The Earliest Settlers Lots Map of Norfolk Island
The early maps of Norfolk Island are invaluable historical records. They provide insight into how the island was perceived, utilized, and transformed by its settlers and administrators. These maps are also a testament to the challenges faced by early surveyors, who worked without the conveniences of modern technology to capture the essence of this remote and rugged island.
The first of Surveyor Charles Grimes maps of the Settlers lots on Norfolk Island provides the understanding of the island’s historical context of the problematic positioning of lots with the interlacing and crossovers land boundaries. With Phillip Gidley King realising the system of land allocation from May 1791 was failing due to having been hurriedly implemented under a certain time pressure in mid-1791.
The colonial deputy surveyor, Charles Grimes first arrived on Norfolk Island per Queen Nov 1791. His task at hand was to formally survey the lands of the seamen and marine settlers of the late HMS Sirius. In Dec 1791 King reported that Grimes had somewhat fixed the different settlers as to point out where they might make a beginning and will be liable soon to great alterations to permanently fix all the land boundaries.
The early Dec 1791, Grimes’s survey of settlers lots map feature the location and the 13 names of the eight seaman and two marines of the late HMS Sirius who were granted land on 16 May 1791 and two convict settlers of 19 Nov 1791, along with convict settler’s Phillimore’s grant of Dec 1789. This map has been published in Seaman Settlers of Colonial Norfolk Island 1788 – 1814
Grimes next known settlers lot map of Sep 1792 features more movement of boundaries and allocation of lands, name of land holder of grants and leases, noting the Norfolk Island land lot number system was not yet in use. The map reviews previously unknown exact locations of lands allocated to those settlers on Norfolk Island who handed them in prior to the departure of Kitty in Mar 1793 and other ships, including Marine settlers Thomas Bishop, William Tunks, William Mitchell, and expired convict settlers George Banister, Robert Forrester and John Ryan. Details published in People, Soldiers and Victualling Book of the Kitty Transport era from Norfolk Island 1793
© Cathy Dunn Australian History Research. Includes extracts from Norfolk Island’s Land Allotments December 1791; Settlers and Landholders Norfolk Island 1793
