243 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, July 20, 1858. 
vices. We remained with them many days, and their un¬ 
reserved manner gave us the fullest opportunity of becoming 
acquainted with any faults they might have possessed.” 
In 1829, forty years after the mutiny of the Bounty , John 
Adams died, full of years and full of honours. The excellency 
of the latter part of his life had thrown into the shade the 
stains of its opening ; while the vices by which his earlier 
years were stamped, made only more distinguishing and 
glorious the grace of that Saviour who had wrought such 
transforming effects in his life and character. 
When rather more than another quarter of a century had 
elapsed, a further great change took place in the history of 
these islanders, and we will now let Sir William Denison, the 
present Governor of New South Wales, relate the sequel:— 
“ The accounts which were received from Pitcairn Island, 
during the latter period of their residence there, showed that 
the available land was not adequate to the maintenance of the 
increasing population ; and, as it was known that the British 
Government had determined to break up the convict esta¬ 
blishment at Norfolk Island, several persons, interested in the 
welfare of the Pitcairn Islanders, applied to the Government 
to permit these people to settle on a spot which would, with 
common industry, furnish am 
for many years to come. 
“ Reference was made to me on this subject, and I was di¬ 
rected to suggest the arrangements which it would be desir¬ 
able to make, not only for the transference of the people from 
their old residence to Norfolk Island, but also for their main¬ 
tenance and accommodation, until they could place themselves 
in a position to provide for themselves. After some delay, all 
these arrangements were perfected; and a vessel was char 
tered to bring down the whole of the Pitcairn Islanders, who, 
in spite of some demur on the part of a few, finally decided 
to move in a body to their new home ; and 194 soul3 were 
landed at Norfolk Island in June, 1856. The same vessel 
carried off the last remnant of the convict establishment to 
Tasmania; and the island was then handed over to its 
present possessors, with an amount of stock, implements, 
tools, buildings, &c., which must have contrasted most 
strongly with their former poverty. The following statement 
will give you some idea of the favourable position in which 
the new settlers were placed:—In the first place, every family 
was provided with a convenient residence, generally w r ell built 
of stone. Provisions, sufficient to last till they could gather 
their first crop, were furnished, as well as seeds of various 
kinds. Clothing, too, was forwarded. All these articles were 
deposited in well-built dry stores on the island, in readiness 
for them on their arrival. Then, on the island itself, the con¬ 
vict department left for the use of the new comers 1100 sheep, 
450 head of cattle, several horses, pigs, poultry, &c.; agricul¬ 
tural implements, carts and drays, harness, tools of all sorts 
for the different trades, together with all the appliances re¬ 
quired. In fact, everything was provided to meet the wants 
and wishes of the people; the only mistake made, if indeed 
it can be fairly called a mistake, being that too much was 
handed over to a community whose wants hitherto had been 
ministered to with a very sparing hand. 
“ I received in October, 1856, a despatch from the Secretary 
of State, containing the Order in Council, constituting Nor¬ 
folk Island an establishment separate from the adjacent 
colonies, and a commission appointing me, as Governor of 
New South Wales, to be Governor of Norfolk Island. In¬ 
structions were also issued to me, for my general guidance in 
the exercise of the large powers necessarily vested in me ; the 
spirit of the instructions being, that the people were to be in¬ 
terfered with as little as possible, and that their present social j 
system was to be maintained. I was in hopes of being able 
to pay a visit to the island ac an earlier period of the residence 
of the present inhabitants ; but circumstances prevented this, 
and it was not till lately that I was in a position to run down I 
to the island, to make myself personally acquainted with the j 
people, and to exercise those powers of enactment of laws, 
and of appointment of magistrates for their administration, ! 
with which I had been invested by Her Majesty. The delay 
has been rather an advantage than otherwise. It has enabled" 
the people to arrange their own matters according to the best 
of them own knowledge and ability ; and the deficiencies ex¬ 
hibited have enabled me to form a more correct idea than I 
could have done, had I visited them sooner, of the character 
pie means of maintaining them 
j and amount of assistance and instruction which it may be ad¬ 
visable to afford to them. 
“ Having sailed from Sydney on the 17th September, we 
made the island early on the morning of the 23rd. The surf 
was too heavy to allow a boat to land at the settlement ; we, 
therefore, stood round the island, and I landed at the northern 
end of the island, at a spot called the Cascades, when I was 
met by the chaplain, the Rev. G. Nobbs ; the chief magistrate, 
Mr. E. Young; and a large proportion of the adult in¬ 
habitants. Having walked across the island to the settlement, 
a distance of about three miles, along a very good road, I took 
up my quarters at the house of the former commandant, 
which had been reserved as a government house. The furni¬ 
ture, however, with the exception of a few tables and chairs, 
had been removed; and I was obliged, for the first night, to 
trespass upon the kindness of the inhabitants for many matters 
; conducive to my comfort. On the next day, I called the in¬ 
habitants together in the school-room, and read my commission 
to them—explaining at the same time the objects which I con¬ 
ceived the Government had in view in establishing them on the 
island; which objects were, in the first place, their well-being 
and comfort, and in the second, the perpetuation, so far as cir¬ 
cumstances would admit, of then* existing social polity. 
“Norfolk Island is estimated to contain about 10,000 acres. 
The land rises boldly/rom the sea on every side, to the height 
of from 300 to 400 feet; and tins may be looked upon as the 
average elevation of the interior plateau. To the north-east' 
ward the ground rises in a single hill, called Mount Pitt, to the 
height of upwards of 1000 feet. While, however, the general 
level of the island may be taken as above stated, this level is 
broken up by gullies and watercourses, with sides sloping 
steeply though not abruptly, which carry off the drainage of 
the surface; discharging themselves into the sea at three or 
four points along the coast. Two of these watercourses open 
out, in the immediate vicinity of the settlement, at the south 
side of the island, and it is probably owing to the action of the 
water brought down by them that there is, at that particular 
spot, a narrow level space between the base of the hills and 
the sea, upon which the principal convict establishments were 
constructed; these streams briug down a steady, though but 
moderate, supply of water during all seasons. The soil 
throughout the island is of the richest description, being 
formed of decomposed basalt: even on the sides of the gullies, 
and on the table land, every thing appears to grow most freely, 
while in the bottom of these gullies, where there is more 
moisture, the vegetation is rank and luxuriant. The Norfolk 
Island Pine (Altrinyia excelsa) is the principal timber tree 
of the island ; it grows everywhere, on the lull sides, on the ; 
table land, or on the edge of the cliff exposed to the sea blast, 
rising to the height of 200 feet and upwards, and attaining a 
circumference of upwards of thirty feet. I measured one , 
myself, which, at five feet from the ground, was twenty-eight 
feet six inches in girth. There are several other trees, some ! 
of which grow to a middling size, but none to compare to 
the Pine. The under-brush of the forest is composed of a 
great extent of Lemon and Guava; the fruit of the former 
contrasting beautifully with the dark green of its foliage, j 
While Nature has been thus bountiful in her gifts, Art has i 
also done much towards rendering the island a most inviting ; 
residence; for though the labour of the former inhabitants j 
was compulsory, yet, as it was well directed, the whole island , 
has shared in the benefits arising from it. Roads lead from 
the settlement in every direction; these are well laid out, 
thoroughly drained, and, in many instances, carefully mac¬ 
adamised. Bridges have been built over all the gullies j 
crossed by the roads; and even where it became necessary to 
cross the side drains, in order to get across to the enclosures, J 
stone culverts were made, through which the drainage passed : i 
the result of this care in making the roads has been that they 
remain in a very good state, though no care has been bestowed 
upon them for the last four or five years. A large portion of j 
the table land of the island has been thoroughly cleared of 
timber, divided into paddocks, fenced, and brought under 
cultivation ; the fences, being of timber, have very generally 
yielded to the destructive agency of the weather, but the pad- 
docks are covered with a thick sward of grass. Farm build¬ 
ings on an extensive scale have been erected on different spots, 
some of which are solidly constructed of stone, and, with 
common attention, will remain available for centuries. 
| 
I 
