Norfolk Island National Park

Norfolk Island National Park welcomes visitors to explore its stunning scenery and rich diversity of bird life. From bushwalks beneath the planet’s tallest tree ferns to barbecues overlooking spectacular ocean cliffs, there is something for everyone.

Norfolk Island also holds important biological significance as its flora and fauna are derived from the chance dispersal of plants and animals over vast distances of ocean. Many species have evolved into unique, or endemic, forms due to isolation from other populations and having different evolutionary pressures.

Discovered by Captain James Cook, it was claimed by him for Great Britain and named in honour of the Duchess of Norfolk. Cook’s crew were struck by the island’s rugged beauty and the abundance of flax and pine.

Cook sailed on, and the island was to remain uninhabited for a further 14 years. Since then the island has seen two penal settlements come and go, the second of which was the most brutal ever established by Britain.

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