Situated in the Pacific Ocean, Norfolk Island gives the outward appearance of splendid isolation. Yet appearances are deceptive. Measuring no more than 8km wide in any direction, the island has been inhabited by Polynesian and Melanesian seafarers, British colonists and Pitcairn Islanders. Today over 2,000 people live permanently on the island, 25% of whom identify as having ancestry derived from the original Pitcairners.

We have been carrying out archaeological projects on Norfolk Island since 2014. In 2025 we were awarded an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant Australia’s First Colony: connected isolation on Norfolk Island 1778-1814 to investigate the history and archaeology of British First Settlement. Follow the links below to learn more about our projects.