Posted on 08/14/2002 6:13:35 AM PDT by Tancred
Pacific Island Embodies Tranquility Wed Aug 14, 3:24 AM ET
By EMMA TINKLER, Associated Press Writer
NORFOLK ISLAND, Australia (AP) - The Norfolk Island telephone directory is thin but it speaks volumes about this rocky outcrop's history as home to descendants of 18th-century mutineers from the British warship HMS Bounty.
It is so jam-packed with names like Christian and Adams that many people's nicknames — including "Pinky," "Lettuce Leaf," and "Diddles" — are printed to distinguish one family from another.
About 2,100 people live on this lush island, in what they consider splendid isolation 1,000 miles northeast of Sydney, Australia.
The peace and quiet was broken in March, when the island saw its first murder in 150 years, the stabbing of a Sydney woman who worked in a hotel here. Federal police hoping to solve the crime began fingerprinting the entire adult population this week.
The 13-square-mile island was discovered by British explorer Capt. James Cook in 1774. It became a territory of the Australian government in 1914 and was granted self-rule in 1979.
There are many remnants of the island's colorful history; it is still dotted with stone-block buildings from its days as a prison colony. The criminals housed here in the 1800s were considered too rough even for the penal colonies of Australia. The last convicts left in 1855.
A year later, descendants of mutineers, many of them direct family of ringleader Fletcher Christian, arrived from another rocky South Pacific outcrop, Pitcairn Island.
The Pitcairn arrivals brought their Polynesian wives and a singsong hybrid English-Polynesian dialect that survives to this day. Some 35 percent of islanders are direct descendants of mutineers.
Norfolk Islanders are so proud of their dialect, a blend of 18th century English and Polynesian, they teach it in the local school.
With cattle, geese and chickens roaming free over the island's rolling hills, it sometimes feels as if time has stood still since the convicts left. Television arrived here in 1985, and a referendum next week is expected to reject a proposal to allow cellular phones onto the island.
Apart from tourists who come for the tranquility of its rolling hills and unique flora and fauna, there are few other sources of income beyond fishing.
There is no movie theater, televisions can pick up only three channels by satellite from the mainland, and there is no rugby league — there aren't enough players.
With plenty of time on their hands, everyone takes Wednesday afternoon off for a "hili" — a sort of siesta.
People seeking to migrate here from the mainland must pass a rigorous screening process, and Australian tourists are required to have a passport to visit.
To keep the island's head above water, the government depends on income from liquor taxes, customs duties and departure fees on visitors.
In this small, close-knit community, the murder of 29-year-old Janelle Patton — the first killing since the penal colony closed — has been a psychological blow, said resident Peter "Pumpkin" Knapton.
"It sent the whole island into shock," said Knapton, himself a descendant of mutineer leader Fletcher Christian. "Everybody started locking doors, which we never did before. It was really hard to take."
Meanwhile, some residents sense another threat to the island's tranquility: they fear that tourists who come here to sample the island's quiet may end up wrecking it with demands for better services.
But islanders won't give up their lifestyle without a fight. Kim Davis, who manages the island's telecommunications company, Norfolk Telecom, doesn't like his chances in the upcoming referendum on allowing cell phones.
"Norfolk people historically find it very difficult to accept any change," Davies said. "We had the same issue with television in the mid-80s, and even the regular telephone network. I'm fighting an uphill battle with this."
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