Historedia
Asia PacificEvent

Pitcairn Islanders resettled on Norfolk Island

When
1856
Where
Departure from the Pitcairn Islands; destination Norfolk Island; Norfolk Island
Episodes
2

In 1856 the Queen in Council ordered Norfolk Island to be a distinct and separate settlement, and the descendants of the HMS Bounty mutineers and Tahitians were resettled there from the Pitcairn Islands, which had become too small for their growing population. The entire population of 193 people departed Pitcairn aboard the Morayshire on 3 May 1856 and arrived on 8 June 1856, when permanent civilian residence on the island began.

Episodes

  1. 3 May to 8 June 1856 · Departure from the Pitcairn Islands; destination Norfolk IslandVoyage to Norfolk Island

    193 Pitcairn Islanders sailed from Pitcairn on the Morayshire, arriving in Norfolk Island after a difficult five-week trip.

  2. 1 November 1856 · Norfolk IslandLegal Separation from Tasmania

    Norfolk Island was separated from the Colony of Tasmania and constituted as a distinct settlement in November 1856.

Background and detail

Background. Norfolk Island served as a convict penal settlement until May 1855. The Pitcairn Islands, inhabited by descendants of HMS Bounty mutineers and Tahitians, became too small for their growing population. Consequently, the British government authorized the relocation of these descendants to Norfolk Island, marking the end of the penal era and the start of a new civilian settlement.

Settlement. On 3 May 1856, 193 Pitcairn Islanders departed aboard the Morayshire. They arrived on Norfolk Island on 8 June 1856 after a difficult five-week journey; that date marks the beginning of permanent civilian residence on the island. Separately, in 1856 the Queen in Council ordered Norfolk Island to be a distinct and separate settlement, appointing the Governor of New South Wales to administer it with full power to make laws for its peace and good government; no precise day is given for that order.

Governance. Norfolk Island was separated from the Colony of Tasmania on 1 November 1856. The Australian Waste Lands Act 1855 authorized the Queen to make provisions for the government of the island. This legal framework established Norfolk Island as a distinct settlement with a governor appointed to make laws for its peace and good government.

People involved

  • Queen Victoria · British monarch in whose name the 1856 Order in Council constituted Norfolk Island a distinct settlement
  • Pitcairn Islanders · Settlers relocated to Norfolk Island

Sources

  1. Norfolk Island Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-30
  2. Pitcairn Islands Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-17

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.