Norfolk Island << NAWR fuhk >> lies in the South Pacific Ocean, about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) northeast of Sydney, Australia. Norfolk Island covers 14 square miles (36 square kilometers). About 2,000 people live on the island. Tourism is the main source of income. The island has fertile volcanic soil, and people there grow bananas, citrus fruits, and vegetables.
Many of the island’s inhabitants are descendants of crew members of the British naval ship Bounty. In 1789, those sailors mutinied (rebelled) against the way they were treated by their captain, William Bligh. They settled on Pitcairn Island in 1790. In 1856, 194 of their descendants moved to Norfolk Island.
In 1774, the British explorer James Cook became the first European to reach Norfolk Island. From 1788 to 1814, the island was used as a penal settlement by the British colony of New South Wales in Australia. It again served as a penal settlement from 1825 until 1856, when the settlement was abolished. In 1914, the island was separated from New South Wales and became a territory of Australia. Norfolk Island became self-governing in 1979 with the establishment of a Legislative Assembly and Executive Council. In 2016, Australia’s federal government again began to administer Norfolk after replacing its parliament with a local council.
