Australia’s First Colony: connected isolation on Norfolk Island 1778-1814. The first settlement at Norfolk Island (1788-1814) is included in the Australian Convict World Heritage Listing. Yet Australi

Description

Australia’s First Colony: connected isolation on Norfolk Island 1778-1814. The first settlement at Norfolk Island (1788-1814) is included in the Australian Convict World Heritage Listing. Yet Australia’s earliest colony has received little archaeological attention and is largely invisible in public imagining of our past. This project will deploy cutting-edge historical and archaeological techniques to generate novel insights into the socio-economic dynamics of this isolated outpost, revealing how its free, convict, and military settlers negotiated a unique environment and relations with mainland settlements and the British Empire. This new knowledge will inform conservation of first settlement sites, provide tools for interpretation, and enhance public appreciation of this pivotal period in Australia's history.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4303 - Historical Studies. Lead: Prof Martin Gibbs