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Author Archives: Geoff Edwards

Norfolk Island’s history, governance and politics: Reflections by Dr Chris Nobbs

Updated on date by author

Public intellectual Dr Chris Nobbs, a direct descendant of Rev George Hunn Nobbs – who joined the Bounty mutineers on Pitcairn Island before they decamped to Norfolk Island in 1856 – has written several books and numerous newspaper columns on the remarkable story of this rocky outpost in the south-western Pacific Ocean.

Dr Nobbs is a graduate of the universities of Auckland, London and Cambridge, in natural science, economics and economic development respectively. He has had a career in both the private sector as a consultant, and as a public servant at local, state, national and international levels. He now lives on Norfolk Island, where he was born.

Communiqué 10 March 2026 and submission Chicanery, Folly: An Assessment and an Appeal 

Dr Nobbs has written an appeal to the Prime Minister, summarised in this media release. The substantive essay is entitled “The Australian Government and Norfolk Island Governance: Chicanery, Folly. An Assessment and an Appeal”, which deals with the political relationship between the Commonwealth and Norfolk Island over recent years. A copy has been sent to the Prime Minister, Hon. Anthony Albanese MP, requesting his intervention. The essay is 28pp plus 7pp references and appendices. Dr Nobbs has invitd the public to read the essay, and be in contact to discuss: governancenorfolk@gmail.com.

 

Submissions to authorities

Revenue sources and economic viability of the Norfolk Island Regional Council and the operation of local government. A submission to the 2023 Joint Standing Committee on National Capital and External Territories Inquiry. 24 March 2023.

Ian Bowie’s U3A lectures on Norfolk and Polynesia

Updated on date by author

Ian Bowie presented a series of lectures to classes in Bowral New South Wales and has generously made them available to the Island.

 

Introduction – Norf’k Island Tiny Territory (200 KB)

Norf’k 2024 Presentation – Part I (91 MB) PDF version (12 MB)

Norf’k 2024 Presentation – Part II (58 MB) PDF version (7 MB)

Norf’k 2024 Presentation – Part III (86 MB) PDF version (7 MB)

Norf’k 2024 Presentation – Part IV (76 MB) PDF version (8 MB)

Introduction – Polynesia Pacific 2022 (200 KB)

Polynesia Pacific 2022 – Part I (72 MB) PDF version (13 MB)

Polynesia Pacific 2022 – Part II (38 MB) PDF version (11 MB)

Polynesia Pacific 2022 – Part III (32 MB) PDF version (10 MB)

Polynesia Pacific 2022 – Part IV (33 MB) PDF version (12 MB)

 

Copyright notice

Ian has advised:

“Because the collection may be of more general interest, I am offering it to the island Library and Museum for public use. I will not publish any of the material from my presentations but as my offer will put it into the public domain I hope that as a courtesy users will reference online sources which I have noted on some slides and acknowledge me as the compiler of the collection (and the unnamed source of many slides)”.

 

 

Traditional hymns – John Adams Prayer, Pitcairn Anthem

Posted on date by author

John Adams’ Prayer

Suffer me not O Lord
To waste this day in Sin or Folly
But let me Worship thee with much Delight
Teach me to Know more of Thee
And to serve thee better than ever I had done before
That I may be fitter to Dwell in heaven
Where thy Worship and Service are Everlasting

Amen

The Pitcairn Anthem

Then shall the King say unto them
On His right hand –

 

Come ye blessed of my father
Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you

From the foundation of the world.

I was hunger’d, and ye gave me meat,

I was thirsty and ye gave me drink,

I was a stranger and ye took me in,
Naked and ye clothed me,
I was sick and ye visited me,

I was in prison and ye came unto me.

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one
Of the least of these my brethren
Ye have done it unto me,

Ye have done it unto me.

Edward (Zed) Zawalski

Updated on date by author

Zed Zawalski lived in Gundaroo, a village near Canberra. A planned sailing voyage around the world was thwarted by COVID which brought him to Norfolk Island instead. He sold his boat and bought a house. He spent four lovely years on Norfolk Island and made many friends.

A remembrance ceremony was held at the Knowledge and Learning Centre on Saturday, 26 October 2024, with Zed’s children Zac and Deni presiding.

David Dane spoke in Z’s memory and has agreed to allow his eulogy to be published here.

 

 

Friends and relatives of Zed are cordially invited to send anecdotal, photographic or voice recordings of Zed’s life to secretary AT knowledgecentre.nf to upload here.

The Story of Norfolk Island – Felicity Cutten

Updated on date by author

Dr Felicity Cutten is a scientist and freelance writer who has published popular science, short stories, poetry and short fiction. She has a PhD from McGill University, Montreal, Canada and was Assistant Professor of Entomology at its agricultural college for seven years. This was followed by thirty years of teaching senior biology and general science in New Zealand. She worked for six years as field assistant with geologists mapping landforms in outback Western Australia. She has also developed an olive orchard. She has a life-long interest in the natural sciences, ecology and the effects of human activities on the natural world.

In late 2024 she visited Norfolk Island and recorded her observations in this charming report – part natural history, part travelogue, part commentary on local affairs.

(Norfolk Island is administered by the Commonwealth of Australia. Health and education services are provided by the Queensland Government under contract to the Commonwealth. It is deemed by The Royal Society of Queensland to lie within Queensland for the purpose of publishing scientific articles).
 

Some sneaking suspicions that New Zealand is pushing its (tectonic) weight around, AGAIN!

Updated on date by author


Seismologist Col Lynam of the Royal Geographical Society of Queensland (and also Vice-President of The Royal Society of Queensland) presented on this subject on Friday, 16 August 2024, during a visit to the Island of a group from the Geographical Society, on their GeoTour 2024. View a pdf of the slides of his address here. A larger file with commentary attached to the slides can be viewed here.

Underwater Drones

Updated on date by author

John Griffiths and Alicia Dunn presented on underwater drones on Friday 5 July 2024. For their powerpoint presentation, click here. For a narrative explanation, click here.

 

For a video of their equipment, click on this photo:

 

The photo is of John Griffiths-designed X-Calibre 8 thrusters, from 300m to 600m depth capable, multiple interchangeable tool options, with sensors, instruments and artificial intelligence for roles as diverse as search and rescue, control of marine invasive species to ship hull anomaly and bio-fouling detection.

 

This is John Griffiths’s De Litter Bug 8 thrusters, 40m- 200m for marine debris collection and other tasks.  This ROV is aimed mostly at retrieving items such as abandoned fishing gear through to car bodies or sunken boats.  The grappling hook detaches and has a 200 kg breaking strain line 50 metres long with a float on its arm so that items can be hauled in without the ROV being further involved. The ROV also has a quickly demountable twin disc cutter with counter-rotating blades capable of cutting up to 10mm of wire cable. It has a sonar and DVL650 for holding position in currents up to 6 knots. The design is as simple as possible to keep the machining cost down. The idea for this was to help organisations involved in marine debris collection to have the cheapest units possible.

 

 

This photo shows a speargun mounted on an underwater drone for sustainable and selective fishing without the by-catch. Also used when weather conditions make it impossible to launch a boat and can be used off jetties, beaches and headlands.

Bio of Prof. John Quiggin

Updated on date by author

Bio of Professor John Quiggin

John Quiggin has been an active member of the Australian economics profession since joining the (then) Bureau of Agricultural Economics (now ABARES) in the late 1970s. Apart from two temporary appointments in the United States, he has spent his entire career in Australia, at the University of Sydney, the Australian National University and James Cook University. Since 2002 he has been at the University of Queensland. As of 2024, he is semi-retired, with a primary focus on public engagement.

Although he has worked on a great many topics, his abiding interests have been decision theory, resource and environmental economics and Australian public policy. He has published 10 books and over 250 journal articles. Recent and forthcoming books include Western Welfare Capitalisms in Good Times and Bad (2023), After Neoliberalism (2024) and Public Policy and Climate Change: Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

Quiggin has followed the path of earlier generations of Australian economists (notably including agricultural economists) who saw it as part of their job to take an active part in debates on public policy. While some of his contributions have been made through academic publications, the greater part has been addressed to the public at large. He has written numerous ‘trade’ books, published in paperback and aimed at a general audience. Recent examples are Zombie Economics: How Dead Ideas Still Walk Among Us and Economics in Two Lessons: Why Markets Work so Well, and Why they can Fail so Badly.

As well as commenting regularly in print and broadcast media, Quiggin has been very active in exploring the potential of new media. In 2002, he established what is now Australia’s longest-running political blog at johnquiggin.com.

In political terms, Quiggin advocates a mixed economy, with democratic social control over sectors of the economy where competitive markets cannot deliver adequate outcomes, including infrastructure, health and education, underpinned by a public commitment to full employment.

Prof Quiggin visited Norfolk Island in March 2024 without professional fee and delivered two lectures on governance.

Joint Standing Committee 2024

Updated on date by author

The Joint Standing Committee of the National Capital and External Territories (JSC) of the Australian Parliament in November 2023 released its final report on the governance of Norfolk Island. Read the JSC report here. See in particular the seven recommendations:

 

Recommendation 1
6.112 The Committee recommends that the Norfolk Island Governance Committee incorporate into its terms of reference consideration of the development of a preamble for the establishing legislation that:
recognises the culture, traditions, heritage and history of Norfolk Island;
• defines the nature of the relationship between Norfolk Island and Australia; and
• sets out the shared aspirations for the future direction of the relationship.

Recommendation 2
6.121 The Committee recommends a new bespoke model of local governance for Norfolk Island, to be enacted through Commonwealth legislation after thorough community consultation to define some key aspects of the model.

Recommendation 3
6.127 The Committee recommends that the new governing body include both democratically elected and appointed members with specific expertise in public administration, and that:
• the governing body consist of at least six members;
• a majority of members be elected, with elected members holding the balance of power on the body;
• the appointed positions be reserved for individuals with expertise in relevant matters of public administration, selected via a merit-based process that preferences qualified local community members where possible; and
• capacity building be a key responsibility of the governing body to ensure that more Norfolk Islanders are qualified to hold future governance positions either in the governing body or local administration, and in the procurement of goods and services by the administration.

Recommendation 4
6.132 The Committee recommends that the Norfolk Island community have a say in the governing body, including that:
• the recommendations contained in this report be referred to the Norfolk Island Governance Committee for further consultation and refinement;
• this consultation and refinement result in a model that includes a clearly defined preamble for the establishing legislation, the size of the governing body, the specific expertise required by this governing body, and the revenue models to be incorporated into the establishing legislation; and
• a binding, compulsory vote of registered voters on Norfolk Island is required to approve the final model determined by the Norfolk Island Governance Committee.

Recommendation 5
6.134 The Committee recommends that the first elections for the new governing body should be held prior to December 2024.

Recommendation 6
6.138 The Committee recommends that the governing body be adaptive and supportive of the unique local history and identity of Norfolk Island, and that:
• the new Commonwealth legislation contain the form of the preamble developed by the Norfolk Island Governance Committee; and
• the legislation contain provisions for periodic review to ensure that the governing body is adaptable and can meet the future needs and interests of both Norfolk Island and Australia.

Recommendation 7
6.145 The Committee recommends that the responsibilities of the new governing body and the mechanism for local input into Commonwealth and State responsibilities be clearly defined following the restoration of local democracy on Norfolk Island, including that:
• to ensure Commonwealth and State services meet local needs—the governing body should have a formal advisory role in relation to education, health, population strategy, heritage management, biosecurity, sea-freight and tourism;
• the management of key historical sites of cultural importance to the local community be subject to joint management between the Commonwealth and the local community; and
• these matters be incorporated into the terms of reference of the Norfolk Island Governance Committee for further local consultation and refinement.