter Bay, Anson Bay and the Emily Bay.
Providing an array of diving spots, these bays are the major source of entertainment for the tourists.
The Norfolk Island Beach Store is another important sightseeing spot in Norfolk Island that reiterates the history of the islands. Presently, a museum this was built in the year 1841 and was converted into a guard house, a customs shed and a coffin room in the successive years.
Each and every corner of the Norfolk Islands beholds the reminiscences of the cultural heritage of the region. It is this laid back charm that attracts tourists to the Norfolk Islands from various parts of the world.
Some of the places to visit in Norfolk Island |
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Norfolk Island Museum
One of the most important places to visit in Norfolk Island, the Norfolk Island Museum is a treasure trove of the historical and the architectural heritage of the country. It is situated in Kingston, which is considered to be a chief archaeological site in Australia. This region in Australia houses some of the finest examples of early colonial architecture that are evident in the offices, cemeteries, stores, barracks and the museums.
Standing in humble testimony to the Polynesian settlements on the islands, the Norfolk Island Museum exhibit antiques of archaeological importance that date back to the period of settlement. Further, evidence can also be found of the advent of the Europeans in the year 1788. A trail down the Norfolk Island Museum complex also provides evidence of the settlement of the Sydney Cove, which was established by a party of soldiers and convicts.
It is learnt that the agricultural produces in the Sydney Cove settlement were the key resources for food supply for the people of Sydney. The place was later declared as the center for punishing the convicts of the second order in the year 1825. After this declaration by the British Government, the condition of the area worsened and it was ordered to be sealed off any residential area. The whole population was therefore evacuated between the 1847 to 1855. A year later, a new community of people came to settle into the island who were the descendants of the Bounty Mutineers. Since then, majority of the Norfolk Island population comprise of this particular community.
Some of the other Museums in Norfolk Islands are the Commisariat store, Pier Store and the House Museum situated in the NO. 10 Quality row-all of which exhibit evidences of the earlier settlements on the islands. Providing an insinuation into the history and the early culture of the islands, the Norfolk Island Museums prove to be an intricate part of the Norfolk Islands cultural heritage.
Norfolk Island Botanic Gardens
Administered on the lines of Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999) and the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act (1975), the Norfolk Island Botanic Gardens was a set up by the joint efforts of the Norfolk Island and Commonwealth Governments in 1986. This particular step was taken to preserve the bio-diversity in the flora and the fauna of the Norfolk Island. Having an expanse of 5.5 hectares as of in 1993, this garden is home to some of the unique plant life on the islands that prove to be an important resource for research and botanical study.
Norfolk Island Botanic Gardens Flora
Ablaze with different kinds of flowers and plants of different hue and color, the Norfolk Island Botanic Gardens attains a majestic grandeur. A stroll through the rich green regalia of plants and shrubs in the Norfolk Island Botanic Gardens could also provide an insight into the variety of birds that can be found here. The pandemonium of bird calls seem to have a soothing effect on the six senses.
Some of the birds that can be found in Norfolk Island Botanic Gardens are the fantail and the golden whistler. Norfolk Island Botanic Gardens Flora comprise the giant Norfolk island pine and creepers, lianas and shrubs. Some of the flowering plants that enhance the beauty of the botanical garden include different varieties of Acanthaceae, Aizoaceae, Apiaceae, Apocynaceae, Asteraceae and Basellaceae .
One of the most important places to visit in Norfolk Island, the sight of the green resplendence in Norfolk Island Botanic Gardens is rather rejuvenating and proves to have an undaunted effect on memory.
Norfolk Island Historic Walks
Norfolk Island Historic Walks take a tourist to this island on a historic journey. This 35 square kilometers Oceanic island offers marvelous walks through pine bordered avenues and tranquil surroundings.
Historic walk in the Norfolk Island begins ideally from Burnt Pine and stretches to Country Road along Peter’s Highway, popularly called Ferny Lane. The road leads to Longridge House, a well-known eatery famous for its Devonshire tea. The Country Road also leads to Watermill Dam. Subsequently, the walk continues down Jemima Robinson Avenue which is lined with 100 pine trees to commemorate the years lived by Madam Robinson.
This avenue leads to the Commissariat Store and the Pier Street jetty where the first Pitcaimers arrived in 1856. Near the jetty is the Royal Engineers’ Office. The Royal Engineers’ Office is located in Kingston town, which still boasts of 19th century ambiance with masons, blacksmiths, bakers, tailors, and cloth makers.
Near the Royal Engineers’ Office is the Pier Store, pentagonal prison and the Crankmill. The Sirius Museum, and Slaughter Bay are also very close. A tourist can walk down to the Salt Mill and Point Hunter tip around Emily Bay.
In another historic Norfolk Island walk a tourist can visit the Military Barracks, the Quality Row, Golf Course, and Bloody Bridge.
Norfolk Island historic walks are ideal for visiting the historical monuments of this magnificent island. Tourists must never miss the opportunity of walking through unspoilt pine woods, and clean paths which are not that very easily available.
Norfolk Island Quality Row
Comprising the only residential museum of its kind known as the House Museum, the Norfolk Island – Quality Row is one of the most important places to visit in Norfolk Island. Significant because of its architectural value, the House Museum was built in the year 1844 . Constructed along the lines of the second settlement Georgian architecture, the museum is a splendid example of the ancient cultural heritage of the country. Thomas Seller was considered to be the first occupant of the house who also had the responsibility of overseeing the construction of the houses along No.10 Quality Row in the Norfolk Island.
The Norfolk Island – Quality Row stretches from the Commissariat Store, which is another important museum in the Norfolk Island to the cemetery. Dotted by houses made during the second settlement, the ruins of some of the houses provide an insinuation into the architectural style of the early settlements in the islands. There are a total of eight Georgian houses and high walled structure constituting the New Military Barracks, the Old Military Barracks, the Commissariat Store and the Officers’ bath.
The Officers’ Bath
The Officers’ Bath is one among the Norfolk Island attractions. This bath ensures fresh water supply to the residents of Kingston. The bath consists of a stairway made of stone, which descends down to the stream, Town Creek. The bath was constructed during the Second Settlement. The historical sites are also a part of the Norfolk Island attractions.
The Officers’ Bath is another remarkable contribution of the Second Settlement in Norfolk Island. The bath is an underground passage with a domed ceiling made of stone. Fresh water from a dammed creek located in the Soldiers’ Gully, flows through the conduit to the Officers’ Bath. The fresh water then passes below the Quality Row and cascades into the stream, which flows through the Common into the Emily Bay. Stone masons were brought from England build this stone bath. However it is believed that in order to build this stone bath, the stone masons were purposely convicted from England and deported to the Norfolk Island. Whatever be the reason, the Officers’ Bath is really a wonder, which still waits to be discovered.
The Officers’ Bath in Norfolk Island, built during the Second Settlement, still continues to amuse visitors with its architectural beauty.
St Barnabas Chapel
St Barnabas Chapel is one the traditional buildings, which is considered as one of the important Places to visit in Norfolk Island. Dr Robert Codrington laid the first stone for the St Barnabas Chapel in Norfolk Island in the year of 1875. The Chapel was designed and built by Sir Thomas Graham Jackson of London. The time taken for the completion of the construction was just five years.
St Barnabas Chapel of Norfolk Island was considered as the mother church of the Church of England’s missionary work in Melanesia from the period between 1880 and 1920. During this period a great number of students from the Pacific Islands came to the Mission College to live and study and they had helped in the construction of the chapel. The mission was however moved to the Solomon Islands in the year of 1920.
St Barnabas Chapel is made of stone from the ruins of the New Gaol. As St Barnabas Chapel was initially built for the Melanesian Mission, the church is also known as the Melanesian Mission Chapel or the Patteson Memorial Chapel. It is loved and valued by the local people as well as the tourists visiting the island from far and wide.
Norfolk Beaches