We Will Remember Them

These photographs are from the World War I Album of Gordon Stuart Watt taken at El Arish and the Sinai. Wattie's service in WWI is detailed as proceeding abroad as No. 13/2628 on the 9^th of August 1915 with the NZEF Auckland Mounted Rifles. He was promoted to Signal Sergeant on 19 April 1919 and awarded the Military Medal along with the 1914/15 Star; General Service Medal and Victory Medal. At the end of the war Gordon lived on Norfolk Island with his wife. He was the company Secretary/Auctioneer of the Norfolk Island Co-Operative Dairy. He also built “Mokutu” at Steeles Point which still operates as tourist accommodation today.

Timbers and Planking

Work on the building of a new lighter continues at the Lighterage Depot with strengthening of the keel as timber is shaped and fitted with accuracy and skill.

Glen Williams recalled “..…as soon as Howard [Christian] heard that No. 01 had been burnt he came up and said “Hau mach stik yorlye niid? Wael ai el ran naeda twenti soe yu gat et fe speya”.  (How much timber will you need? Well I’ll run another twenty so that you have some to spare).     

 Howard Christian milled the timber from Norfolk Island pine and delivered it to the boatshed.

 

     

Glen Williams and Bevon Nicolai stacked and flitched the planks so that all materials were conveniently gathered on site when Dean Burrell commenced work on the lighter.

Regular posts on the building of the lighter will be uploaded to this blog.

Progress on the building of the new Lighter

The building of a new lighter - used to unload the cargo ships which visit Norfolk Island - has already commenced and photos were uploaded last week. Work progresses steadily and the frames which hung loosely from the ceiling are now connected to the hull. 

The outline of the lighter is clearly discernible.

The frame viewed from the left hand side; from the front and

and right hand side.

It is now time to attach the clinkers. The lighters display the overlapping planks that characterise clinker construction, a method used by experienced and skilled boat builders. The technique developed in Germanic shipbuilding tradition and is a trademark of Nordic navigation, particularly of the Viking longships. The oldest preserved clinker-built boat dates circa 320 AD. The planks overlap rather than butting each other. The planks are fastened with rivets, clench nails or glue where they overlap, resulting in a hull of considerable strength. A tight fit between planks is usually sufficient to keep the Lighter watertight, however sealants or glue is used.  Repairs are not as simple with clinkers as on carvel hulls due to overlapping planks and because the fit of the planks is more critical. 

The keel is chiseled out by hand prior to placement of the clinker.

 Once accurate placement is assured the clinker is glued and;

 hammered into place.

Hand chiseling to ensure accuracy whilst fitting the clinker in place, and also for placement of the next clinker.
 

 Accurate fit of the clinkers is important to the overall strength of the hull.

The men are satisfied with the first clinker and will now move to the stern of the lighter and repeat the process.

Regular posts on the building of the lighter will be uploaded to this blog.

Norfolk Island Lighters 2015

Norfolk Islander's continue the traditional methods for unloading freight from cargo ships.  The island has no 'safe harbour', there are two jetties on opposite sides of the island for the cargo to be landed.  The 'lighterage' method involves a lighter towed by a motor launch to ferry the goods between ship and shore.  A derrick crane and nets are used to lift and move the cargo in and out of the lighters. 

Sea freight was the only method of importing items to Norfolk Island until the building of the airport by American and New Zealand servicemen in 1945. Commercial flights began in 1947 and the opportunity to import items by air freight shortly thereafter, but to this day over 90% of imported goods are transported by two cargo ships which visit the island on a once every five week schedule.

In the early hours of Saturday morning 11 May 2013 a senseless act of vandalism happened on  Cascade Pier when lighter No.1 was deliberately set on fire. Not only was the lighter completely destroyed but also the island’s supply of cargo nets and the spreader beams used for transporting cars and trucks on the lighters when they were lashed together for this purpose.

 

The long awaited decision was finally given for work to commence on the building of a replacement lighter. Work began immediately by John Christian-Bailey of JCB and Dean Burrell, an experienced boat builder, under the watchful eye of the Lighterage Manager, Glen Williams.

In its lifetime, a lighter earns approximately $2.2 million in revenue for the island and carries approximately 30,000 tonnes. It takes four months to build from start to finish, 4,000 thousand copper nails to hold it together and is in use for up to twenty years. It is a practical object; a work of art and a legacy to the men who are building it. 

Peter Horrocks, of the Museum Trust, moved that the building of the lighter be photographically recorded for inclusion in the Norfolk Island Museum Collection.

 
Janelle Blucher, A/g Director Curator and Gaye Evans, Asst. Curator/Conservation Officer visited the Lighterage Maintenance Depot at Middlegate and spoke with the Manager of Lighterage, Glen ‘Snoop’ Williams and Dean Burrell, local shipbuilder. The frames hang vertically from the ceiling until such time as they are needed.

 

The plank for the keel has been carefully chosen and placed into position.

 

 

Work on the bowstem has commenced. This must be strong enough to endure the years of toil the lighter will give to the Island whilst ferrying cargo.

 Regular posts on the building of the lighter will be uploaded to this blog.

The Bounty Adventure

Janelle Blucher, Acting Curator of the Norfolk Island Museum is delighted to be a part of The Bounty Adventure Cruise experience on P & O’s cruise liner, Pacific Pearl. 

 

P & O's Pacific Pearl on The Bounty Adventure Cruise

This is a fantastic opportunity to promote the Norfolk Island Museum and our Island’s heritage and culture. After two days sailing the liner sailed into Norfolk Island on Sunday morning 11 October and a welcome sight to see the passengers disembarking at Cascade. A special day on Norfolk was enjoyed by passengers and islanders alike. 

The Norfolk Island Museum's Kingston Heritage Walk with Jeanine Snell... they just didn't want it to finish

Documenting, Researching and Conserving Pitcairn Island’s Material Culture

The Pacific Development and Conservation Trust of New Zealand have confirmed their most generous financial support for our project titled “Documenting, Researching and Conserving Pitcairn Island’s Material Culture”.   

The Pacific Development and Conservation Trust (PDCT) was established by Trust Deed by the New Zealand Government on 23 May 1989. The money for the Trust was received from the French Government in recognition of events surrounding the destruction of the Rainbow Warrior vessel in 1985.  Some of us might recall Norfolk Island’s connection to this incident with the vessel Ouvea arriving at Norfolk Island after smuggling explosives and other gear into New Zealand.  Thirty years has passed since the explosion of the Greenpeace vessel that tragically killed photographer Fernando Pereira, just earlier this month the French secret-service agent who led the attack made a public apology for his actions.

We at the Norfolk Island Museum are extremely pleased and excited to be provided with the financial resource to pursue this project. The aim of our project is to locate, document and provide conservation advice on Pitcairn Island’s material culture that is held with the communities on Norfolk Island and New Zealand.  

'Bounty' kettle

The permanent population on Pitcairn Island has been decreasing rapidly in recent times with the islanders migrating mainly to New Zealand.  The cultural material is leaving the island along with the people putting the provenance of the material at risk and creating potential for these objects to be lost.

This is a two stage project.  Stage 1 is to identify and document Pitcairn Island’s cultural material located in New Zealand and Norfolk Island while Stage 2 will focus on Pitcairn itself.  This initial successful grant is to facilitate stage 1.

The need for this project has been identified through feedback from Norfolk Islanders visiting Pitcairn Island, and also by our relationship with the Pitcairn Island Museum, whom have little resources to undertake this type of project themselves.

This project is fundamental to the protection of Pitcairn Island’s material culture.  No previous projects have provided for such a holistic approach to ensure material is identified and documented. This project also explicitly acknowledges that there is a distinct Pitcairner culture created through the historical circumstances of its 18^th century establishment by Polynesian and European forebears:  its development on Pitcairn and later Norfolk Island. Today, these objects are an important part of this heritage.  

'Bounty' cannon

 Documentation of this material and associated knowledge about its cultural contexts, uses and significance will form a focus for future community interest in its material and cultural heritage, as well as provide a body of material for researchers – wherever they may reside, through physical and digital access.  And what a valuable gift this will be to the future generations of Pitcairn and Norfolk Islanders.

Individuals will be given the opportunity to tell their stories about life on Pitcairn Island.  They will have the opportunity to have these stories recorded for themselves and their families. Participants can showcase their material culture and connections to Pitcairn Island.  Basic conservation advice will be provided to ensure the objects remain in good condition, objects will be photographed and their history recorded.  This information will form a comprehensive database.   The Norfolk Island Museum will be the repository and access point of this data base of material, information and research enabling full and direct access to the community. 

The Pitcairn and Norfolk Island culture is intrinsically interwoven; this project is imperative to protect our shared heritage and culture.  It also offers a fantastic opportunity to develop research, learning and curatorial outcomes.  

We’ll keep you posted, in the meantime please contact us at the Norfolk Island Museum - your knowledge and ideas are important!

Janelle Blucher

Shipwrecks in our waters - The Oscar Robinson

There are many more shipwrecks in the waters surrounding Norfolk Island than is commonly known.  One of these lesser known shipwreck stories is that of the Oscar Robinson, a wooden hulled sailing vessel of 61 ton that became stranded on the reef close to the narrow entrance into Emily Bay.

The Oscar Robinson was originally a trader off the coast of NSW, built in 1883 at Williams River in NSW and registered in Sydney to Mr John Pinto of Balmain.  This schooner became a regular trader between Sydney, Lord Howe and Norfolk Island, providing a vital freight and passenger service between these ports. 

On this particular voyage in January 1898 she was headed from Sydney to Noumea via Lord Howe and Norfolk Island; offloading passengers and loading up with fifteen ton of onions at Norfolk. The ship was anchored off shore at Kingston, towards the south.  Captain Garth was not on board having left the vessel in charge of the mate Mr. Bezer and a local pilot, Guildford Adams. On 16 January about 2 p.m. a heavy, black, nasty-looking squall gathered to the south-west, the decision was taken to manoeuvre the schooner out to sea. The wind being favourable for this direction her course was set to go between Nepean and Norfolk Islands, a passage occasionally used by small vessels.  Unfortunately the squall produced little wind and that which did arrive came from the east south east put the vessel in difficulty.  The anchor was lifted and she started with the foresail and inner jib. Shortly afterwards the mainsail was partly hoisted, then lowered and the outer jib set.  All to no avail, the vessel drifted dangerously close to the breakers and an unsuccessful attempt was made to change course but as she would neither tack nor wear she struck the reef. 

Onshore the desperate scene was witnessed by many including the Norfolk Island Council of Elders as they were just about to hold a meeting.  Seeing the dangerous position of the vessel, the elders rushed to the boats, two were quickly launched but they were not able to reach the schooner before she struck.  The rescue boats proceeded through the narrow passage into Emily Bay and worked continuously throughout the afternoon until all the cargo and mail was recovered, fortunately the two men on board were not hurt beyond exhaustion and disappointment and everything was landed undamaged.   The Oscar Robinson was the second trading vessel lost at Norfolk within a five year period, the other was the Mary Ogilvie, both ships were under the command of Captain W.G Garth, we can only imagine his dismay.

During the evening Mr Young and a crew of locals made fast a line from the stranded vessel to a pine tree, they carried a small anchor and hawser (travelling block) out into the bay and at high tide that night the vessel floated off  the reef into Emily Bay, where she sank in shallow water.  

The Chief Magistrate appointed Captain Bates, Captain Champion, Sen. and Mr Snell as surveyors to survey the vessel, and an auctioneer for its sale.   The next day the wreck was surveyed and it was recommended that she be sold.  She went to auction on 20 January, the hammer went down on the sale at £46 10s and Mr. Charles Chase Ray Nobbs was the new owner of the sunken Oscar Robinson. 

Thirty men and boys were employed with casks, buckets and pumps to bale her out at low tide, succeeding in keeping the water down and managing to take her broadside onto the beach.  The men from the No. 2 whaling company were then engaged and put her further up onto the east corner of Emily Bay.  There begun the stripping of the copper sheathing and other repairs, most people who had carts and other appliances also provided assistance. It is not known whether this work was undertaken for remuneration from CCR Nobbs however it is known that Captain Garth was presented with a salvage claim for £299.

Charles Chase Ray Nobbs stated his intention to patch up the vessel and then send her to Sydney for final repairs.  He intended to keep her for the inter-island trade.   The Oscar Robinson was given a new master and a new name.  The new master was Captain Bezer, the chief mate that had struggled alongside Guildford Adams attempting to save her from shipwreck.  Agnes was the new name.  CCR Nobbs renamed his new schooner after his wife Agnes and the Agnes was the first vessel to be registered at Norfolk Island.

Janelle Blucher