Author: Glendon

Retired Australian Lawyer having worked representing the innocent and the not so innocent in Australia and some of the remote parts of the world and having travelled widely through Europe, Western Russia, Canada, USA, New Zealand, Thailand Malaysia Solomon Islands northern China, Hong Kong and the UAE So now that I have the time I am writing about my travels present and past. Hope you enjoy exploring off the beaten track.

A Short Imprisonment on Norfolk Island

Day 6 Tuesday

Having visited Colleen McCullough’s home and confirming that she was buried in the cemetery at Kingston, we thought we had better go and look again because we had missed it. It did not take long to find it when we knew that it was supposed to be there. A rather underwhelming headstone for probably the most internationally famous person on the Island but perhaps says something of the person or that her husband was a cheap arse and didn’t want to pay for anything elaborate or they wanted to avoid fans flocking to the cemetery or …. I could go on, but I won’t. We don’t know why, and it probably doesn’t matter to Colleen one bit. However, we did find the elaborate headstone for a local entertainer no one outside of Norfolk has heard of and good for him in death he has made his mark.

While we were down in Kingston, we thought we may as well investigate the ruins of the second settlement. And there were plenty of ruins. Traditional long boats, usually towed by motorised launches lie about some beyond repair. These are the boats used top unload cargo from visiting cargo ships that are visiting less and less. There are two jetties one on the southern side and the other on the north and neither big enough or in water deep enough to receive containerized ships and the world of loading into tenders is fast disappearing. Wild weather also prevents the delivery of cargo, so it is not surprising that the shelves in the supermarket are very scant of product.

Photos

Kingston and its relic buildings are to be found around the southern jetty. You can see the fringing reefs and understand why no ships of any size want to try and unload or load cargo here. Thank God for the aerodrome otherwise the Island would have to become self-sustaining. I have pictured some of the buildings and the reefs and rock shelves that are a barrier to big vessels.

Although the introductory tour had taken us to the northern jetty Cascade Pier we wanted to go back now that we had a better understanding of the operations of the pier. It is due north along Middlegate Road past the school and down Cascade Road to an open bay with far less natural shelter than Kingston Pier. From the conversations with locals we knew the Australian Government had at the islanders request extended the pier and fitted the large blue crane and the smaller boat crane to the pier but they all complained they installed the crane the wrong way round with the larger crane being almost useless in its present position. From what I could see on an average day with a strong wind and drizzly rain the whole pier was useless. We later found the point where petroleum products we offloaded and what a difference in strategy and design suggesting they really want the petrol but not so much anything else.

Photos

The only remanent I could see of the old whaling station is the rusted boiler you can see in my photos above. Beside them is some more Australian taxpayers’ largesse in the form of ferries to bring the cruise passengers ashore but where are the cruise liners?

We had booked a tour called “Tastes of Norfolk” where we visit a farm or two and try the local produce. Well there was some excuse about the farms not able to be visited so we were going to the Sunset Bar where we would have a chat eat some food from their kitchen and drink some grog. Actually, that is probably a fairer representation of the locals than of the “Tastes of Norfolk” and its farms. However, we did get to visit the Beehives of a local beekeeper. All aboard the bus and up the road to the Hundred Acre Reserve and just beside the reserve is the home of the bus driver who took us to Colleen McCullough’s house, and he has a few hives and he gives us a talk about beekeeping, his fruit trees his ducks – you get the feeling this tour business is a home industry.

The final leg of the tour is the green banana cooking. Back on the bus we drive to another home and there on the verandah is a propane burner and some green bananas a young lass clearly of Tahitian extraction and the local Norfolk Is cookbook of all the secret recipes. So we learned that you grate the green bananas make a batter and mix spoonsful in the batter and drop them into the propane heated boiling oil and voila green banana fritters. After this we return to Baunti base and head for home exhausted from so much activity. We will have to prepare ourselves for the famous Fish Fry tonight.

Photos

We had an afternoon siesta back in the bedroom of our apartment before heading back to Taylor’s Road HQ of Pine Tree tours where we catch buses to Ona Cliffe once again. Whilst at the booking office we are told about a change of plans. Tomorrow we go on a cliff top walk to the Captain Cook monument near Moo-oo Stone. Not anymore, the wet weather has forced the cancellation, but we will have a walk in the Hundred Acres reserve, breakfast at Ona Cliffe and bus it to the memorial.

So off we head for the fish fry. The photos of the bedroom and the fish fry are below but there is nothing good to say about the fish or the fry but the sunset was interesting.

A Short Imprisonment on Norfolk Island

Day 5 Monday

We had a bit of a mix up this morning. We found out yesterday that our tour of Colleen McCullough’s home was on Monday not Tuesday. So, a little bit of re-organising and we were doing the house tour with a walk through 100 acres reserve and then Two Chimney Winery and a Progressive dinner.

Colleen McCullough was born in 1937 in Wellington, in the Central West region of New South Wales, of an Irish father and a New Zealander part-Māori mother.

Before her tertiary education, McCullough earned a living as a teacher, librarian and journalist. In her first year of medical studies at the University of Sydney she suffered dermatitis from surgical soap and was told to abandon her dreams of becoming a medical doctor. Instead, she switched to neuroscience and worked at Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney.

In 1963, McCullough moved for four years to the United Kingdom; at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, she met the chairman of the neurology department at Yale University who offered her a research associate job at Yale. She spent 10 years (April 1967 to 1976) researching and teaching in the Department of Neurology at the Yale Medical School in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. While at Yale she wrote her first two books. One of these, The Thorn Birds, became an international bestseller and one of the best-selling books in history, with sales of over 30 million copies worldwide.

The success of these books enabled her to give up her medical-scientific career and she settled for the isolation of Norfolk Island. McCullough died on 29 January 2015, at the age of 77, in the Norfolk Island Hospital. She was buried in a traditional Norfolk Island funeral ceremony at the Emily Bay cemetery on the island.

She left her estate which included a house and gave her husband the right to occupy the house for his life I believe. She met her husband, Ric Robinson on Norfolk and married in April 1984. He may have been a naughty boy or so a rumour I heard form the locals has it.

I guess by Norfolk Island standards the house may be a glamourous house. I found it ordinary from the exterior, eclectic in some of its interior and ostentatious in some rooms. Our guide was the housekeeper who seemed to be bored with showing tourists through her house. There was fine glass ware in the dining room but it remined me of the displays in DJs, there was expensive wall papers and expensive looking Asian furniture, but it did not tell me about the author until we got to her office and library. A plain working office and an extensive library of old research books which we could not enter but only observe from the door. The bookcases lined the walls and then were set up in rows. I doubt there was anything other than books and bookcases in the room. There is a covered patio where ferns in baskets hang from the ceiling annoyingly low amongst which also hung Tiffany stained glass lamp shades. We congregated on the patio seating in the available chairs and basically looked at the ferns, the lamp shades and each other for what must have been 30 mins. Our guide answered random questions with short, clipped responses then suddenly arose and led us from the patio through other rooms. I found it weird.

Finally, we left the house to go to the summer house/gift shop where over-priced copies of her books were on sale. Then we boarded the bus to return to the Baunti Tours office. No photos of the interior of the house were permitted but I got a few of the exterior and surrounds which follow.

Colleen McCullough’s house on Norfolk.

We filled in the rest of our time with a walk through the Hundred Acre reserve. Given the wet weather we should have known better as we had to scrap our shoes to be rid of the mud from the walk. The reserve is not natural species, but a former farm replanted mainly with Norfolk pine. A walking track through Hundred Acres Reserve leads to Rocky Point. Home to an observation post during World War II, it’s now a favoured fishing spot among locals. From the cliffs we could see the seabirds as they sweep and soar against the backdrop of the wave-lashed coastline. In the distance, the rocky outline of Phillip Island is visible. However, we were always on edge fearful of slipping in the mud or falling into a Boobie nesting hole.

The most remarkable thing was the avenue of Moreton Bay figs planted along the road passing the reserve. Enormous trees with huge root systems forming a beautiful esplanade of trees. My photos show these trees and their size.

Photos

From there we travelled to the other side of the island to visit the islands only winery – Two Chimneys Winery in Two Chimneys Rd. The tasting room looks like a house with vines in a small vineyard on 3 sides. When we entered there was another couple already tasting the large variety of wines on offer. Yes, I was surprised there was a large variety as there was not much more than ½ acre of vines. Rod was behind the tasting bar so I asked him about the winery.

In May 2002, Roderick, Noelene and Sarlae Buffett McAlpine explored the opportunity of establishing a Boutique Vineyard on the eastern side of Norfolk Island.  In 2003 they planted their first vines on family (Buffett) land at Steeles Point and commenced “Two Chimneys Wines”.  The vineyard enjoys a soft maritime climate and volcanic basalt soils. The vineyard consists of five varietals, Chardonnay, Semillion, Verdelho, Merlot, and Chambourcin. The property is part of the original grant of land to the Buffet family following their arrival as one of the Pitcairners in 1856. The Winery/Cellar Door was officially opened on 13 July 2006.  The building is Norfolk Island style and constructed throughout with Norfolk Island Pine. The Cellar Door opens onto large verandahs that overlook the vines.

After tasting a few of the white wines on offer the truth emerged. Many of the grapes used come from the Hunter region outside Newcastle Australia, which Rod uses to create nearly all of their wines and has it bottled there as well and shipped to Norfolk. Only the Chambourcin grapes is mould resistant which is why they only make the Chambourcin on Norfolk. So I tried the Chambourcin and its not too bad. After about 1 hour there and with no sign of any other customers we said farewell to Rod taking a bottle of very expensive Chambourcin with us.

Photos

That evening we were booked for the progressive dinner. Now amongst friends this concept works nicely so long as you have a dedicated dickhead to drive you from location to location. I was interested to see how this concept was going to operate in a group of 40 strangers visiting 3 different homes for a three-course dinner.

It all started with three buses. We met at Taylors Rd across from the Pine Tree tours office and randomly bundled into one of the three coaches. Coach 1 went one way coach 2 another and coach 3 (our bus) went another way again to pick up guests who had paid that bit extra to get picked up from their accommodation. The we met up with Coach 2 again in Queen Elizabeth Avenue to both travel to Collins Head Rd. Each of the three homes was in this Rd so Coach 1 stopped at home 1, Coach 2 stopped at home 2 etcetera. Then Coach 1 stopped at home two for mains and then home 3 for dessert and so on for each coach.

So logistically it should work. However, these are family homes, and they are not designed for accommodating and cooking for 20 people. So they were uncomfortably small and the meals were very homely. As with all homes some are delightful and others, they are less than desirable, and the meals were the same. An unforgettable night and not in a good way. Would I do it again – No! But you have to try it just for the experience.

Photos

A Short Imprisonment on Norfolk Island

 Day 3 Saturday

We were supposed to get up early and go to the farmers market as there is scant fruit and vegetables available at the supermarkets. Plenty of beef though. They graze in paddocks and on the road verges all over the island. The verges are considered “common” similar to the English system of common land and all over the island cattle graze there, give birth there and some are slaughtered there before being taken to the butcher’s shop. We were told that there was a vet in attendance to ensure the animal was killed efficiently humanely and compassionately but it is an event that school kids may witness going to school or to home. We did not witness this nor did we arise to get to the farmers markets but instead we revisited the Banyan tree and then the cemetery.

In 1824 the British government instructed the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane, to occupy Norfolk Island as a place to send “the worst description of convicts”. The convicts detained have long been assumed to be hardcore recidivists, men transported to Australia who committed fresh colonial crimes for which they were sentenced to death but were spared the gallows on condition of life at Norfolk Island. However, a 2011 study of 6458 Norfolk Island convicts, has demonstrated that the reality was that more than half were detained at Norfolk Island without ever receiving a colonial conviction, and only 15% had been reprieved from a death sentence. The overwhelming majority of convicts sent to Norfolk Island had committed non-violent property offences, and the average length of detention there was three years. Norfolk Island went through periods of unrest with convicts staging a number of uprisings and mutinies between 1826 and 1846. The British Government began to wind down the second penal settlement after 1847, and the last convicts were removed to Tasmania in May 1855.

We returned to the Banyan tree in Rooty Hill Rd. The tree is a native of India and brought to this island by immigrants. An enormous tree it needs a paddock to spread through. It is located on private property, so we were wary about entering until the neighbour across the road assured us that it was ok to enter. After taking a few pictures which appear in this blog we went to the cemetery.

That Banyan Tree

We started our visit to the cemetery with a stop at Bloody Bridge. On our tour we had seen a baby Red­tailed Tropic bird in the nest and at the foot of a Norfolk Pine, so we wanted to see if it was still there. The tropic bird is distinguished by it’s single long red tail feather. Yes, the chick was still there. Apart from feral cats and the rats brought to the islands by the Pacific Islanders, there are no predators on Norfolk.

Red Tail Tropic Bird chick and the tree above it

The cemetery contains headstones of military officers, convicts, Pitcairners and Norfolkers the unknown and the famous like Colleen McCullough. Battered by the south easterly winds to the sounds of the crashing of the waves, headstones from 1793 to the present can be found. Many are defaced by the wind so who knows the earliest date on the oldest headstone. I have uploaded my photos so that you can read the headstones for yourself. Here is the history of the island. Note the trees bowed to the wind or are they reading the headstones for themselves?

Bloody Bridge and the road to the Island cemetery and the headstones

The civilian settlement of free settlers began on 8 June 1856, when the descendants of the Tahitians and the HMS Bounty mutineers, including those of Fletcher Christian, were resettled from the Pitcairn Islands, which had become too small for their growing population. On 3 May 1856, 193 people had left Pitcairn Islands aboard the HMS Morayshire. On 8 June, 194 people arrived, a baby having been born in transit. The Pitcairners occupied many of the buildings remaining from the penal settlements, and gradually established traditional farming and whaling industries on the island. Although some families decided to return to Pitcairn in 1858 and 1863, the island’s population continued to grow. They accepted additional settlers, who often arrived on whaling vessels.

After visiting the cemetery, we drove along Quality Row to the first of the two garrison buildings. This building is now used for the Court and the elected Council. A controversy has arisen with Australia dismissing the Norfolk Island Council and appointing an Administrator.

Kerry entered the garrison and ran into Bindi a Norfolk Islander manning the tent embassy inside the garrison, protesting Australia’s interference and protesting for independence for Norfolk Island. Kerry and Bindi seemed to have an immediate connection and when Bindi mentioned coffee they adjourned to the tent for gossip and coffee. I was left to scout around the buildings which I did, and my photo record is uploaded below.

The garrison complex now containing the tent embassy the courts and the council plus the grounds of their revolution

Norfolk Island was the subject of several experiments in administration during the century. It began in the nineteenth century as part of the Colony of New South Wales. On 29 September 1844, Norfolk Island was transferred from the Colony of New South Wales to the Colony of Van Diemen’s Land. On 1 November 1856 Norfolk Island was separated from the Colony of Tasmania (formerly Van Diemen’s Land) and constituted as a “distinct and separate Settlement, the affairs of which should until further Order in that behalf by Her Majesty be administered by a Governor to be for that purpose appointed”. The Governor of New South Wales was constituted as the Governor of Norfolk Island.

On 19 March 1897 the office of the Governor of Norfolk Island was abolished and responsibility for the administration of Norfolk Island was vested in the Governor of the Colony of New South Wales. Yet, the island was not made a part of New South Wales and remained separate. The Colony of New South Wales ceased to exist upon the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901, and from that date responsibility for the administration of Norfolk Island was vested in the Governor of the State of New South Wales.

The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia accepted the territory by the Norfolk Island Act 1913 (Cth), subject to British agreement; British agreement was expressed on 30 March 1914, in a UK Order in Council made pursuant to the Australian Waste Lands Act 1855 (Imp). A proclamation by the Governor-General of Australia on 17 June 1914 gave effect to the Act and the Order as from 1 July 1914. So, Norfolk Island became subject to administration by Australia.

During World War II, the island became a key airbase and refuelling depot between Australia and New Zealand, and New Zealand and the Solomon Islands. The airstrip was constructed by Australian, New Zealand and the United States servicemen during 1942. The island proved too remote to come under attack during the war and NZ Service personal left the island in February 1944.

In 1979, Norfolk Island was granted limited self-government by Australia, under which the island elected a government that ran most of the island’s affairs. Financial problems and a reduction in tourism led to Norfolk Island’s administration appealing to the Australian federal government for assistance in 2010. In return, the islanders were to pay income tax for the first time but would be eligible for greater welfare benefits. An agreement was finally signed in Canberra on 12 March 2015 to replace self-government with a local council and comprehensive reforms for Norfolk Island, the Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly was abolished, with the territory becoming run by an Administrator and an advisory council. The action was justified on the grounds it was necessary “to address issues of sustainability which have arisen from the model of self-government requiring Norfolk Island to deliver local, state and federal functions since 1979” From that date, most Australian Commonwealth laws were extended to Norfolk Island. This means that taxation, social security, immigration, customs and health arrangements apply on the same basis as in mainland Australia.

Elections for a new Regional Council were held on 28 May 2016, with the new council taking office on 1 July 2016. But a majority of Norfolk Islanders (68% of voters) objected to the Australian plan to make changes to Norfolk Island without first consulting them.

There is opposition to the reforms, led by Norfolk Island People for Democracy Inc., an association appealing to the United Nations to include the island on its list of “non-self-governing territories”. There has also been movement to join New Zealand since the autonomy reforms. Bindi is one of them. Note my photos show the UK flag flies over the gate of the garrison just above the protest sign for independence.

Our day ended with dinner at the Bowls Club in Taylors Rd. It is a busy place and there always seems to be a competition happening. Visiting bowls clubs seem to be drawn here. Simple pub type fare along with a cold drink – very satisfying. Kerry struck up a friendship with another elderly couple who joined us for dinner and who we then bumped into everywhere else on the island. Did I tell you it’s a small place.

A Short Imprisonment on Norfolk Island

Day 2 Friday

We are awoken by the local rooster crowing at the dawn and make our way to Pinetree tours office. The rooster is not domesticated. Like all of the open range chooks on Norfolk they are the current generation of the chooks released by Lieutenant Gidley King when he established the first English settlement in 1788. The first European known to have sighted and landed on the island was Captain James Cook, on 10 October 1774, on his second voyage to the South Pacific on HMS Resolution. He named it after Mary Howard, Duchess of Norfolk. After the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in 1776 halted penal transportation to the Thirteen Colonies, British prisons started to overcrowd. In December 1785 Britain decided that it would send convicts to Australia. In 1786, it included Norfolk Island as an auxiliary settlement. Governor Arthur Phillip ordered Lieutenant Philip Gidley King to lead a party of 15 convicts and seven free men to take control of Norfolk Island, and prepare for its commercial development. They arrived on 6 March 1788. It was also called “Sydney” like its parent.

Lead rooster outside our Apartment and views from our deck

We are going to make this trip to Taylor’s Rd Burnt Pine many times as we have booked a few tours and if it is not Pinetree Tours, its Baunti (Bounty) Tours – the Pitcairn Islanders introduced this type of Pidgin English which is spoken by the “natives” today.

We join many of the other passengers from Brisbane and board our bus. Our driver is John Christian (of the Fletcher Christian line – I make him to be 10th generation) and he understandably has lots of knowledge about the island, its heritage and history. We drive out of the main street Taylor’s Rd and along to Queen Elisabeth Ave up to Rooty Hill Rd and south along that road until we see an Indian Banyan Tree. This thing covers approximately ½ an acre (one tree) with its extensive canopy and air rooting system. It’s on private land so the bus does not stop but we return for a closer look.

Further down the road is a lookout named after Queen Elizabeth (you would be surprised to learn she visited on a royal tour and left her name on a few things). Liz has her name on an Avenue, but poor old Phillip only gets his name “Prince Phillip Drive” on a dirt road to a dry waterfall at a place called “Cockpit” – does this reflect on Phillip?

Photos with the convict at Pine Tree tour office, from the Q Liz Outlook and that Banyan Tree

The first known settlers in Norfolk Island were East Polynesians but they had already departed when Great Britain settled the island as part of its 1788 settlement of Australia. Archaeological investigation suggests that, in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, the island was settled by East Polynesian seafarers, either from the Kermadec Islands north of New Zealand, or from the North Island of New Zealand. However, both Polynesian and Melanesian artefacts have been found, so it is possible that people from New Caledonia, relatively close to the north, also reached Norfolk Island. Human occupation must have ceased at least a few hundred years before Europeans arrived.

When they did arrive, it was to provide food for the settlement in New South Wales, so the settlement was called Sydney town. They brought with them domesticated animals that would become pests and cause environmental harm to the Islands. But the settlement did not last. As early as 1794, Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales Francis Grose suggested its closure as it was too remote and difficult for shipping and too costly to maintain. All of the remaining inhabitants of the first settlement were removed in 1813. Everything that had been developed was destroyed in fear of another European power claiming and using the island.

From February 1814 until June 1825, the island was abandoned. The island served as a convict penal settlement from 6 March 1788 until 5 May 1855, except for an 11-year hiatus between 15 February 1814 and 6 June 1825, when it lay abandoned. On 8 June 1856, permanent civilian residence on the island began when descendants of the HMS Bounty mutineers were relocated from Pitcairn Island. In 1914 the UK handed Norfolk Island over to Australia to administer as an external territory, but as a distinct and separate settlement.

The buildings and development created by the 2nd settlement were centred around the settlement formerly known as Sydney town but renamed Kings Town (Kingston) by the 2nd settlement. Many of these buildings have survived and form the centre of the historic village. We can view these buildings and the cemetery from a top of Queen Elizabeth’s lookout. Our tour takes us down into the village and along Quality Row where there are garrison buildings which are now used as an Anglican Church (All Saints), the Council Chamber, the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island and the Magistrates Court and the Governor’s residence (now the Administrator’s residence). The officer’s houses are now private residences and one of the former military buildings is the Golf course clubhouse. Beyond the golf course and before reaching Bloody Bridge, is the cemetery. The cemetery was commenced with the first settlement and is still used today. Unlike other cemeteries around the world which do not accept criminals into the consecrated grounds, this cemetery welcomes all comers.

Former Governor’s residence now home to the Island Administrator and Kerry approaches the Supreme Court, Magistrates Court, and Island Council building (formerly a garrison building) in Quality Row

Our tour continued leaving the lookout and travelling down through Kingston around to Bloody Bridge. There exists a myth about how the bridge got its name, but recent research suggests that it was built by Irish Political prisoners who named it after a bridge Ireland.

We then travel north to Cascade where the international ships come in (they have been waiting 5 months for a ship such is the difficulty to unload to the Island and the irregularity of availability). This is the old whaling station. The island was a regular resort for whaling vessels in the age of sail. The first such ship was the Britannia in November 1793. The last on record was the Whaling Bark Andrew Hicks in August–September 1907. Andrew Hicks of Westport Virginia had died in 1897 but his empire continued with this vessel lost when it dragged anchor in Havana. They came for water, wood and provisions and sometimes they recruited islanders to serve as crewmen on their vessels.

Whaling ceased in the 1960’s because they thought they had over fished the whales. Later evidence showed that Russian whalers had severely over fished sperm whales pushing that species of whale almost to extinction. With the cessation of whaling stocks have rebuilt and the station dismantled such that only one of the boilers is all that remains bar a few cement pads.

The jetty is inadequate for modern shipping which is now containerised. The wharf requires the ship to anchor off the island while Norfolk tenders ferry cargo to and froe – I don’t think the Norfolk Islanders want that to change just as they don’t want too many tourists as they like their little paradise just as it is with time and the world forgetting it is there. Violent winds raging seas and shallow water mean that any passenger ships can only unload passengers with the use of the 3 Australian donated ferries which sit dry docked waiting for the next ship never to come.

Our trip continued through Kingston and we headed to St Barnabas Chapel. In 1867, the headquarters of the Melanesian Mission of the Church of England was established on the island. We then back tracked going east to St Barnabas Chapel Anglican Church founded by the Mission and Ona dar Cliffe (some more pidgin – It literally means “on the cliff” which is precisely right). More about the church later when we visit the church on Sunday. In 1920 the Mission was relocated from Norfolk Island to the Solomon Islands to be closer to the focus of population

Ona dar Cliffe (Norfolk for “On the Cliff”), is a retreat like an oversize scout camp which the tour company controls and uses as a morning tea stop in this tour. It was sprinkling all day, so we were thankful for shelter. The grounds do end at a cliff, but the adjoining property and its two cattle and calf caught my eye. I am told that the cattle are a Canadian breed, but I could not find out anymore.

Lone Pine, the back of the golf course and the cemetery beyond, the old lime burner pit and salt mill, those cattle and looking off the cliff

After morning tea, we went to the church and then south to “Lone Pine” on Hunter’s Point between Slaughter Bay and Emily Bay below our apartments the two most popular swimming spots – you don’t have to jump off a cliff to have a swim. There is a second settlement derelict salt mill on the Point and evidence of a smelter to obtain lime from a rocky reef and the evidence of the earliest settlement by Pacific Islanders which remains buried by sand for its protection. Native to the island, the evergreen Norfolk Island pine is a symbol of the island and is pictured on its flag.

The tour bus returned us to Taylor’s Road, and we returned to our apartment for a lazy afternoon. It continued to shower/rain and the wind was howling. After an afternoon nap it is off to the RSL for dinner. They are champions of the raffle. All night they were raffling something, and the same crowd seemed to be winning and it was not us. We left them as I was expecting they would start cockroach races shortly and I think they kept them in the kitchen.

Tomorrow we venture out on our own.

A Short Imprisonment on Norfolk Island

Day 1 Thursday

In these Covid times travel overseas is out of the question except for the overseas territories of Australia but even those can be subject to irrational shutdowns because of outbreaks of the contagion. In the case of Norfolk, it was the outbreak in Auckland that caused Air New Zealand to cancel our flights to Norfolk, but Qantas came to our rescue in the nick of time.

So, we departed Brisbane on 18th February 2021 for the short 1 hour 55-minute trip by air to Norfolk. I was interested to visit the former British penal colony and home of the Pitcairn Is families of mutiny on the HMS Bounty fame and one of Australia’s external territories.

Norfolk Island located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, 1,412 kilometres (877 mi) directly east of Brisbane and about 900 kilometres (560 mi) from Lord Howe Island. Together with the neighbouring Phillip Island and Nepean Island, the three islands collectively form the Territory of Norfolk Island. At the 2016 census, it had 1748 inhabitants living on a total area of about 35 km2 (14 sq mi). Phillip Island and Nepean Island are uninhabited. Its capital was Sydney but changed name to Kingston and since 1856 Burnt Pine is now the capital.

We landed at Norfolk Is/Burnt Pine international Airport. The airport was built by Australia and New Zealand during WWII as a base for the NZ “N” force but abandoned when they realised it was too far from the action. Fortuitous for Norfolk Island. After walking across the tarmac and collecting our luggage we boarded our ride to the apartment. It was at this time that we experienced the weather that would continue until the afternoon of Wednesday week – windy overcast and occasional drizzle. The Norfolkers were not unhappy as they have been through a dry spell.

Burnt Pine Airport

We travelled to Aloha Apartments 5 mins from the airport and dropped off the first six visitors leaving Kerry and me with Col and Gloria going to Panorama Oceanview Apartments another 5 minutes away but on the southern side of Norfolk Island. We drove south into the main street of Burnt Pine, Taylor’s Rd, and out again rather quickly onto Queen Elizabeth Avenue and down Middlegate Rd to the Apartments awkwardly placed on a bend in the road but with elevated views of Nepean and Phillip Islands, the old penal settlement of Kingston and the beaches.

the Apartments and the view

They have some great tourist innovations like delivering your hire car to your apartment in advance of your arrival with the keys in the ignition ready to go. You register at the apartments, put your luggage away and then you check in at the hire car office. So, we saw our mulberry coloured 7 seat corolla for the first time as we collected our room key.

Our Mulberry Toyota

The Apartments are very tired and musty smelling something you don’t expect or want but the views – wow! So, we settled in and then went to the Governor’s Residence (a resort between our apartment and the main street) to book in for the car. We decided to take the excess reducing insurance not aware that no one locks their cars and collisions are infrequent. Norfolk is 1 hour ahead of us in Brisbane and on daylight saving time so it’s now 4.00pm and apart from a light breakfast at 6.00am we have not had any lunch.

Hunger drives us to the Bowls Club in Taylor’s Rd – the kitchen opens at 5.30pm. Time for a drink. So we position ourselves for easy access to the kitchen/dining room and watch the world go by – at least the NI world. We meet Ray and Lorraine travellers like us and share a meal then wind our way back to the Apartments.

Very soon we are curled up in bed listening to the wind and rain hoping that tomorrow we are off to Pinetree tours for a half day sight-seeing of the Island.

The Retirees Reluctantly end up in Bali – the Wedding

Early in 2019 we learned that Kerry’s cousin Ken was soon to wed and we would be receiving an invitation to the wedding. Later it was revealed that Kerry would play a part in the ceremony. The invitation arrived and to our surprise it would be conducted in Bali Indonesia. Bali was the place of choice for the wedding as the bride Yena lives there.

Bali has never been on our bucketlist as a place to visit for too many reasons to explain here. You may say “you never know until you have been there”. Well you could not be further from the truth. We knew exactly what to expect. But duty and family overrode our choices.

We subsequently learned that friends Frank and Rosie Walsh were travelling to Bali on the same dates for a break so we decided that we would not just go for the wedding but spend sometime on the island (we could not justify spending the airfare for a weekend). So we did some planning booked our accomodation through the Accor Vacations Club and forgot about it until September 2019 when we boarded our flight.

Now Bali is good for Ken who lives in Perth to shoot straight up there but from Brisee it is a trek so we felt washed out on arrival. Our journey to the hotel was draining but the hotel (which was actually a resort) proved to be a surprise. Bali lies quite close to the equator and the weather is hot and humid so windows are not opened and rooms become musty – that is the tropics. so the first thing we did was to open the place up and then took a walk whilst the tropical air waffted through. The resort is at Nusa Dua. The pictures below are the reception one of the many ponds throughout the resort and one of the walks through the resort.

The resort is in an enclave of western hotels with Hindu shrines and decorations spotted throughout  in a tropical bushland so as to make you feel like you are somewhere different but familiar at the same time. The familiarity is somewhat destroyed by each hotel having a guardhouse where each incoming vehicle is checked and examined for possible bomb threats. These guard houses became familiar and reassuring. Below is the shrine in the front yard of the resort and one of the sculptures to be found throughout the area.

There are a number of resorts in this enclave along with clusters of shops and each bit of a shop has an offering at the front door, a shrine inside the shop with a major shrine in the square in the centre of the shops. Some of the local rats and mice could be seen helping themselves to the food offerings to the Gods.

After visiting the shops we travelled what seemed forever across the causeway to the place where the wedding rehearsals were being held to meet the bride Yena and the groom Ken plus Uncle Barry. Kerry also had to be briefed on her role in the Buddhist ceremony. After a quick rehearsal we returned to the resort as the wedding was planned for the following day.

Bright and early next morning we prepared for the ceremony which was late afternoon – one has to prepare fully for such a ceremony including loolling about in the swimming pool for hours to soften and cleanse the skin. After repeating the trip on the causeway and through the rabbit warren of tiny streets we arrived. The wedding was to be held in the court yard of a hotel and we were one the first to arrive with the setting still being prepared. When Ken and Yena arrived a very happy Yena greeted us. Uncle Barry was his usual laid back individual and Kerry was quick to cuddle up to him. The altar made up of a table with flowers candles and incense was a simple affair with a glorious ring of flowers behind it. the ceremony started when Ken and Yena made their way to the altar where they were met by the Buddhist priest who performed the ceremony. Kerry’s role involved lighting the candle of wisdom, one of 5 candles on the altar. Yena’s parents sat in the front row with us and they also lit a candle which represented love.

As soon as the ceremony was completed the festivities began and went well into the night. A banquet of Balinese dishes was offered but the heat and sweat made it hard to feel like eating. And it was still hot and sweaty by the close around 10.00pm.

The next day commenced with a swim in the pool the weather remain hot and steamy. We had planned that we would catch up with Frank and Rosie but the pool was essential start to the day.

 

The Retirees visit Normanville and Victor Harbour

We arrived at the resort and settled in. Now I have to confess that we stuffed up. We arranged a boat trip on the Torrens River in Adelaide after we had moved on to Normanville. Its just a short drive away we said. Well we did not know about the road works that would confuse us and lead to us missing the sailing of the boat and having to rendevouz at the second stop for the boat trip. The boat travelled up and down a stretch of the river either side of its base in a former boat shed.

The Torrens is called a river but it is no comparison with even the Yarra. Nevertheless the boat was full with people and it appears the promise of a gin tasting was the draw card. A local distillery manufactured and sells a product called”Prohibition Gin”. As we arrived late we we behind in the tasting and had to catch up. Now I am not an affectionardo of gin and the samples tasted we okay. Kerry was more impressed and found out where we could go to stock up. I was glad that we were staying at Normanville as this reduced the risk of having to attend and spend. Little did I know that 6 months into the future we would attend a gin tasting at Tattersalls Club in Brisbane hosted by Prohibition Gin and not only did I enjoy the neat gin nips but was relaxed sufficently that the purse strings loosened and we bought 2 bottles and won the door prize of a 3rd bottle of gin.

Eyam Visitors Centre
Eyam Visitors Centre

We returned to the resort for a nights rest and a relaxed few days. It started with a walk around the golf course. Although I did not play the course it was pleasantly laid out with plenty of sand traps and water but very few trees. At the end of the course is St Peters Catholic Church, a church of simple style seen through out Australia very different to the stone Cathedrals that litter Europe.

Plague cottages
Recycled timber and other pieces
Plague cottages
Plague cottages
Celtic Cross
Celtic Cross

After the walk we drove to the beach and at the Normanville Surf Life Saving club we found a cosy cafe obviously enjoyed by locals. Our plan after a hot breakfast and coffee, we drove to Victor Harbour an hour and a bit away. Normanville is 77 km south of Adelaide, and it is the largest regional centre on the western side of the Fleurieu Peninsula. It is situated next to the mouth of the Bungala River. Robert Norman, in 1849 built first, followed by the general store, and the hotel. This was quickly followed by the local Government House, which housed the Police Officer, court house, and jail cells. Norman opened the Normanville Hotel in 1851 and a church soon after.

Sanctuary during the plague
Grave of the wife of the hero of Eyam
Saxon font

Victor Harbor is located on the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, about 82 kilometres south of Adelaide. The town is a highly popular tourist destination. The town of Port Victor was laid out on the shores of Victor Harbor in 1863 when the horse-drawn tramway from Goolwa was extended to the harbour. After finding a place to park we walked past the old Customs House, the first public toilet in the town (the featured image at the commencement of this blog) around to the remenants of that horse drawn tramway across to Granite Island. Granite Island, also known by the Ramindjeri people as Nulcoowarra, is a small island next to Victor Harbor. In 1830s there was a shore-based bay whaling station operating at Granite Island. It is now a popular tourist attraction, particularly for people wishing to see little penguins which live there. The island is accessible across the causeway from the mainland, either on foot or the horse-drawn tram. From here you can also see the sea cages where blue fin tuna are farmed. Plenty of gulls as well.

The island appears wild with clear evidence of wind and water erosion. But amongst the natural are many man made things like sea groins, timber stair cases and some electic street art.

Castle Brodie

We walked around the island in about an hour and waited for our tram at the island cafe. The day was quite warm and a cool drink was very pleasant but those who chose to dine in the open dining area soon were battling crafty gulls intent on stealing your chips. The tram arrived and we boarded the tram for a very casual return trip. Next stop is the mouth of the Murray River.

 

The Retirees Babysitting in Adelaide

One of our daughters has recently returned from the USA with her husband and family to Adelaide. It is not as far to travel for baby sitting duties but not your average come over for a couple of hours while I….. So September 2019 we flew to Adelaide to babysit our grandsons.

They had moved into a comfortable home near the boys school so we were able to walk them to school and whilst at school see the sights of Adelaide. First was a visit to Rundle Mall and the city CBD via bus transport. Seniors ride free of paying a fare during certain hours which suited us nicely. We rode the buses passed City Hall to the end of the Mall where we decided to walk around and get a feel for the city. I have uploaded the various city sights. The city is surrounded by park which is lovely but makes the trip to the CBD longer than you would expect.

 

View from Long Eaton reach
Canal house
View of the entry to the Shardlow basin
View to Long Eaton
Over there is the full basin

Amongst the collection of stone buildings we found the Art Gallery of South Australia. It was a bit eclectic. for example below is the stone ediface suggesting old traditional and conservative and inside is a spiders web of the things you would expect to be captured in the web;

We found the markets and I was particularly taken by this coffee shop (see below) which used a jumble of windows and doors to enclose the cafe space and then dotted tables chairs bars and stools around it to give it an el fresco atmosphere. The markets reminded me of the victoria markets in Melbourne with plenty of choice for fresh everything and an assortment of everything else. From the markets we made our way back toward the river and the casino passing the Parliament House a plaque commemorating the first federal convention where State leaders attempted to agree the constitution of a Commonwealth of Australia and the rampant Lion of Rex Britannica. We were making towards the road to cross the Torrens to North Adelaide and the Adelaide Oval. Set in a parkland surrounding the Oval is protected from view by a modern stadium building overshadowing everything around.

Xmas Wonderland
Wine bar Nottingham style

 

We picniced in the park under the shadow of the Oval building. It was a hot Adelaide day and sitting in the shade by the river was as pleasanrt as it was going to get. After lunch we strolled through the park and crossed a footbridge back into the CBD

European Martin
more of the harem
Does in the harem

We picked up a hire car  just across the road from the footbridge as we planned an excursion into the country after our babysitting was over. We booked accomodation at the Normanville Resort and Golf Club to the south of Adelaide – no point in flying to Adelaide and not using our time to look around.

We drove south to Myponga where we stopped for a coffee. The coffee was accompanied by a piece of fresh country baked cake and a couple of pies which would serve as lunch. We drove south through green pastures and herds of sheep grazing on the hills with the sea following us down the coast until finally finding the resort outside Normanville. You will notice in the photos below the traffic signs on the beach – clearly you can drive on the beach. Normanville is not a large centre but it has a lovely beach which we visited to eat our pies and then to the resort. The resort did seem a remote place for a resort but it was quite large and surrounded by a golf course and housing estate.

European Otter
European Otter
Asian Otter
European Otter
European Otter
Giant Otter

More on this adventure in my next blog.

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The Retirees at Sea – Influenza

After a lovely day in Warnemunde and a session of cards and board games we went to dinner. I had been feeling light headed during the afternoon and had no apetite for dinner nor any wish for the after dinner show. We returned to our cabin. There was a full moon as we sailed from Warnemunde (I think it was Warnemunde) and I took my last photos for a couple of days. It was cloudy grey and despite the full moon darkening – just how I felt.

At sometime during the night I started vomiting and had tremendous stomach pain felt hot and the room was swimming. This went on till morning and throughout the next day. The ship was sailing for Oslo in Norway and I had no ability to do anything other than lie in bed. I was now hallucinating, feverish, vomiting and had diarrhea. Kerry nursed me as best she could with a damp washer to bring down my fever. For three days I hallucinated, ate chicken soup, drank water and fitfully slept while Kerry did what she could for me whilst staying sane with short trips from our cabin.

We had plans for Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm all of which were forsaken by Kerry to remain caring for me. After the 3rd day I was able to rise and visit the Infirmary where the doctor confirmed I had influenza and prescribed Tamiflu medication and a half dose for Kerry just to ensure she did not succomb. When in public (travelling to the infirmary each day for tests as to my fitness for my ongoing journey) I had to wear a mask, but otherwise I was confined to my cabin – in isolation. A biohazzard team would visit each day to disinfect the cabin.

So there I remained. Gradually the vomiting and diarrhea ceased but the hallucinations continued until my fever broke. I tried to rise for Copenhagen but there was no chance and Stockholm was the same although I did try and sat outside the cabin on our deck for a short time. Strangely they had an unusual wharf system (at least I think it was Stockholm) and I used my camera for the first time in 3 days.

Kerry was now becoming worried what might happen should my fever not break before Helsinki and our return flight home. She researched hotels in Helsinki and found one within the airport terminal. I was still unable to eat solid food or leave the cabin except for my morning and evening trip to the infirmary. As we sailed into the harbour I was feeling as though something had changed. The hallucinations had stopped and I had a reasonable night sleeping. So I opened the cabin door on our balcony to breath in some of the cool artic air and took these photos of the islands sheltering Helsinki, the multi coloured dressing cabins on one of the outer islands and at last the harbour.

On the morning we docked at Helsinki my fever broke and this was confirmed by the doctor who declared I was no longer infectious and free to go. We were last to leave the ship and Kerry and I travelled directly to the airport to locate the hotel, book a day bed and allow me to rest until our flight very late that night. My fever may have broken but I was weakened by the illness so much so that I slept from Helsinki to Singapore, and again from Singapore to Melbourne and finally home to Brisbane.

So despite the sour end we had a great time and the moral of the story is always have travel insurance!

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The Retirees visit Warnemunde Germany

As we left a thick sea mist settled upon the water. Grey surrounded us and moisture hung in the air. the mist followed us for the two days sailing to Warnemunde and the joyous tune of the “Love Boat” blared into the fog. We killed time with cards and board games, feasting on the smorgasbord and other things which I have now forgotten. Little did I know that a sinsiter shadow was following me all that time.

Resting in our cabin I noticed we had a visitor in the form of a small land bird seeking refuge and probably lost in the fog.

The fog disappeared suddenly as we docked at Warnemunde. This is the port for Berlin 3 hours south. as we had spent 5 fantastic days in Berlin we were not considering sitting in a bus or train for 6 hours going to and from Berlin so we tumbled ashore to see what it had to offer. quite frankly I was pleasantly surprised.

From our cabin we could see a warm day rising. However I was now aware that I had a shadow. Warnemunde is a busy port as you might expect. Warnemünde  literally Mouth of the Warnow is a seaside resort and a district of the city of Rostock in Mecklenburg, Germany. It is one of the world’s busiest cruise ports. Founded in about 1200, Warnemünde was for centuries a small fishing village with minor importance for the economic and cultural development of the region. In 1323 Warnemünde lost its autonomous status as it was purchased by the city of Rostock in order to safeguard the city’s access to the Baltic Sea. It was not until the 19th century that Warnemünde began to develop into an important seaside resort.

We walked along the peir towards the railway station and the crossing into the township passing two other cruise ships of similar size to our SS Regal Princess before we encounter our first opportunity to purchase souvenirs. Out front of this establishment was a sand sculpture – why I don’t know exactly but it was very impressive in its artistry and detail.

A lefthand turn through a tunnel and we were out into the township with the rail station behind us. As we walked we encountered various buskers but this one caught my eye as very clever singing “Sitting on the dock of the bay”. the town’s fishing heritage can be seen with the fishing boats lining the canal whilst the new monarch of the seas stand large in the background.

The towns economy depended on fishing for centuries so you would expect some history around that. I found a well preserved fishermans house which had been enlarged with a modern extension to house a museum. The front entrance takes you back in time to when the last of the fishing families lived there. It is very much like someones home at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. as you walk through the home you are lead to the extension and the history of the community. I was impressed with the charm and the stories told by this museum. Like the story of Stephan Jantzen who went to sea at the age of 14. In 1856, he was granted a patent for skipper on a long journey. In the same year, he became captain of the 38-meter Bark “Johannes Keppler”; Jantzen personally commissioned this ship and had shares in this ship, with which he circumnavigated the earth twice in the period from December 1856 to 1866, mostly accompanied by his wife and his firstborn son Magnus. The second son Varelius was born on one of the trips aboard. Both sons of Jantzen later became sailors as well.Jantzen sold his vessel in 1863 and became commander of the local sea rescue stations of the German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked Persons and received numerous awards from Germany, Sweden and Portugal for his bravery and daring in rescuing shipwrecked persons.

I was the only one interested in the fisherman’s house so when I emerged I was all alone. I headed toward the town square and found my co-explorers who were oogling the markets in the square. As is the case in small towns and villages of Europe there was a collection of vendors selling everything from suasages to sauerkraut. We gathered a few items for a platter whilst playing cards on the ship. One item that abound in Germany is white asparagus and they are popular. What was unusal was a pub off the square called the “Captain Bligh” from mutiny on the Bounty fame (a bit of the south pacific in Wandemunde).

The town is on the Baltic Sea coast and has large sandy beaches and a unique beach chair. There is not a lot of wave action but the Germans are at the beach in great numbers. Nearby is the mouth of the river and great lines of ships can be seen sailing into the wharves in the river. We walked down the beach and over to an odd shaped building house an inviting cafe serving odd german beers – a Rostocker for Rod and a Duckstein for me. Having quenched our thirst and sampled the odd beach chairs we moved into the fishing wharves area and the major tourist strip. Still our ship was the largest thing in sight.

We returned to the ship ready to rest play cards and nibble on our market snacks. Relaxing in our cabin I realised how industrial the area around thei town has become. Later that afternoon just as we were readying to sail I saw a naval ship sail past. It was only then that I noticed the naval base behind the undergrowth on the island beyound our ship.

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