Norfolk Island and the Commonwealth of Australia
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An Uneasy Relationship An Uneasy Relationship NORFOLK ISLAND AND THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Maev O’Collins Published by ANU E Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at: http://epress.anu.edu.au/uneasy_relationship _citation.html National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Entry Author: O'Collins, Maev. Title: An uneasy relationship : Norfolk Island and the Commonwealth of Australia / Maev O'Collins. ISBN: 9781921666988 (pbk.) 9781921666995 (eBook) Subjects: Norfolk Island--History. Australia--Politics and government. Dewey Number: 994.82 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design by Emily Brissenden Cover photograph: Avenue of Norfolk Island Pines, Norfolk Island, 7/1918. (ML Ref: GPO 1 17840) By permission of Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales Inside front and back cover: Map of Norfolk Island showing grants and subdivisions Norfolk Island, Maps, Negatives (47–54) Courtesy of the National Library of Australia Printed by Griffin Press This edition © 2010 ANU E Press First edition © 2002 Pandanus Books iv Patrick McMahon Glynn The inspiration for this story I desire to express to the inhabitants of Norfolk Island the good wishes of the Government of the Commonwealth and of the people of Australia on the occasion of the Island becoming a Territory under the authority of the Commonwealth, in accordance with the provisions of the Act and His Majesty’s Order-in-Council. It is the desire and shall be the aim of the Government that the relations this day established may be marked by the disinterestedness and sympathy displayed in respect of the public affairs of the Island when under the direction of the Governor for the time being of New South Wales [Message from Patrick McMahon Glynn, Minister for External Affairs, to the people of Norfolk Island, 1 July 1914; NAA: CP697/41, 1914/107]. That the Commonwealth Government decide as soon as practicable and announce its decision on whether it proposes to abandon Norfolk Island completely or to continue to accept responsibility for maintaining a viable community [Royal Commission into Matters relating to Norfolk Island, 15 October 1976:5]. Norfolk Island is politically and financially more self-sufficient than Australia’s other Territories or, for that matter, the States. The Commonwealth does not generally provide services to Norfolk Island residents and the Island does not participate in Commonwealth-State revenue sharing arrangements. The Island has a greater degree of self government than State and local governments on the mainland, having powers to raise revenues and provide services usually the responsibility of the Commonwealth [Commonwealth Grants Commission, 28 August 1997:29]. vii Acknowledgments d Throughout the research for this book, family members, colleagues and friends have provided much appreciated encouragement and advice. My initial debt of gratitude was to my mother Joan O’Collins, nee Glynn, who taught her children an appreciation of the Federal story and of the part which her father Patrick McMahon Glynn played in the post-Federation years. Later, my brother Gerald took up the challenge to produce Glynn’s biography and edit letters to his family, and I have benefited greatly from having access to material located during the course of his research. Particular thanks go to the staff of the National Library of Australia and the National Archives of Australia, who assisted me so ably in locating the personal and official papers and photographs used in this volume. When visiting Norfolk Island in November 2001, I appreciated the kind welcome to Government House by Administrator Tony Messner. The Director of the Norfolk Island Museum, Nigel Erskine, has been very generous with his time in locating useful archival material and photographing the Norfolk Island Imperial Seal. It was a matter of considerable personal regret that, due to her ill health, I was unable to meet with the late Merval Hoare. In Sydney, Richard Neville, the Curator of Pictures at the Mitchell Library kindly checked the file on the Norfolk Island Imperial Seal. In Canberra, Don Morris and former Administrator Alan Kerr, were most helpful, providing very timely encouragement and background information. Very tangible and much appreciated help has been received from the Australian Catholic University. My thanks go to the Vice-Chancellor Peter Sheehan and to the Rector of the ACT Signadou Campus, ix An Uneasy Relationship Associate Professor Peter Camilleri, and other staff for their support. My long association with the Department of Political and Social Change means that I am indebted to very many colleagues at the Australian National University. I would particularly like to acknowledge the help given by William Clarke, who read and commented on an early version of the manuscript. On a practical level, Keith Mitchell helped sort out the reproduction of maps, and Lynne Payne untangled electronic photographs. Above all, my very sincere thanks go to Ian Templeman and all at Pandanus Books who have produced order out of chaos. Finally, a significant debt of gratitude is due to those larger than life figures from the past whose letters, diaries, despatches, and other formal and informal records provided the material for this story. Maev O’Collins October 2002 x Contents d Acknowledgments vii Preface xi British Experiments on Norfolk Island: 1788–1897 1 The New South Wales Interregnum: 1897–1914 19 Profiles of the Four Main Actors 31 The Commonwealth takes control 53 Murphy’s Term as Commonwealth Administrator: 1914–1920 85 Murphy and Nobbs: their last hurrahs 117 Imperial, Commonwealth and State Relations 127 Conclusion: Reluctant Governance in a Changing World 143 Appendices 155 1 Norfolk Island: The Context 2 The Fremantle Letter 3 Governor of New Zealand to Mr. Chamberlain 4 Memorandum from Premier Reid to the Governor 5 Report to the Deputy Administrator from M. V. Murphy 6 Proclamation published in the Commonwealth Gazette References 167 Index 171 xi Abbreviations National Archives of Australia NAA National Library of Australia NLA All reproduced documents are over 75 years old and more than 50 years has lapsed since the death of the authors. Preface d Since 1788, when the first penal settlements were established in Botany Bay and Norfolk Island, a continuing but uneasy relationship has existed between these former British dependencies. This uneasiness is partly due to the historical realities of the internal and external forces which shaped Australia’s development as a nation. However, it also has its origins in the continuing struggle of the Norfolk Island community to maintain its identity and achieve a greater degree of independence. When Australia took over responsibility for Norfolk Island in 1914, it inherited other ‘unfinished business’ that reflected the way in which the Norfolk Islanders viewed themselves as being both part of the British Empire and a distinct Pacific island community. Tensions and ambiguities in the relationship continued, including many anomalies in governance, which have persisted since those early years after Federation. Legal and administrative differences in the provision of social services, immigration and residential requirements, and electoral procedures, serve to emphasise Norfolk Island’s unique situation, while at the same time it is still subject to overall Commonwealth jurisdiction.1 The starting point for exploring this relationship is the socio- political context of the appointment, in July 1914, of the first Commonwealth Administrator of Norfolk Island. The direct involvement of Atlee Arthur Hunt, then Secretary of the Department of External Affairs, eventually ensured the continuing appointment of Michael Vincent Murphy (New South Wales Administrator and Chief Magistrate). Hunt visited Norfolk Island in December 1913. He formed the opinion that the continuance of Murphy would counteract the mistrust and opposition many xiii Preface Islanders had towards another change in administration. In order to achieve this end, Hunt had to fend off other prospective applicants who were busy ingratiating themselves with the Minister for External Affairs Patrick McMahon Glynn, and Prime Minister Joseph Cook. While a major focus of this study is on the personalities, and the political processes, involved in the transfer of Norfolk Island to the Commonwealth of Australia, these events occurred after more than a century of British settlement. Contemporary accounts during this period reflected the very different perspectives of many of the significant decision-makers, and were often marked by a lack of understanding of, let alone consultation with, those who were the subject of administrative decisions on the other side of the world. Chapters 1 and 2 provide a summary of the history of British involvement with Norfolk Island, the settlement of Pitcairners in 1856, and the shift in authority to New South Wales some 40 years later. These chapters provide the historical context within which the final transfer of authority for Norfolk Island to the Commonwealth of Australia took place, and the roots of the continuing uneasy relationship between these two former British dependencies. In 1914, when responsibility for Norfolk Island was transferred