Brad Duncan

The free and unfree settlements of Norfolk Island: an overview of archaeological research

Abstract The name ‘Norfolk Island’ has long been synonymous with its use between 1825 and 1855 as a harsh punishment station for recidivist British convicts. Much of its previous archaeological investigation has focused on the conservation and management of standing structures from that period, to the detriment of an overall understanding of the archaeology of the island. This paper reviews the several phases of post-1788 occupation of this tiny and remote outpost of the British Empire and considers the archaeological potential of each of these distinct phases of free and unfree habitation. New directions and themes for further archaeological research are considered, including broader comparison with contemporary mainland Australian free and convict settlements and a focus on processes of adaptation and re-appropriation of buildings, sites and landscape by successive colonist groups.

Preparing for Shipping Mishaps

This chapter provides the historical and environmental background to the establishment of the town of Queenscliffe and summarizes the pattern and nature of the shipping mishaps which occurred in the region. It then examines the long-term mechanisms established to prevent shipping crises or mitigate impact (such as navigation beacons), focusing on the many formal government services which operated out of the township (pilots, lighthouse, lifeboat and customs and hydrographic services). Unofficial risk avoidance and mitigation strategies are also described, such as deliberate beaching or stranding of damaged vessels to prevent sinking. These align with the pre-impact threat aspect of disaster response, anticipating the possibility of such events and setting appropriate mechanisms in place.

Landscapes of Risk Prevention and Mitigation

This chapter presents the archaeological evidence of the sites and landscape elements associated with shipwreck prevention and mitigation, as a way of alerting archaeologists to how these diverse sites can be identified and considered as part of a shipping risk management system. This includes navigation structures such as lighthouses, beacons, buoys and signal stations, as well as channel creation and environmental management. The archaeological evidence for the pilot service as the most significant of the prevention services is considered. Non-physical elements of place and toponymy are also discussed, as is the methodology of data collection and the interplay between oral, historical and archaeological data sets.

The Social Landscapes of Shipping Mishaps

This chapter presents the Queenscliffe community’s relationships and reactions to shipping mishaps as being, at least in part, a function of their perception of and adaptation to risk and crisis. It also considers the diversity of responses by different groups in their saviour versus salvor roles, and how changes over time in attitudes towards shipping mishaps are expressed in the physical and social landscape. This includes a discussion of the creation of social structure, and the emergence of tradition and identity within Queenscliffe, including through formal and informal processes of commemoration and superstition. The short- and long-term impacts of shipping mishaps upon the economic structure of the community are considered, including the commodification of the town’s shipwreck heritage, the place of “dark tourism”, and the manipulation of history and folklore to construct a cultural landscape palatable to different types of tourist experience. These legacies are also seen from the perspective of how they influence present-day community understandings and interactions with the physical and symbolic aspects of their shipwreck heritage.

Crisis Phase Responses

This chapter explores the Queenscliffe community’s responses during the pre-impact phase when a shipping disaster seemed imminent, as well as the impact phase when the wreck or stranding was happening. This was a critical period where those aboard and ashore had to make decisions and undertake actions which could significantly influence the course of events and their consequences, including the resultant archaeological record. In particular, the role and procedures of the lifeboat service are considered. Following this is an examination of the recoil and rescue phases where the immediate threat to life had receded and the community and survivors dealt with the aftermath of the disaster. One of the important elements within this chapter is the balance between formal (government) and informal (community) roles and responses from those based on land, as well as tensions between their altruistic versus opportunistic motivations. Sensitive treatment of survivors and the dead is contrasted to economically driven salvage processes, looting and exploitation of disaster as a tourism opportunity.

Landscapes of Crisis and Long-Term Response

This chapter examines the archaeological evidence and landscape features associated with rescue, exploitation and commemoration of shipping mishaps. This includes an examination of the evidence for the operation of the lifeboat service, the treatment of shipwreck survivors and fatalities, as well as the archaeological legacy of wreck salvage, looting and beachcombing. Ship stranding and removal is also considered as an archaeological phenomenon.

Mid- and Long-Term Responses

This Chapter describes the medium- and long-term responses to the presence of shipwrecks and stranded vessels, tracing the ways in which the economic, social and symbolic roles of shipping mishap sites within the Queenscliffe landscape changed over time. In particular, this chapter examines the formal (systematic or official) and informal (and potentially illegal) processes of recovering or salvaging vessels and their cargoes, including cross-generational activities. It describes how vessels were refloated or material was extracted, including the onshore components (salvage camps, tramways, donkey engines, and ship-breaking yards) of these operations. Evidence for informal and opportunistic salvage of wreck materials by the community, such as through beachcombing, is also examined. The final part of this chapter traces how shipping mishap sites became places within the landscape and how these and associated prevention and mitigation structures were incorporated into local tourism ventures.

Shipping Mishaps and the Maritime Cultural Landscape

Chapter 2 presents the theoretical structure and methods for the investigation of the Queenscliffe community’s responses to shipwreck past and present. The concept of the maritime cultural landscape is explored in detail to establish its potential as a unifying framework in maritime archaeological investigation. While setting out the physical and cognitive nature of maritime cultural landscapes, this section also identifies some common misconceptions and misuses which have emerged in maritime archaeology. Two major models for understanding the behaviours which might structure community and individual reactions to shipping mishaps are then described. The first of these is the psychological framework for response to crisis, which breaks the progression of any disaster event into a series of stages, preceding, during and after the physical impact. The second is the role of risk perception, risk taking, avoidance, and mitigation by mariners and coastal communities. The behavioural and physical/archaeological correlates of these models are examined with reference to the factors which influence salvage and abandonment processes. The final part of the chapter considers some of the methodological components of investigating a maritime cultural landscape, including documentary and ethnographic analyses, oral history and folklore, toponymy, the use of archaeological data, and the potential role of geographical information systems (GISs) as an integrating and analytical tool.