Beneath the Pines Norfolk Island Marriages November 1791
The early Norfolk Island marriage register for Rev. Richard Johnson’s November 1791 visit are missing or were never kept, leaving no official record of these events.
Using scattered colonial evidence (journals, musters, victualling/off‑stores lists, later baptisms, and other administrative records), Beneath the Pines Norfolk Island Marriages November 1791 reconstructs which couples were married by Johnson and questions the often‑repeated claim of a single “mass marriage” on 5 November 1791. It also shows that some couples long assumed to have married in 1791 were actually married later (e.g., by Rev Marsden 1796) or appear to have remained in recognised defacto relationships rather than formal marriages.
Includes lists of: Seaman and Marine Setters – Women Convicts married Nov 1791 with their NSW arrival and first Norfolk Island arrival
Convict Settlers and Convicts married Nov 1791 with their NSW and first Norfolk Island arrival
Convicts who arrived on Norfolk Island in Mar 1788
First Settlers on Norfolk Island May 1791
Couples married in Nov 1791 who were in a known relationship at Sydney Cove before their arrival on Norfolk Island
Marine Settlers arriving on Norfolk Island per Atlantic Nov 1791 who married women convicts in Nov 1791
Married women taken off Stores May 1791 to 5 May 1792 Norfolk Island
Women listed as married (sic) in Women off the Stores 16 Jun 1794 Norfolk Island
Bibliography and Further Readings
Pre-publication special $18.00 includes postage in Australia (closes 7 May 2026) with publication posted mid May 2026