Dead Centre of Town

Towards the end of our stay on Norfolk Island, we decided - out of curiosity - to visit its cemetery. Two things we immediately obvious. Part of it held the remains of prisoners and their supervisors - dating from the period 1825 to 1855 when the island was home to repeat offenders from the penal colony of New South Wales. What struck us was the incredibly young age of most of the deceased - often in the 20 to 40 age bracket. More alarming still was the high proportion who died from drowning!

These first two pictures are general views taken from the western where many of the island's deceased residents from convict days are buried. I don't think I've seen a more picturesque cemetery anywhere else. 

These, in particular, were the graves of convicts and their guardians.

Here, for example, are several sad stories of drownings and accidental shootings among the officers of the penal colony.

Some, of course met a sticky end.

After the closure of the prison in 1855, the entire population returned to the mainland and Norfolk Island had no population. This news must have reached Pitcairn Island, which is still a British possession, quite quickly. Pitcairn island, one of a group of 5, was only a tiny 5 sq km in size and occupied by mutineers from the Bounty (spelt Baunti on Norfolk Island) and their mainly Tahitian wives. Pitcairn, it seems, was too small to sustain them, so they petitioned Queen Victoria to give them Norfolk Island (34.6 sq km) as a new home. This wish was granted, and a group of 94 people from Pitcairn arrived at their new home in 1856. Some had the surnames of Baunti mutineers: Adams, Christian, McCoy, Quintal, and Young. Others had Pitcairn surnames derived from free settlers: Buffett, Evans and Nobbs. 

What amazed us was the high proportion of graves with all these surnames etched into the head-stones. Here' for example, lie the remains of two Buffetts, one with the same first name as our daughter Emily. She reached the ripe old age of 80. Her husband did even better and reached 90. I wonder if he's related to the famous Warren Buffett who runs Berkshire Hathaway, is also 90 years old, and is worth roughly US$80 billion.

And blow me down if we didn't see the grave of the famous Australian author, Colleen McCullouch.

Her lie two Baileys, one of whom nearly made it to 90.

And, for my last picture, here is the grave of a Christian - the most prominent surname on the island. This one caught my eye because he was a MAXWELL!! That's also the name of one our grand-kids. Note, too, he almost made it to 80.

I wonder if life on a beautiful and peaceful island encourages longevity, apart of course from when one drowns or is executed. Hmmm. I might weigh up migrating to Norfolk island!!

AS