Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island, island, dependency of Australia in the south-western Pacific Ocean, about 1,500 km (930 mi) east of the country, and with an area of about 34 sq km (13 sq mi). Kingston, a popular tourist centre 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 British 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. Population 1,912 (1991).