Norfolk Island National Park and Botanic Garden

Norfolk Island, which was built by volcanic activity, lies in the southwest Pacific Ocean about 1,600km (994 mi) from Sydney, Australia, and 1,120 km (696 mi) from Auckland, New Zealand.

The island group was claimed for the British Empire by Captain James Cook in 1774. Signs of earlier short periods of occupation by Polynesian travelers have been located on the island. It was settled in 1788 to harvest the resources Cook had identified as useful for the British fleet, but was abandoned in 1814. A later colonial convict settlement began in 1825, but it ended in 1855. In 1856, the island was again inhabited, by the descendants of the sailors of Bounty mutiny and their Tahitian wives. During World War II, an airfield was constructed on Norfolk Island.

The Mount Pitt section of Norfolk Island National Park was proclaimed in January 1986. The area under the management of the Australian Government has since grown to a total of 650 hectares (1,606 acres), consisting of two sections: the Mt Pitt Section which is located on Norfolk Island itself, covering 460 hectares (1,137 acres) and the Phillip Island Section comprised of 190 hectares (469 acres), the total area of neighbouring Phillip Island. Another 5.5 hectares (13.6 acres) of Park property is within the Norfolk Island Botanic Garden. Both areas had been public reserves declared under the Commons and Public Reserves Ordinance 1936.

The Norfolk Island Botanic Garden was declared a Commonwealth reserve 1986 to provide a place where specimens of Norfolk's unique Flora could be conveniently seen and appreciated. The area comprising the Forestry Zone was cleared for banana plantations during the 1930s; but after the collapse of the banana industry, it developed into a dense thicket of African Olive.

We would like to thank Norfolk Island National Park and Botanic Garden for information obtained from their website.

Flora

Fauna