Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Norfolk Island

​NORFOLK ISLAND, an island in the W. Pacific; about half-way between New Zealand and New Caledonia; 400 miles N. N. W. of the former. The coasts are high (mean altitude, 400 feet) and steep, and the surface generally uneven, rising in Mount Pitt to 1,050 feet. The island has an area of 10½ square miles. The soil is fertile and well watered, and the climate healthful. Norfolk Island was discovered by Cook in 1774. Between 1788 and 1805, and again between 1826 and 1855, it was a penal settlement for convicts sent from New South Wales. In 1856 many of the inhabitants of Pitcairn Island (q. v.) were transferred thither by the British government. The population includes a number of Melanesian boys and girls being educated at Bishop Patterson's mission station of St. Barnabas, Norfolk Island being the headquarters of the diocese Melanesia, which was founded in 1861. The people govern hemselves, under the superintendence of the government of New South Wales; they fish, farm, and supply provisions to passing vessels. Pop. about 1,000.

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