| Norfolk Island continues to be a place which fascinated, intrigues and at times bewilders. Has ever such a small piece of land had such a deep and rich history? This book is published to mark the sesqui-centenary of the arrival of the Pitcairn Islanders on Norfolk Island on 8 June 1856. It is the third book in a series which gives details accounts of Norfolk Island's distinct settlements (the first two volumes are now out of print). The publication traces the tale of the descendants of the mutineers of HMS Bounty and their Tahitian wives who left Pitcairn, to travel some 5000 kilometres across the Pacific to a new home. They brought with them, not only aspirations and expectations, but a series of laws to govern their affairs, a vote for women, compulsory education, and a language particular to their situation. The work traces the lives of this very unique group of people as they settled and then adapted to life in a new land, to many of them, a very strange home. This part of the island history would not be complete without including an account of the Melanesian Mission. The Mission was present for more than half of the 100 years under consideration, it occupied about one fifth of the arable island land, and at times its combined student and staff numbers represented roughly one quarter of the total island population. The detail is meticulous and the story teems with a life and a vitality that reflects the people who make up Norfolk's community. Contents:
Illustrations
Abbreviations, Conventions and Measures Used
Foreword
Preface
1. The Move to Norfolk: 1856
2. A Promised Land
3. Norfolk and the Empire
4. Early Trials: The 1860s
5. The Melanesian Mission
6. Two Communities Grow: The 1870s
7. Tensions Unresolved: The 1880s and Early 1890s
8. Paradise Lost: 1896-1914
9. World War I and the Inter-War Years
10. World War II and its Aftermath
Bibliography
Index Related Products:
Norfolk Island and its Third Settlement: The First Hundred Years - softcover |
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