The World of Norfolk's MuseumThe World of Norfolk's Museum

Tampion removed from HMS Sirius carronade

With the museum being the home of the HMS Sirius collection and last Thursday being the 225^th anniversary of her wrecking, this week was never going to be anything other than extra-ordinary! Planning for this day began well over a year ago and teaming up with the Norfolk Island Travel Centre (NITC) meant that Graeme Henderson and Myra Stanbury could be invited to join us from Western Australia as special guest presenters and a full week of events planned. The NITC brilliantly organised a very special week for the First Fleet descendants and others who travelled especially to mark this special anniversary. Visitor numbers exceeded expectations with over 200 people sitting down to lunch and presentations at the waterfront on the anniversary day.

Myra Stanbury, Kandy Henderson, Graeme Henderson, Kalle Kasi

Graeme Henderson and Myra Stanbury were of course key personnel from the 1980s maritime archaeological expeditions to recover the Sirius’ artefacts that are now on display in the museum. Graeme led the expeditions and Myra was the Registrar. Their presentations underscored the importance of the Sirius (Graeme’s final presentation was titled: Australia’s most important shipwreck) and the story of the undertaking of the 1980s expeditions and their findings. In her final presentation Myra estimated that 50% of the people involved in the expeditions were local Norfolk Islanders. This week brought together the story of the ship and her wrecking, with the stories of the people who travelled on her final voyage or one of the other ships of the First Fleet, as so many of our visitors this week were their descendants.

The relationship the Norfolk Island Museum has had with the Western Australian Maritime Museum (WAMM) has continued from the time of the expeditions. In particular this has been via communication and support with the on-going conservation of the collection. A number of objects went to the Department of Materials Conservation at the Western Australian Museum for conservation and gradually returned to the island when their treatments were completed. Myra and her colleague from WAMM who also travelled to Norfolk for the week, Kalle Kasi brought with them one of the final objects that has been in treatment over the past 22 years. It was an absolute highlight for us to receive the tampion (or tompion) that had been found inside one of the carronades and display it for this week.

Drawing: Myra Stanbury

Myra has said about the tampion: “In the process of conserving the second carronade recovered from the Sirius wreck site a disc-shaped, lathe-turned wooden tampion (or tompion) was found in the muzzle of the gun. Made of maple (Acer sp.), the plug was designed to prevent the penetration of sea water into the bore of the muzzle-loading gun which could cause rust to develop and render the gun unserviceable. Sometimes the tampions were carefully sealed with tallow or putty to make them watertight. This appears to have been the method employed on the Sirius carronade as a ‘waxy-oily’ layer of material was removed from the machine-turned inner surface of the tampion before it was placed in a treatment solution to remove some of the reactive iron corrosion products.

Myra and Janelle Blucher

Attached to the inner side of the tampion was a lanyard consisting of two 34-cm lengths of twisted twine. This was spliced to a ball of string wadding that fitted snugly within the 131 mm bore of the gun. When loaded with a clean round shot to fit the gun the ball of wadding in the muzzle would prevent the displacement of the tampion by the impact of the round shot as it rolled back and forth in the barrel with every roll of the ship. In this way, sometimes helped by the addition of olive oil or other suitable lubricant into the chamber of the gun, the bore was kept in good condition while at sea”.

Kalle, Myra and Janelle unpacking the tampion

The tampion is a very special object. Not only is it a very rare example of a complete tampion of this period, it will be displayed beside the carronade it was recovered from – which is on display within several hundreds of metres of the site where it was when the Sirius was wrecked.

We have had an extraordinarily busy week at the museum. My sincere thanks to the team of Administration workers employed as our Museum Attendants who have worked so hard to ensure that all our visitors had an extraordinary experience on Norfolk Island this week.

Photo of the tampion being put on purpose made stand

Photo of connecting the hemp wading rope

Photo of maple plug

An object that will have very special resonance to so many on Norfolk Island has been donated to the museum this week by Beverley Buffett. Beverley donated a telescope, handed down through the family to her late husband Peter, and understood to have come from Pitcairn Island with John Buffett when the Pitcairners arrived here in 1856. John Buffett came to live on Pitcairn Island in 1825 when the whaling ship he was with stopped at the island and in response to the ageing John Adams’ request for help with the teaching of the children he elected to stay.

Lisa Richards and Beverley Buffett

On Pitcairn, Buffett married Dorothy Young daughter of Edward Young and Mauatua (widow of Fletcher Christian) and they had five sons, including John Jnr whose line Beverley’s late husband Peter descended from. Peter’s great grandparents were Joseph Allen Mcleave and Kathleen Laura Nobbs; grandparents Peter ‘Pa Peet’ and Emily Evans and parents Arthur ‘Totus’ Benjamin and Mary Gordon. Peter, who passed away in 1991, and Beverely have three daughters Jeanette, Rebecca and Emily.

While Myra Stanbury and Kalle Kasi from the Western Australian Maritime Museum were visiting the island last week they looked at the telescope and confirmed that its age is most likely about 175 years, being very similar to examples they have seen made around 1840. The telescope is generally in good condition, with just one section missing that connects the end piece to the main body of the telescope. Its cover is made of canvas and there are no makers marks.

John Buffett's telescope

Albert Buffett alerted us to a recording in the Pitcairn Island Register on the 24^th of January in 1853 of the sighting and arrival of H.M. Steam Sloop Virgao “after eagerly looking at the sail through the spy glass..” It is possible that the ‘spy glass’ referred to is the one that Beverley has donated. From the 1840’s through to the early 1850’s the Register records that over 300 ships called at Pitcairn as the island had become a regular stopping off place for whaling and other ships. Presumably from one of these ships John Buffett secured his ‘spy glass’.

The telescope is an important addition to the museum collection and its display will considerably add to our capacity to tell the story of the life of our fore-fathers and mothers on Pitcairn and Norfolk Islands. This is an object of important significance, associated directly with John Buffett. We are so thankful to Beverley for its donation.

When War was declared in August 1914 the Norfolk Island population was less than 700 and almost entirely composed of families descended from the original eight that had arrived from Pitcairn Island fifty-eight years previously. Without hesitation, eighty-two Norfolk Island men (representing two thirds of the adult male population) and two women enlisted in the War. This was the highest enlistment per capita of any country of the Empire. Seventeen of the men served at Gallipoli, with four in the initial landings on the 25th April 1915.

In the front room of The R.E.O. a short-term display has recently been opened profiling one person from each of the original Pitcairn Islander families: Jonathon Lorenzo Crosby ‘Lorenzo’ Adams, Allen Fletcher Buffett, Cornelius Stephen ‘Lerm’ Christian, John Arthur Evans, Augustine Stanley McCoy, Charles Henry Ffrench ‘Harry’ Nobbs, Byron George ‘Lowie’ Quintal and Wilfred Francis Young.

Of these men, three were Killed in Action: Allen Buffett, John Evans and Wilfred Young. Lowie Quintal died nine years after the war from an illness said to have occurred during his war service. Lowie was the most decorated, receiving a Distinguished Conduct Medal for his actions during fighting in the French town of Villers-Bretonnneux during the bloody Battle of the Somme. The Supplement in the London Gazette cited the award was: “For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He was in charge of a Lewis gun in a strong position which the enemy attempted to raid under cover of an intense bombardment. He at once opened Lewis gun fire and when the gun jammed he attacked the enemy with bombs and assisted in driving them off with considerable losses. His coolness and initiative were an inspiration to his comrades.”

The enlisting Norfolk men and women went without hesitation and the full support of loved ones left behind to keep families together and the island running. The impact on the community left on Norfolk Island was substantial. This was not only as each loss of life was not only felt by their immediate family, but as a small closely linked people, the whole community would have mourned each loss. The unquestioned support of this island’s people to Britain’s call to war was reported on in a February 9^th 1916 article in the Sydney Morning Herald by ‘S.C’ who had recently visited the island. He reported “It was a surprise to find this people, who owe their existence to a mutiny on a British man-of-war, intense in their Imperial spirit, and enthusiastic in their loyalty to the Empire. With no daily newspapers to feed their interest, no politicians to fire their zeal, their only link with the war’s progress a meager cable report nailed to a tree at the cross-roads, they are making a noble contribution to our nation’s need. Already nearly 50 have left the little island to fight in the war. Their donations of patriotic funds have mounted to hundreds of pounds sterling, while abundant gifts of jam, made from their choicest fruits, have been sent to Sydney. In addition to this, there is a flourishing Red Cross Society, and the list of garments sent from the island is an indication that the women are working at high pressure”.

S.C. then tells of a tennis match he attended that finished with a parade of five men about to leave the island to join the War. Cornish Quintal, by then a much respected elder of the community spoke to the boys: “Be brave, for you are descended from the bravest men that ever lived. Your forefathers were the only men who ever took a British battleship. Who should fight for England as our children? How would the Germans have dealt with your forefathers? England forgave them, protected them, and gave them this beautiful island. Fight boys, and win. God be with you. I wish I were young enough to go with you”.

‘Without Hesitation: Norfolk Islanders and World War I’ is on display in The R.E.O. open Monday to Friday 9.00am to 3.00pm. Entry is free and the display runs until June 30.

Have you been in to The R.E.O. recently? If you have you’ll know that we no longer run a café but instead have a much greater selection of books and souvenirs on sale and one room dedicated to short term displays. The current display ‘WITHOUT HESITATION: Norfolk Islanders and World War I’, profiles one person from each of the original Pitcairn Islander families: Adams, Buffett, Christian, Evans, McCoy, Nobbs, Quintal and Young.

In the main room of the building you’ll find our books, many of which are not available else-where on the island. Recent new titles on sale include:

‘In Bligh’s Hand – Surviving the Mutiny on the Bounty’ by Jennifer Gall: This National Library of Australia publication reproduces selected facsimile pages from Bligh’s notebook and his list of the mutineers. Not only does it detail the longboat voyage of Bligh and the loyalists set adrift by Christian and the mutineers on the Bounty, it also provides a fascinating insight into the character of Bligh.

‘Crime Punishment and Redemption – A Convict’s Story’ by June Slee: The diary of convict John Ward is the basis of Slee’s work, where she explores not only a criminal mind, but a rare account of incarceration on a convict hulk and life on Norfolk Island under the reformist Commandant, Captain Alexander Maconochie.

‘Bligh – William Bligh in the South Seas’ by Anne Salmond: This is not just another ‘western-eyes’ telling of the story of William Bligh the mutiny and British history, but a genuine cross-cultural history account of exploration in the Pacific. Highly recommended.

DVD: ‘In the Wake of the Bounty’: How can you resistErrol Flynn as Fletcher Christian in Charles Chauvel’s 1933 classic. The documentary footage of Pitcairn Island is worth purchasing this DVD alone.

‘A Steady Hand – Governor Hunter and His First Fleet Sketchbook’ by Linda Groom: This collection of the sketches and paintings made by Captain John Hunter contains some of the earliest artistic impressions of the flora and fauna of Sydney, Norfolk Island and Lord Howe. A simply beautiful book.

‘The First Fleet’ by Rob Mundle: The back cover says ‘even if you feel that you’ve heard it all before, (Mundle) will fill you with admiration for Arthur Philip and what he achieved’. Mundle masterfully chronicles the events of the First Fleet.

‘James Cook, The Journals’ Penguins Classics: The historic journals of Captain James Cook’s nine years of voyaging and exploration – including of course, his discovery of Norfolk Island.

‘Australia’s Convict Past’ by Robert Coupe: Primarily written as a resource for school students, this is nonetheless a comprehensive and accessible book charting the development of the convict era in Australia, including Norfolk Island.

‘Australia’s Birthstain – the startling legacy of the convict era’ by Babette Smith: Smith has traced the stories of hundreds of convicts over the 80 years of convict transportation to Australia to reveal why it is that Australians are still misled by myths about their convict heritage and why an entire society colluded to cover up its past. Fascinating, provoking and a very good read!

‘Orphans of History – the Forgotten Children of the First Fleet’ by Robert Holden: Fifty children were transported as convicts with the First Fleet and they are the focus of Holden’s study.

DVD and Book: ‘For the Term of His Natural Life’ by Marcus Clarke: Clarke’s epic novel of the horrors of the Australian penal system is one of the great classics of Australian literature. Read the book or watch the 3 part mini-series of the book starring Anthony Perkins.

New to our souvenir range are tea towels with a World Heritage listed KAVHA logo; a perpetual diary with illustrations from Captain John Hunter’s sketchbook; Sterling silver jewellery by Margarita Sampson made from casts of 2^nd settlement buttons in the Museum collection; convict Teddy Bears; notepads – and more. It’s well worth coming into The R.E.O to see our new titles – and many more coming once our freight finally arrives! Open Monday to Friday 9.00am to 3.00pm.

May 2015

Farewell to Lisa Richards, Director / Curator

Last week….. we said farewell to Lisa Richards, Director/Curator of the Norfolk Island Museum, this role she has fulfilled for the past 7 years. Her energy, enthusiasm, professionalism, creativity, humour and friendship will be missed by all of us at the museum. Her leadership has not only developed a museum to be proud of but has also established stronger community relationships. She is an absolute dynamo to work with!

International Museum Day

This week….Monday 18 May is International Museum Day. The theme is ‘Museums for a sustainable society’. The International Council of Museums (ICOM) states that “it highlights the role of museums in raising public awareness about the need for a society that is less wasteful, more cooperative and that uses resources in a way that respects living systems”.

Sustainability in museums is not only about economics and practicing efficient use of resources but also about safeguarding cultural heritage. “Museum work, through education and exhibitions for example, should strive to create a sustainable society.” says ICOM President, Prof. Dr Hans-Martin Hinz.

The Norfolk Island Museum promotes and protects our cultural heritage, past, present and future, tangible and intangible. We encourage strong community relationship as mentioned above and invite you to visit your museum! Entry is always free for locals. Open from 11am – 3pm

What’s in our museums?

Commissariat Store (in the ground floor of All Saints Church)

Fascinating stories emerge from this collection of archaeological remains found in Kingston. Explore Polynesian hearthstone, glass beads and pottery from the First Settlement and whips and leg irons from the Second Settlement. Our convict past is alive here.

No. 10 Quality Row

Now a museum, this house was built in 1844 for Thomas Seller, Foreman of Works, during the height of the brutal Second Settlement. It gives a vivid feel for life for the civil officers in charge of convicts. In 1856 it became the home of Isaac and Miriam Christian and their fifteen children, in later years it was the home of Charles ‘Potts’ Buffett. Potts, as he is known held a number of positions including Deputy Administrator of NI and Administrator of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. He was awarded an O.B.E in 1981 and M.B.E. in 1987.

HMS Sirius Museum (old Youth Centre or Protestant Chapel)

Wrecked on our reef in 1790, the flagship of the First Fleet HMS Sirius is now Australia’s most important shipwreck. Her artefacts are displayed together with the story of her loss and recovery. A First Fleet Wall and Descendant’s Bookare located here.

Pier Store

The legendary mutiny on board the Bounty has been portrayed in no less than five Hollywood movies but the true story is to be found here along with major Bounty artefacts. Life on Pitcairn Island and the re-settlement to Norfolk in 1856 are also told. Our rich local culture, including Norf’k language, is featured in this museum.

The R.E.O. sells books and souvenirs, it is also the venue for our short term displays, currently “Without Hesitation: Norfolk Islander’s and World War I”. Visit The R.E.O. to see this display, on Monday we’ll put on the kettle from about 11.30am, tea and coffee is on us, no paper cups, we promise.

When was the last time you visited the museum?

Make this Monday, Museum-day!

HMS Sirius Website and the Australian Historic Shipwreck Data Base

Our HMS Siriuswebsite has a new look, actually it has just been updated to have the same ‘new look’ that you can see presented in our HMS Siriusmuseum. Once again we are thankful for the wonderful talents of designer, artist, girl of many talents, Haylee Fieldes.

The Home page states the HMS Sirius is Australia’s most important shipwreck. In 1787 she was the lead ship for the First Fleet of eleven ships setting out from Britain on the voyage to establish the first settlement in Australia. They landed at Botany Bay on the 18th January 1788 and soon after established the settlement at Port Jackson.

Within a few weeks of their arrival at Botany Bay, a small group of convicts under the command of Philip Gidley King had set sail to establish another settlement at Norfolk Island, a rocky outcrop 1,500 kilometres north east of Port Jackson.
It was on this small isolated island that HMS Siriuswas lost on March 19, 1790. Her shipwrecking caused great distress to both settlements clinging to life, never far from starvation.

The story of the life and wrecking of HMS Siriusis only one half of her tale. The other is the story that she left lying for close to 200 years on the seafloor, on the reef at Norfolk Island. The recovery of her artefacts over the past 25 years in particular, have revealed much to us. We now have more answers to the story of the circumstances of British settlement in Australia, the Sirius’ construction as a Baltic trader, and the perilous state of the fledgling settlements when she was lost.
Today, the HMS Sirius artefacts are mostly all housed in the Norfolk Island Museum. They comprise the most significant display of First Fleet cultural heritage held anywhere in Australia or its territories.

The website is user friendly with easy to follow drop down tabs, guiding you further to reveal the story of the HMS Sirius, the recovery of her artefacts, the legal instruments that protect the wreck site, the artefacts, a gallery of images, our bookshop and a page for news items. Maybe you have some Sirius news we could feature on this page?

The HMS Siriusstory is also featured on the Australian Government Department of Environment website www.environment.gov.au. Click on the topic, heritage and historic shipwrecks tabs to take you to the Australian national shipwreck database (ANSDB). We are in the progress of populating this database to include not just the HMS Sirius story, but all known shipwrecks around Norfolk Island. Features of the ANSDB include fields of information about the vessels, images, links to shipwreck relics recovered from sites, site environment information for divers and site managers and a history field with the ability to attach documents that include names of passengers and crew.

Also included in this website is a system to facilitate the registration of shipwreck material. The Historic Shipwrecks Act1976 requires all owners of shipwreck material older than 75 years to register their objects. Registration simply records the details of your shipwreck material and in no way interferes with your ownership. Please contact us at the Norfolk Island Museum to register your objects. Or if you have any information, historical or contemporary images that you wish to contribute towards any of these websites.

Visit our HMS Sirius website at www.hmssirius.com.au

Janelle Blucher

The Morayshire off Norfolk Island 8 June 1856

The Morayshire arrived at Norfolk Island amid squalls of rain and strong winds, on board were the exhausted and seasick Pitcairners having travelled some five thousand kilometres from one island home to another. Coming ashore after five weeks at sea, with mixed emotions, wet and unsettled, they were met by Thomas Samuel Stewart, the Commissariat Storekeeper, his wife Isabella and Captain Denham of the HMS Herald. Mr and Mrs Stewart and a small group of people had remained on the island since the closure of the penal settlement in 1855. Captain Denham of the HMS Herald had been sent to Norfolk Island to assist with their arrival.

Because of the conditions a wait of two days was required before they could come ashore. Viewed from the ship, the island’s general appearance disappointed them as George Hunn Nobbs records: “…very much disappointed with its appearance from the present point of view…Every face wore an expression of disappointment…No doubt other parts have a better appearance, but this side certainly bears no comparison with our Rock in the West”. No doubt tiredness and exhaustion sullied their view, and what would have been more, an overwhelming realisation that Pitcairn their home, their ‘rock of the west”, was now in the past. Adding to this view, the Kingston area was almost denuded of trees, when on shore Nobbs states “There is scarcely a tree in sight from the settlement, except some dozen or two of pines planted near the Government House”.

Come this time, the Reverend George Hunn Nobbs, their leader and pastor for more than 25 years, had to convince the people that to quit Pitcairn was not only necessary as the island was too small for their growing population, but also that it would be for their ultimate benefit. He avowed “Her Majesty’s most gracious offer, to wit, Norfolk Island and all that appertains thereto, for ourselves and families…Such an unqualified offer of so beautiful a spot on Norfolk Island, is easier to imagine than realise; but is a Bona Fide reality to us.”

Sarah Nobbs, grand daughter of Fletcher Christian and Mauatua, was married to the Reverend George Hunn Nobbs, she writes:

“After a passage of five weeks we arrived here, and landed on Sunday June 8^th, amid squalls of rain, which thoroughly drenched us: but Capt. Denham who was here, had fires prepared and tea ready for us, so that we soon got as comfortable as we could possibly be, in to us such a bewildering place. Everything was so strange; the immense houses, the herds of cattle grazing, and in the distance the gigantic Norfolk pines filled us for the moment with amazement. I was conducted by Mr Stewar[t] to the Government House, and seated by a good fire in the drawing room (I have learned that name since), which was the first fire I had ever seen in a dwelling house, and an excellent addition to my previous ideas of domestic comfort…”.

This day of arrival at Norfolk Island was Sunday, 8^thJune 1856. That same evening the Pitcairners held their usual Sunday service in the large upper room of the old military barracks, where the Norfolk Island Government’s Assembly Chamber and Committee Room is today. They gave thanks to God for their preservation and asked for guidance in this new era they had just entered upon.

The arrival of the Pitcairn Islanders to Norfolk Island is celebrated every year as Anniversary Day, often referred to as Bounty Day. In the early years after their arrival the day was commemorated with a simple church service. Over the years it has evolved to a full day’s celebration beginning with a march from Kingston Pier to the Cemetery.

The first march began with only the men with surnames of the Bounty mutineers dressed in sailor suits. The women joined in soon after and then the ‘All comers’ - those with the surname Nobbs, Buffett or Evans. In later years those who have married into island families march as well.

Up until the late 1930s a wooden structure was erected on the cricket ground in Quality Row to represent the Quarter-deck of the Bounty. The Union Jack was flown and the Bounty cannon installed on the deck was fired, often with the help of fire crackers. God Save the Queen and Rule Britannia were sung with gusto.

Revived in the 1950s after an absence of marching during WWII, the march came to include a re-enactment of the landing at Kingston Pier, a march to the cenotaph and along Quality Row to the cemetery. Here, the Islanders recite ‘John Adams Prayer and while singing ‘In the Sweet Bye and Bye’ children lay wreaths on the graves of their ancestors. The Lord’s Prayer is read and the Pitcairn Anthem is sung. Since 1947 a morning tea at Government house concluded the morning’s activities.

A large community picnic is the next event for the day. While today it is held in the Compound it has been held against the gaol wall overlooking the Common, in the grounds of the New and Old Military Barracks, in Pound Paddock and the old and current Rawson Hall (the wet weather option). The singing of Grace always precedes the picnic. Tables are laden with traditional island food including roast meats, pilhi, mudda, hihi pie, fish, sweet tatey and sweet island pies, usually served with cream, otherwise known as ‘Norfolk gravy’. Lunch may be followed by a cricket match between the islanders and the all comers. The day concludes with the Bounty Ball in Rawson Hall. Then all dem tired lettle sullen are taken home to bed.

Happy Anniversary Day from all ucklun at the museum down a town. 8 June 2015

Douglas Hobbs, Senior Archaeologist

“I think we’ve found something” was the comment heard in the Blacksmith’s Compound in Kingston last Saturday morning which created a scene of excitement. The floor in this compound, currently used by the KAVHA works team, is being stabilised to prevent flooding and improve drainage. Scraping away just fifteen centimetres of the surface dirt revealed two pits containing charcoal, leg irons, horse shoes, chain links, nails, wall fasteners and obvious ‘smithy’ waste or slag.

The first pit showing artefacts uncovered

Built in 1846 the original buildings and yard were surrounded by a stone wall with an entrance gate in the north wall. The smiths were housed in a stone structure against the south wall of the yard; there were four blacksmith forges and one nailors forge. Other shops or work sheds were built against the side walls, all of these original buildings fell into disrepair during the 1880’s. Both pits discovered last weekend were located towards the southern wall of the compound indicating they may have been associated with the blacksmiths forges. They were somewhat conical in shape, less than one metre in diameter with a depth of approximately twenty centimetres defined by sand, dirt and crushed calcaranite bedding.

Norfolk Island Museum Tagalong Tour witness the discovery

Most smiths burned charcoal in their forges because it was easy to light, burned hotter and cleaner than wood and was readily available, particularly on Norfolk Island. A method for producing charcoal involved a pit kiln process where wood was slowly burned in a shallow pit covered with soil. As these pits were full of charcoal, maybe they were used for making the charcoal to fuel the forges. Much speculation and suggestions were offered to determine what these pits were actually used for, even our museum tour made a diversion to the site to join in the discussion. One suggestion was they were the smithy’s waste pits, this begs the question of why was there such a substantial amount of intact and complete objects located in them. Senior Archaeological Consultant, Douglas Hobbs is on island to oversee the works, Doug has over 43 years of experience in discoveries and archaeological research. Leave it to the expert to answer those questions for us!

The immediate concern for the Norfolk Island Museum is to stabilise the one hundred or so objects recovered from these pits. Once removed from their anaerobic salty dirty environment after more than 150 years, instant deterioration begins to occur. A desiccated or dry environment is the first aid for these objects until we are ready to take on the job of cleaning, brushing and rinsing. Once you begin this process you can’t stop. The objects then require immersion in an alkaline solution to draw out the chlorides. This process can take months involving solution changes and chloride readings. Once these readings deem the object free from salt they will be rinsed to remove the alkaline residue and slowly dewatered. The final stages include application of a rust convertor followed by a sealant to act as an environment barrier. Then this fantastic addition to our collection will be ready for interpretation, display and research.

Just to finish off, it is interesting to read a diary entry of Thomas Samuel Stewart, Commissariat Storekeeper and caretaker on the island during the time between the penal settlement in 1855 and the arrival of the Pitcairners in 1856 as it relates to some of these recent finds in the Blacksmith’s compound.

July 4 Wednesday – And Farrell employed casting turf to cover a small kiln of Wood that was being built when the ships arrived with the news that all the Engineer property left on the Island was to be handed to the Commissariat. I spoke to Mr Walker previous to his leaving I think about a fortnight, on the propriety of having some Horse Shoes made, in readiness in case of need – and he, very considerately, ordered Constable Kelly that was the Horse Shoe maker on the Island at the time to make a few sets. I saw Kelly a few days before the ships sailed and enquired of him. If he had mad the Horse Shoes? (I knowing he had been told off for this duty.) He told me he had made more that he thought would be required. But all that I have found is a few old worn out shoes lying in [the] shed at the Black Smith’s shop. What the man could have been doing for the time he should have been making these shoes, is what I cannot tell, but I am afraid, it must have been for the want of fuel. And as there is not a bit to fit a shoe on a horse, and Field has used all that is able to be put on, unless altered, I must endeavour to burn off this kiln, and have set Farrell to this work

Stewart follows this with later entries stating that he acted as the blacksmith when there was no other on the island. These diary entries really highlight the importance of this skill on the island during that time.

Janelle Blucher

The Norfolk Island Museum Trust recently purchased a convict made chest of drawers that had been locally put up for tender. Made of Norfolk Island Pine it is stamped BO ↑ CD. The BO is for the Board of Ordnance and CD Commissariat Department. The broad arrow was used as an identification of British government property. As the museum is located in the basement of the Commissariat - it has made its way ‘home’ to the building it would have been issued from!

The Museum Trust were able to make this purchase as a result of accumulated profits from the Trial of the Fifteen play and the arrangement made by the late Peter Clarke, the author of the play, on how they could be expended. Peter’s son Stephen now holds the rights to the play and each year he agrees with the Trust on a program of expenditure. This year that included the purchase of acquisitions for the museum collection. It is so gratifying to see such a direct link between the efforts of the Museum to Produce, our Actors to perform, visitors purchasing tickets each week - and our collection.

Its purchase complements a few other pieces of furniture that also show similar markings including two convict settles or bench seats. Most likely these were made for the verandahs of the houses and buildings for the Officers. One of the settles has graffiti on it from an officer of the 99^thRegiment stationed here during the 2^nd Settlement. The other piece is a cedar table that is actually part of a sectional table and may date from as early as 1825. While we don’t know the date that the chest of drawers was made, we will be researching its design to see if we can identify the most likely period.

Broad arrows are on many of the items in the museum collection. Being found in possession of marked objects without good cause was a serious offence. The symbol has been documented back to the 16th century to mark Royal property, and was occasionally referred to as a ‘Royal cipher’. An 1806 proclamation stated that:

“The Board having been pleased to direct that in future all descriptions of Ordnance Stores should be marked with the broad arrow as soon as they shall have been received as fit for His Majesty’s Service; all Storekeepers and Deputy Storekeepers and others are desired to cause this order to be accordingly attended to, in the Department under their direction, reporting to the Board in all cases when articles are received to which this mark cannot be applied”. [28th July 1806. Quoted from the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps website]

As a result the broad-arrow mark appears on everything from furniture to cooking pots and cutlery, packing crates and barrels, construction materials from timber to bricks and tools – and convict clothing. However an object that has a broad arrow on it doesn’t necessarily mean it has an association with convicts.

Norfolk Island school girls and teachers in 1896

Over the last few weeks a number of school groups have been in and out of the museum and we have also met with Prof. Peter Muhlhausler on a recent trip, following up on Norf’k language projects. Peter is Professor of Linguistics at Adelaide University and was largely responsible for supporting the initial training of Norf’k language teachers at NICS.

At the prize giving at the school this week, Principal Michelle Nicholson quoted from a report to the NSW Minister for Public Instruction by the first school inspector to visit the island in 1897. He said “The inhabitants of the island, without exception…exhibit considerable interest in the education of their children and cause them to attend school most regularly and punctually”. Michelle remarked on the fact that the education of our children continues to be highly valued on Norfolk.

This began on Pitcairn Island, most probably with John Adam’s conversion and teaching of the children to read using the Bounty Bible and Book of Common Prayer. Brian Mercer records in “An Island Education, A history of the Norfolk Island Central School” that from 1835 all children were compelled to go to school, many attending from the age of six until they were married. He says “In N.S.W. by contrast, it was not until 1880 that the Public Instruction Act made it law for parents to send their children aged 6-14 to school. But even then, children were only required to attend about three days per week. Not until 1916 were pupils in N.S.W. compelled to attend every day”.

On arrival at Norfolk Island on 8 June 1856 one of the first decisions the community made was about founding a school. The first classroom was set up in the New Military Barracks and classes began just six week later on the 14^th of July. Attendance of all children was compulsory. Norfolk Island should stand proud of the fact that with the introduction of legislation in 1857, we were the first in the British Empire to legislate compulsory school attendance.

Clear evidence of the continued value of participation in school life and education on island today, is through the annual awarding of the Queen Victoria Scholarship. Begun in 1887 as a memorial for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee the committee deciding on how the island would commemorate this important event said: On 20^th June Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, will have reigned for fifty years. The event will be commemorated throughout the British Empire. Norfolk Island must not be behind…it (is) highly desirable that a permanent memorial of the happy event should be established on the island. After due consideration and a careful weighing of such suggestions as were brought forward, it was finally decided that this memorial should take the form of an Endowment of (for the present three) Queen Victoria Scholarships in the Norfolk Island Public School. These scholarships are to be obtained by competitive examination”.

In the first year the scholarships were £2 each for the senior winners and £1 for the junior winners. These days the scholarship is still competed for and represents an honour rather than monetary reward. The original Scholarship Board naming all winners between 1887 and 1971 is on display in the Pier Store, the current one being at the school itself.

As we were reminded during Peter Muhlhausler’s visit, the teaching of Norf’k language at the school today is cause for celebration, especially given early efforts to eradicate its use by NSW authorities. This began after 1896 when the executive government of Norfolk was changed from a locally appointed head of government, to a NSW appointed Chief Magistrate. One of the first acts of the first Chief Magistrate, Colonel Spalding, was to arrange for the 1897 inspection of the school. As well as the positive comment about parental interest in education made in the Report as quoted by Michelle, a key recommendation was that a trained teacher be sent from Sydney to take up the position of Headmaster. However, it was not until 1906 that the first ‘outside’ appointed principal arrived on the island (beginning the system of short-term three to five year appointments which continues to today).

With non-Norfolk Islanders now in charge of the school, it was not long before a concerted effort was made to eradicate the use of the Norfolk language by children when at school. This was initiated in 1915 with a new school rule banning anything but the ‘King’s English’ being spoken during school hours. Infringements would be dealt with by a caning or writing out lines to the effect of “I must not talk gibberish at school”.

This policy followed from a 1914 Memorandum relating to Norfolk Island written by Atlee Hunt, Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Department of External Affairs. In a section headed “The Local Jargon” Hunt wrote:

“It is not picturesque nor effective, and justifies its description as “a barbarous attempt to garrotte the English language”. Its use contributes to maintain a spirit of exclusiveness amongst these folk, and for this reason, as well as because it has no merits to justify its continual existence, it is hoped that its employment may be discouraged in every way”.

The first headmaster to introduce the rule predicted “I feel confident that it is only a matter of a few generations when the island “jargon” will disappear altogether”. After WWII the policy was not policed as rigorously and in 1987 the policy was reversed, with Norf’k language being included in the school curriculum.

The Norfolk Island Language (Norf’k) Act 2004 allows the teaching of Norf’k at school and affirmed “the right of people to speak and write it freely and without interference or prejudice from Government or other persons”. Norf’k language has been taught as a Secondary School, NSW Board of Studies endorsed elective from 2001. It is now taught to all students from Kindergarten to Year 9.

Janelle Blucher is responsible for the conservation of our museum artefacts and each week works on a range of objects. Over past weeks she has been working on a beautiful but very fragile copper bust of young girl. Janelle has written the following article on the bust and the work she has completed.

It is absolutely wonderful when an object that has been buried in the ground for who knows how many years makes its way to become an incredible ‘surface’ find; it occurs not so irregularly on this island that boasts multiple layers of history.

One such find was at No. 5 Quality Row in Kingston, originally the Commissariat Storekeeper’s Quarters which was constructed between 1842 and 1843. It was later occupied by David Buffett from Pitcairn Island and then Gregory Quintal. In 1908 the house was destroyed by fire and remained a ruin until 1971 when it was reconstructed and occupied by the Chief Administrative Officer.

During the 1980’s Robert VJ Varman, Curator of the Norfolk Island Museum, conducted archaeological digs and wrote many reports on the archaeology of Norfolk Island. Varman found a bust of a young girl’s head in the garden at No. 5 Quality Row; a charming sculpture made from beaten copper layered over soapstone. Standing approximately 35cm high, the form appears to be life-like; she has short hair draped with a scarf, a pinched nose, smiling eyes and mouth. The sculpture ends at the top of her décolletage that is supported upon a short pillared hexagonal base.

Extremely fragile and quite weighty, the sculpture’s pillared based is cracked around its circumference, fortunately the sculpture has a support rod from the base through to the top of the head. The copper has peeled away in some areas and deteriorating green corrosion products began to appear in a troublesome form.

Usually on display at No. 10 Quality Row, the bust’s deteriorating condition necessitated some conservation activity and its removal from display. Copper alloy is still a difficult metal to conserve. Beyond mechanical removal of corrosion products on the surface of the object there are a number of chemical treatments that may be considered. None of these chemical procedures promise a successful conservation result and some can permanently change the patina.

The method selected to treat ‘our girl’ was by firstly very gently ‘mechanically’ removing the surface green corrosion products, using fine brushes and scalpels looking through an illuminated magnifying glass. She was swabbed and cleaned with methylated spirits and a ‘spot’ test of the chemical Benzotriazole (BTA) was applied. Deciding upon this treatment a three percent solution was applied, then swabbed and wiped off with ethanol. (“The application of BTA should be an inherent step in the conservation of all cupreous metal artefacts” Donny L. Hamilton, Conservation Research Laboratory, Texas A&M University.)

An application of microcrystalline wax completes the treatment by providing a barrier between object and environment. She is now back on display, however as the pillared base is broken she is not standing upright but has been laid in a mount made from archival quality materials that supports the weight of her head.

Robert Varman speculated that she could possibly be French made in the first half of the nineteenth century. She truly is a beauty; come and see for yourself!

The 19^th of March next year will be the 225^th anniversary of the wrecking of HMS Sirius on the reef at Norfolk Island. Her wrecking was undoubtedly the most serious event to occur during the early life of both the Port Jackson and Norfolk Island settlements and this important anniversary is one that we intent to mark. To do so we have teamed up with The Travel Centre to organise for a week of events that will include a luncheon on the 19^th March under a marquee at Munna’s, timed to mark the Noon time wrecking.

However the most exciting news around this week is that the special guest presenters for these events are Graham Henderson and Myra Stanbury. Many locals know both Graham and Myra as they were the key personnel involved in the four 1980’s expeditions to recover the Sirius artefacts, now displayed in our HMS SiriusMuseum. Graham led each expedition and Myra was the Registrar. Graham is recently retired from the Western Australian Maritime Museum where he was the Foundation Director, and Myra still works there as a Senior Curator. They are co-authors of ‘The Sirius: Past and Present”, a comprehensive book on the Sirius’history and archaeology. Together they are two of Australia’s most eminent maritime archaeologists and we are very excited that they have agreed to be on-island for this special event.

Graham Henderson

In addition to presentations on the anniversary day of the wrecking, Graeme and Myra will speak at theWelcome dinner, an HMS Sirius Research Presentation and other maritime themed events. No doubt we will hear many stories from the four expeditions they worked on between 1983 and 1988 which resulted in the raising of approximately 3,000 artefacts including a 1.7 tonne anchor, carronades, ballast, cannon balls, scientific equipment and fine pieces from the Officer’s Cabin. There were many locals who also took part in the dives and expeditions so the week will no doubt have a reunion event planned. We would appreciate any help that you can provide in spreading the word about the week to those involved, please call in to the Pier Store or phone us on 23788 if you’d like information sent on to contacts on the mainland.

Myra Stanbury

This week will of course not only be of interest to those with a maritime interest, but those who ancestry goes back to the First Fleet. Directly involved were those on the Sirius and also the Supply. At the time of her wrecking the Siriuswas on a desperate mission sailing to Canton, China to purchase supplies as the Port Jackson population was on the verge of starvation and existing on half rations. On the first leg of the journey she was accompanied by the Supply to transport 116 convict men, 67 convict women, 27 children and 65 marines to Norfolk – thereby offloading their ‘feeding burden’ from NSW to the Norfolk Island settlement. It was while both ships were unloading supplies at Kingston that the wrecking occurred.

However as it impacted on everyone in the Colony at that time, this event will be of interest to descendants of those on the two ships, the existing population on Norfolk Island and also all those in Port Jackson. This was psychologically ‘their’ ship – the flagship of their First Fleet voyage, their lifeline back to mother England and the ship they put all reliance on. As Governor Arthur Phillip said when news of the wrecking reached him in Port Jackson: “You never saw such dismay as the news of the wreck occasioned amongst us all; for, to use a sea term, we looked upon her as our sheet anchor”.

We’d love any help you can give us to publicise this important event and the week of planned activities organised to mark it. Details can be found on The Travel Centre’s web site at www.norfolkislandtravelcentre.com/events/anniversary-of-the-wrecking-of-the-hms-siriusor call us on 23788 for further information.

This post is written by Museum Guide Racheal McConnell.

If you have ever been down to the "Mission" valley and taken in the surrounds it can almost pass as a rustic scene straight from a Jane Austin novel, even after more than a century this peaceful valley still maintains an English rural feel. It is in this setting 120 years ago this month that the tiny body of John Selwyn Malegi was laid to rest in the Mission cemetery. However, John's story begins long before he was even born….

In 1867 Norfolk Island became the training centre and College of the Melanesian Mission, contrary to what certain modern authors portray, these Melanesians came from wide and far, willingly and openly, some with whole families, some already betrothed, and all young and excited by this 'new' education and way of life.

Fanny and little John

A few thousand miles from Norfolk Island sits a group of Islands called the Santa Cruz group, part of the Solomon Islands the name bares testimony to those Spaniards who discovered them in the great scramble for the Pacific. These Islands had a fearsome and unpredictable reputation, for years these Islands became the hunting grounds for raiders, smugglers, head hunters and "black birders" of all races and background, looking to kidnap cheap labour to sell to cane farmers and plantation owners. This resulted in the Islanders becoming very weary of foreign ships and carrying out "revenge" killings such as the martyrdom of the Bishop of Melanesia John C. Patterson himself in 1871, killed in revenge on Nakapu, Santa Cruz. The Mission fiercely fought the Blackbirders and slave trade and doubled the efforts to gain a foothold amongst this most hostile group of Islands.

Nelua lies only 20 miles from Nakapu, it is here that John's Story really begins. John Malegi's parents were both from Nelua, and in 1893 Fanny Malegi arrived on Norfolk Island with her son little Johnnie. This was not Fanny's first time on Norfolk. She had trained here earlier on as a teacher, helper and worker. She and her husband returned to Nelua and set up a school, curious youngsters flocked to it in defiance of the "barbaric" old customs; this created a hostile and dangerous situation for John’s parents. As a result Fanny’s husband was killed and her school destroyed, bravely Fanny held her ground, but in the end for the sake of her only son she returned to the safety of Norfolk Island.

Julia Farr, god-daughter and cousin of Bishop Patterson was a nurse/worker at the Mission and it is to her we give thanks for this account. As a nurse Julia had to attend to "Little Johnnies" feet everyday. Johnnie suffered from a tropical foot disease that prevented him from walking and he spent most of his time "scuttling about on his haunches" or being carried about by everyone, everywhere. This created a deep friendship between Fanny and Julia and Johnnie became everyone’s 'pet' or as Julia says "so full of pretty ways… always calling to skul (kiss) me" or calling Julia and the girls for a walk or a play. Fanny assisted Julia in many daily rounds, the ladies worked hard and the tasks required were often thankless and praise was rarely given, from chaperoning, arrowroot making, and firewood collecting to all night nursing and having to hold classes first thing the next day.

At 11 am on the 21st of August Julia and Fanny noticed Johnnie was 'maro' sulky. The girls sat round laughing at Johnnie’s grave little face trying to get a laugh or a smile; instead he quietly buried his head against Julia, whom only that morning had played happily with him. The matriarchal, dominant yet liberal Elizabeth Colenso agreed with Julia that something was indeed wrong. Dr Metcalfe was called and feared Johnnie had "Congestion of the lungs". Mrs Colenso ordered he be placed in a hot bath and dosed regularly with Aconite. Torn between duty and love Julia had to dash off and attend to another very ill, dying boy Isaac Tuba, as well as attend her other duties. She returned at 9 to find Johnnie convulsing and vomiting violently. All through the night the nurses and the Dr tried everything Victorian medicine could offer; Mustard plasters, Linseed poultices and a lot of patience and prayer. Fanny never left his side. By 2:20 am the next morning Johnnies pulse became feeble and his temperature dropped. Julia at once placed him on a stretcher with hot bottles around him but then she writes "15 minutes later the 'wild' eyes took a natural look, the teeth unclenched and with one small sigh he 'fell asleep' so very literally no one believed it”, she goes on "it looked more like life than death and again and again we looked for signs" The frantic search for life was shattered by the broken cries of Fanny "we Paso.. We Paso" he's gone…he's gone. Fanny sat crumpled holding her boy, stroking him and talking to his lifeless body in Santa Cruz, Julia records this terrible scene; "…her grief is terrible, not noisy just heartbreaking" Eventually they dressed his body in a white night dress with a cross of pure white azaleas across his tiny folded hands. As dawn broke not a dry eye was left that day on the Mission. He was laid to rest on a cold, sunny afternoon at 2p.m on 22nd August 1894. Poor Fanny who had lost her only son, decided to return home to Nelua. We only get one last glimpse of Fanny, she writes to Julia a year later in June showing how this brave woman continued on despite losing everything She writes " the enemy wish to kill us but I do not fear them... I have not forgotten John and everyday I remember and cry for him, maybe I will not forget till death."

When the Mission left in 1920, Johnnies history all but disappeared along side it. We don’t hear from Fanny again and it is assumed she is buried on Nelua, oceans from the body of her beloved John. Now after 120 years exactly this Friday 22nd August we can re-unite mother and son in our minds and remember those that lived, loved and died here so far away from their homes.

The day after Johnnie was laid to rest Isaac Tuba lost his fight with Bright’s disease, as he was being buried along side Johnnie the same hymn floated from that scenic valley to the tops of the pine trees: "O' Lords stay now thine hand, death itself is just a relief- a beginning not an end."

Upstairs in the Pier Store Museum is a small display on WWII. Alongside a strip of the Marsden matting used to make the airstrip (and now found around the island in many front fences and pig sty’s) are a series of watercolour cartoons painted by Sergeant John Gerald Allen, stationed here with the 2^ndNew Zealand Expeditionary Force, also known as the 36^th Battalion. The 36^th Battalion designated as ‘N Force’ was made up of 1,488 personnel dispatched to protect the airfield. They were stationed here between 1942 and 1944 and as a result, Norfolk’s war history is in many ways more closely tied to New Zealand than Australia.

Due to eyesight problems Sgt Allen was classified grade 2 – fit only for home service. He appealed for an overseas posting and was allowed to join the 36^th Battalion as a radar technician and worked at the Mount Bates radar station. Clearly Sgt Allen possessed not only artistic talents but a great sense of humour as evidenced in his regular contributions to the monthly newsletter called “Nformation”. His cartoon collection titled “Ordnance Oddities” depicts the lighter side of life for the Battalion while stationed on Norfolk. They include an image of a soldier with his arm around an attractive young woman while he writes home “Dear Mother, the main sport on Norfolk is “fishing””. The collection of empty bottles shown in “Spirit of Norfolk” is added to in “More spirits of Norfolk” where a soldier clearly under the weather watches as his chest appears to grow convict legs and walk away! “Deep in the Heart of Norfolk” shows a soldier asleep on the beach surrounded by palm trees.

The cartoons were donated to the Museum by Sgt Allen’s wife Peggy and son John, along with a war souvenir Sgt Allen took home with him. The souvenir (also on display) is a heavy naval machine gun shell with projectile (explosive removed), mounted on a piece of varnished wood. It has two 303 rounds mounted in a cross with a New Zealand army badge mounted over the crossed bullets. Sgt Allen told his family that he and some mates were walking in the Gaol area at Kingston when they “bumped into a door” and found a mound of the shells “there for the taking”. They took as many shells as they wanted and pulled them apart for the brass casings.

They tried a number of methods to remove the powder at the bottom. Once, they burnt it out by placing a kerosene soaked rag up the shell for a wick, put it in a kerosene tin and lit it. Following a tremendous bang and screams, they found that the shell casing had blasted right through the bottom of the tin and landed 100 metres away in a Norfolk Pine. It had narrowly missed the head of a Sergeant who accused them of “trying to do me in”.

The shell was actually for use in a Nordenfelt gun with a 4 ft long barrel, typical of those used on Russian torpedo boats around the 1890’s. They were used here in a gun used by the Islanders working in the whaling industry.

Norfolk Island’s history is really quite amazing. There are so many ‘firsts’ and unique stories that emerge from this little rock, 3 miles by 5 miles, and thousands of kilometers from the mainland. One of the least known ‘firsts’ is that the first time Maori lived in a European community and the first known map made by Maori both occured on Norfolk Island! This was when Tuki and Huru, two men from the upper North Island spent nine months on the island in 1793.

Tuki's Map drawn on Norfolk Island

The reason they were on Norfolk is entwined with the reasons the British settled Norfolk Island so quickly in 1788. On discovering the island in 1774 Captain Cook recorded two items potentially very useful to Britain: the flax plant (Phormium tenax) which could be made into sail cloth and the Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla) for use as ship’s masts. Access to timber and marine supplies from Norfolk Island, New Zealand and NSW became a key reason for the choice of NSW as the location for a new colony by the Pitt Government in Britain. A Pacific boat building base could be established that would support the expansion of naval and East India Company interests in East Asia and overcome recent losses of resources from Baltic ports and North America following the War of Independence. Plans were therefore made to settle uninhabited and resource rich Norfolk Island prior to the First Fleet leaving England.

The first Commandant of the Settlement, Lieutenant Philip Gidley King tried hard to fulfill his orders to process the flax plant. When all attempts proved fruitless he resorted to an extreme measure, sailing to New Zealand to ‘acquire’ (in reality kidnap) Maori and bring them to the Island to instruct in the processing method. Unfortunately for King, those men, Tuki the son of a priestand Huru the son of a chief, quickly let him know that as it was women’s work they knew little of flax processing. However during the stay their relationship with King became a positive one based on genuine mutual respect and they lived in Government House with King, his wife and young children.

The men appeared to enjoy a true social exchange. King recorded Maori vocabulary and customs in his journal. Tuki drew the earliest known map by a Maori of his homeland, first in the sand then transferred to paper (now in the UK National Archives). The map is a testament to the quality of communication that occurred between the men as it uniquely records social, mythical and political features in the landscape. When King personally accompanied Tuki and Huru home on the Britannia he was presented with gifts of thanksgiving for their safe return, including two Basalt patu, now on display in our museum in the Commissariat Store. King was never to learn that the reason the Norfolk flax species could not be processed was due to the local variant having little fibre content.

This is exactly what 8^thgeneration First Fleeter descendant Andre Forrester did in our museum this week, touched a tangible connection to the history of his forefather.

‘Do not touch’ is a general rule in our museums, particularly when it comes to metal, the moisture, oils and salts on your skin transfer to the object encouraging corrosion. However, this particular metal object has a sign beside it which reads ‘please touch’. This object is a ballast block recovered from the wreck of the HMS Sirius during the ‘2002 Sirius Expedition’ the fifth and the last maritime archaeological expedition conducted on the wreck site of this flagship of the First Fleet.

This iron ballast block has a long conservation story. For many years it has been immersed in a caustic solution undergoing an electrolytic reduction process to remove the chlorides from the metal. This took multiple changes of more than 120 litres of solution, rinsing and maneuvering of a block weighing in at approximately 100 kg, hundreds of chloride readings and plenty of patience. Then it was necessary to remove the remaining accretions cemented onto the block, and finally it was ready for applications of rust converters and waxing. It is these applications and layers of wax that is providing the protective coating that enables it to be ‘touched’. To list the names of the people that have supported the Norfolk IslandMuseumwith the conservation of this object over so many years, are too many. However, we’d like to say thanks to Shane McCoy from the Administration Works Depot for his recent work on the final stages and preparation for display.

This is a wonderful addition to our HMS Sirius Museum, housing the most extensive collection of cultural material from the First Fleet. The First Fleet consisted of eleven ships, nine of these were privately owned and two British naval ships, carrying over 1400 people they left Portsmouthin May 1787 to arrive at Port Jackson in January 1788, these people are the founders of modern Australia.

Andre’s ancestor Robert Forrester was a convict in the First Fleet, making his voyage to Australia on one of the privately owned ships, the Scarborough. Originally sentenced to death at the Old Bailey for stealing six guineas in gold with a couple of other characters, his sentence was later reprieved to 7 years transportation. Robert came to live on Norfolk Island between the years of 1791 and 1793 holding a grant of 12 acres at Mount Pitt Path in Queenborough. Robert Forrester’s descendants have come back to Norfolk to make it their home. It was an honour to ask Robert Forrester’s descendant Andre to be the first First Fleeter descendant to ‘touch’ this link to his history.

Janelle Blucher

Earlier this year we announced that a tampion (or tompion) had been brought back to the island after being at the Department of Materials Conservation at the WesternAustralianMuseumfor twenty two years undergoing conservation. This tampion had been discovered in one of the HMS Sirius carronades when it was recovered from the wreck site. We are delighted to finally have this object on display in our HMS Sirius Museum in a special cabinet constructed by K.C. Industries.

Myra Stanbury, now an 'Honorary Research Associate' at the Western Australian Museum, was the Registrar during the expeditions to recover the Sirius material from the reef. She travelled to Norfolk in March thisyear as a guest presenter for the ‘225^th Anniversary of the wrecking of the HMS Sirius’, bringing with her the tampion. She said “In the process of conserving the second carronade recovered from the Sirius wreck site a disc-shaped, lathe-turned wooden tampion (or tompion) was found in the muzzle of the gun.

Made of maple (Acer sp.), the plug was designed to prevent the penetration of sea water into the bore of the muzzle-loading gun which could cause rust to develop and render the gun unserviceable. Sometimes the tampions were carefully sealed with tallow or putty to make them watertight. This appears to have been the method employed on the Sirius carronade as a ‘waxy-oily’ layer of material was removed from the machine-turned inner surface of the tampion before it was placed in a treatment solution to remove some of the reactive iron corrosion products.Attached to the inner side of the tampion was a lanyard consisting of two 34-cm lengths of twisted twine. This was spliced to a ball of string wadding that fitted snugly within the 131 mm bore of the gun. When loaded with a clean round shot to fit the gun the ball of wadding in the muzzle would prevent the displacement of the tampion by the impact of the round shot as it rolled back and forth in the barrel with every roll of the ship. In this way, sometimes helped by the addition of olive oil or other suitable lubricant into the chamber of the gun, the bore was kept in good condition while at sea”.

This tampion is a very significant object. Not only is it a very rare example of a complete tampion of this period, it is now displayed beside the carronade it was recovered from, and the carronade itself is rare for its early short barreled design – and it is on display within several hundred metres of the site of its recovery. Come to the HMS Sirius Museum and take a look for yourself, remember entry is free for residents. (Our image shows the tampion on display.)

And last but not least, I want to say a huge thank you to two amazing people who have volunteered their time at the museum last week. Some of you may know David and Michelle Cullen being regular visitors to the island, they have been working hard in the Guard House completing a huge task of sorting papers, creating files and entering data. I think we’ve exhausted the island’s supply of manila folders. Thank you, thank you …. and see you again next year.

Janelle Blucher

It has been an extremely busy and productive past couple of weeks at the museum as we have benefited from the valuable skills and time offered by two wonderful volunteers. Sue and Don Brian are not strangers to Norfolk; they left the island eighteen months ago after living here for five years. Don taught science and chemistry at NICS and Sue volunteered her time to the museum four days a week for the most of that time, Sue had to have Wednesdays off from the museum so she could attend to weaving with the guys at the Golden Orb, and if she wasn’t at either of those places, you could find her volunteering for the National Park. Outside of these times they were involved in many other charitable activities supporting the island.

What they have achieved for the museum these past two weeks is just remarkable.

Sue developed a template that enables us to upload multiple entries into our database in one single upload. This is no mean feat considering there are more than eighty fields and multiple layers of classifications necessary for the cataloguing. This template has enabled us to finally upload the Les Brown Collection of over 1,000 files, plus books and images into our database. This week Sue has uploaded more than 2,000 entries into our database. Sue’s previous volunteer work with the museum was mainly in the field of conservation, with a science background, she was perfect for the job, this week she has been able to provide instruction in conservation techniques to Gaye Evans, who has recently joined us at the museum.

Don originally planned for a one week holiday and extended to two. He was kept busy for the first week digitising our entire collection of cassette tape recordings. This digitising work is done in ‘real time’, outsourcing for this project would have cost hundreds. Amongst this collection of cassette tapes is a recent donation by Chris Nobbs including nineteen oral history interviews he conducted during the 1980s and ‘90s, now we can hear those voices and listen to those stories.

Both Sue and Don have been enthusiastic researchers of everything ‘Norfolk’ even after they left the island, Don has taken on many interesting research projects himself and Sue has recently focused her research time on the shipwrecks of Norfolk, this research can now be seen on the Australian National Shipwreck Database, you can access it at www.environment.gov.au/topics/heritage/historic-shipwrecks/australian-national-shipwreck-database.

The final day of their ‘holiday’ on Norfolk was taken up with performing the next step in the conservation of the artefacts recently recovered from the works in the Blacksmith’s Compound. More than one hundred ferrous objects were brushed and then placed back into fresh solutions of 2% sodium hydroxide; this part of the conservation process is to remove the corrosion causing chloride from the objects. Sue’s work on the cataloguing template will be greatly appreciated again when it comes time to record these items into our database.

These are the major projects accomplished during their two weeks on island, there were many other tasks completed along the way. Sue and Don, your generosity and achievements are immeasurable, a huge thank-you to you both from a truly grateful Norfolk Island Museum. Come back soon ..okay!

Janelle Blucher

We are delighted to have received notification from the Maritime Museums of Australia Project Support Scheme (MMAPSS) of our successful grant application to undertake the ‘HMS SiriusCollection Condition Assessment 2015’ project.

Established in 1995 MMAPSS provides funding to support Australia’s maritime heritage. It is jointly funded by the Australian Government and the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM). The Norfolk Island Museum has been extremely fortunate to have been the recipient of numerous grants over the years; grants that have assisted us in caring for the HMS Sirius Collection and funded the research, conservation, care and display of various aspects of Norfolk Island’s maritime heritage.

Carronades

This year’s project provides for a conservator from the ANMM to visit Norfolk Island to conduct an assessment of the condition of the HMS Sirius Collection, the proposed date for the visit is February 2016. In 2012 the collection was relocated from the Pier Store Museum into a dedicated HMS Sirius Museum, this is in the old Protestant Chapel or the Prince Phillip Youth Centre as some of us will remember. This dedicated museum offers better environmental conditions than the Pier Store. The collection is continuously monitored by the museum staff and preventive conservation is applied to ensure it remains stable in the new environment.

However, it is seven years since a qualified conservator has undertaken a whole of collection condition assessment. In this time not only the collection on display has been exposed to movement and a fluctuating environment, but the collection in storage has been rehoused into micro-environments. This amount of changing activity to the collection now requires an assessment to record its condition. It is hoped the assessment will record the collection is in a good condition due to the environmental improvements over this time.

Sirius artefacts raised from the seabed

Janelle Blucher

Robert Finlay and his wife Jeanette visited the Norfolk Island Museum last week. Robert came to Norfolk Island for a holiday in February/March 1959 with his mother Mrs Beverley Finlay, from Launceston, Tasmania to visit his uncle and aunt who were living on the island at the time. Mr Frank Patrick, his uncle, was the Officer in Charge of the airport, and Mrs Patrick was Robert’s mother’s sister.

Robert found some slides which belonged to his mother from that era, and brought the images with him to show us at the museum.

They include photos of the ‘NI’ pines at the airport; the airport lounge before and after upgrade; Joy Cochrane nee Christian pictured with Robert on horseback; the Burns Philp store at Middlegate; a church picnic at Kingston; views of Kingston prior to the pine plantings; view of Kingston from Rooty Hill Road; Burnt Pine shops; Hopkins store; Philip Island; views from Mt Pitt; airport office; the OIC house at DCA circle; the fire engines and a number of others.

Thank you Robert for so generously sharing your photos.

No Ordinary Week!

John Buffett's Spy-Glass

WITHOUT HESITATION: Norfolk Islanders and World War One

The R.E.O.

Farewell Lisa Richards & International Museum Day

HMS Sirius Website and the Australian Historic Shipwreck Data Base

From one Rock to another ...

The Blacksmith's Shop

New Museum Acquisition - convict made chest of drawers

Island Education and Norf'k language

A Conservation Story

A Very 'Sirius' Anniversary

The Lost Little Boy...

Cartoons and Souvenirs from WWII

The First Maori Map

Touching History

The Carronade’s Tampion

Volunteers come at the right price. They are priceless!

MMAPSS Success

Pictures from the past