| | This Land Australia With Ted Egan: Norfolk Island | |
Details
Norfolk Island is an eight by six kilometre paradise set in the blue waters of the South West Pacific Ocean about 1500 kilometres east of the Australian mainland.
The island was secured by the British in 1788, just a few weeks after the settlement at Sydney Cove. It was abandoned after a few years, until 1824 when it became one of the most terrible and feared of England’s penal settlements.
Norfolk’s historic buildings and scenic hills belie the bloody past. But the graveyards and the chronicles testify to the brutality and terror of those awful years.
The Island was abandoned for a second time. But it was re-settled by the descendants of The Bounty Mutineers who moved there from the more isolated Pitcairn Island in 1856.
BONUS PROGRAM - This Land Australia With Ted Egan: The Islands Of Torres Strait
Torres Strait is a treacherous waterway between Cape York, the northern most tip of the Australian mainland and Papua New Guinea. The shallow strait is dotted with islands and coral outcrops.
From Possession Island at the southern extremity, Captain James Cook formally laid claim to the Australian colonies in the name of England. Later the Queensland Government moved to take control of the islands of the strait and their people.
Once the islanders’ currency of trade was human heads and headhunting raids between the islands and the mainland of Papua New Guinea was a part of life. But Christianity is now well entrenched throughout the island communities and headhunting days are over.
On this journey through the islands, Ted Egan meets up with some old friends, sees dugout canoes being built and meets the keeper of the legendary Drums of Mer
Group: Travel
Certificate: E Exempt from Certification
Release Date: 13-09-2010
