However, both Polynesian and Melanesian artefacts have been found, so it is possible that people from New Caledonia, relatively close to the north, also reached Norfolk Island.

In 1786, it included Norfolk Island as an auxiliary settlement, as proposed by John Call, in its plan for colonisation of the Colony of New South Wales.

When the First Fleet arrived at Port Jackson in January 1788, Governor Arthur Phillip ordered Lieutenant Philip Gidley King to lead a party of 15 convicts and seven free men to take control of Norfolk Island, and prepare for its commercial development.

Robert Watson, harbourmaster, arrived with the First Fleet as quartermaster of HMS Sirius, and was still serving in that capacity when the ship was wrecked at Norfolk Island in 1790.

[18] As early as 1794, Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales Francis Grose suggested its closure as a penal settlement, as it was too remote and difficult for shipping and too costly to maintain.

A small party remained to slaughter stock and destroy all buildings, so that there would be no inducement for anyone, especially from other European powers, to visit and lay claim to the place.

In 1824, the British government instructed the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane, to reoccupy Norfolk Island as a place to send "the worst description of convicts".

The convicts detained have long been assumed to be hardcore recidivists, or 'doubly-convicted capital respites' – that is, men transported to Australia who committed fresh crimes in the colony for which they were sentenced to death, but were spared the gallows on condition of life on Norfolk Island.

Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of convicts sent to Norfolk Island had committed non-violent property offences, and the average length of detention there was three years.

The island was abandoned because transportation from the United Kingdom to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) had ceased in 1853, to be replaced by penal servitude in the UK.

The next settlement began on 8 June 1856, as the descendants of Tahitians and the HMS Bounty mutineers, including those of Fletcher Christian, were resettled from the Pitcairn Islands, which had become too small for their growing number.

[23] The Pitcairners occupied many of the buildings remaining from the penal settlements, and gradually established traditional farming and whaling industries on the island.

[29] British agreement was expressed on 30 March 1914, in a UK Order in Council[30] made pursuant to the Australian Waste Lands Act 1855 (Imp).

[38] An example of growing friction between Norfolk Island and increased Australian rule was featured in a 2019 episode of Discovery Channel's annual Shark Week.

[40] The action was justified on the grounds it was necessary "to address issues of sustainability which have arisen from the model of self-government requiring Norfolk Island to deliver local, state and federal functions since 1979".

The island is the eroded remnant of a basaltic volcano active around 2.3 to 3 million years ago,[51] with inland areas now consisting mainly of rolling plains.

The birds have also suffered from the introduction of mammals such as rats, cats, foxes, pigs and goats, as well as from introduced competitors such as common blackbirds and crimson rosellas.

[67] Most islanders are of either European-only (mostly British) or combined European-Tahitian ancestry, being descendants of the Bounty mutineers as well as more recent arrivals from Australia and New Zealand.

Religious observance remains an important part of life for some islanders, particularly the older generations, but actual attendance is about 8% of the resident population plus some tourists.

Ruth Park, notable author of The Harp in the South and many other works of fiction, also lived on the island for several years after the death of her husband, writer D'Arcy Niland.

[90] American novelist James A. Michener, who served in the United States Navy during World War II, set one of the chapters of his episodic novel Tales of the South Pacific on Norfolk Island.

[120] Consistent with the Australian position, the United Nations Decolonization Committee[121] does not include Norfolk Island on its list of non-self-governing territories.

[128] In 2013, the island's last chief minister, Lisle Snell, suggested independence, to be supported by income from fishing, offshore banking and foreign aid.

[134] In 2012, immigration controls were relaxed with the introduction of an Unrestricted Entry Permit[135] for all Australian and New Zealand citizens upon arrival and the option to apply for residency; the only criteria were to pass a police check and be able to pay into the local health scheme.

[140] Although the hospital can perform minor surgery, serious medical conditions are not permitted to be treated on the island and patients are flown back to mainland Australia.

[141] As is consistent with other extremely remote regions, many older residents move to New Zealand or Australia to access the required medical care.

[142] In part to carry out this mission, as of 2023, the Navy's Armidale-class boats are in the process of being replaced by larger Arafura-class offshore patrol vessels.

The Supreme Court of Norfolk Island deals with more serious criminal offences, more complex civil matters, administration of deceased estates and federal laws as they apply to the Territory.

Norfolk Island has no direct control over any marine areas but has an agreement with the Commonwealth through the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) to fish "recreationally" in a small section of the EEZ known locally as "the Box".

The Commonwealth stepped in to overturn the decision, with the island's administrator, former Liberal MP Gary Hardgrave revoking the local licence to grow the crop.