Norfolk Island Education

Norfolk Island, island, dependency of Australia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, about 1496 km (about 930 mi) east of the country. Kingston, a popular tourist center for Australians and New Zealanders, is the chief settlement and main port. Grain, vegetables, fruit, and flowers are produced on the island. Norfolk Island was sighted in 1774 by the English explorer Captain James Cook. It was a British penal colony from 1788 to 1814 and again from 1825 to 1855. Descendants of the HMS Bounty mutineers were relocated here in 1856 from Pitcairn Island. Norfolk Island was separated from New South Wales and made an Australian territory in 1914. Area, about 34 sq km (about 13 sq mi); population (1991) 1912.