KINDLY NORFOLK ISLANDERS LIVE IN A "PARADISE”

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 40, 5 May 1950, Page 5

KINDLY NORFOLK ISLANDERS LIVE IN A "PARADISE”

“Ever seen a particularly viivid patchwork quilt in the sunlight? That was my impression of that lovely jewel of the Pacific, Norfolk Island, when I first glimpsed its surf-washed shores beneath the wing of the Dakota as we bore into the landing strip. Vivid is the only word which applies to the 'rich 1 lush tones of verdure and pastel tints that leap upward from the island’s tiny subdivisions. Here, the small-holder has come into his own, and trim cottages stand amidst settings of trees and flowers on sections seldom more than five or ten acres,” said Mr C. Kingsley-Smith, who has returned to Whakatane from a visit to Norfolk Island, when interviewed yesterday. Norfolk Island is a world apart, he continued. It. is peopled mainly by the descendants of the Bounty Mutineers removed from their native Pitcairn by a benevolent Victorian Government in 1855. They number close on 900.

“Mainlanders (you and I—the likes of) have battened on to their unique society and have swollen the population until today it approaches 1000.” And what a happy-go-lucky, carefree people they are! A community as near Utopian, as it would be possible to find this side of paradise.

Swarthy, after their dusky Tahitian ancestry. Mr Kingsley-Smith revealed that the Islander has coined a quaint language of his own —• a curious blend of West Country English and Tahitian, which is as pleasant as it is picturesque. “We loved them for themselves; their simplicity and genuine hospitality. It was a privilege to meet and visit them in their homes.” Norfolk Island is one of those few remaining outposts of freedom where there are no rates and no taxes, no customs duties and no police force. Public works entail the upkeep of 90 miles of roadway ( unmetalled) a few bridges , and culverts. *

The way it is done, Mr KingsleySmith explained, is by a strictly .community system whereby every able-bodied male, under the age of 60, works two days annually in the interests of the administration.