Now I'm not going to say those are bloodstains we're looking at, but the day following the attack, blood was certainly discovered seeping through the stonework, and the body of the overseer was uncovered.
Execution was swift, (and often seen as a prayed-for end to life on the island). I think what conveyed the spirit of the settlement more than anything else for me, though, was the story about the orange trees, which, like the lemons, covered much of the island following an early agricultural project. The commander deemed oranges too much of a luxury for the prisoners and had the orange trees felled.
It's another Norfolk day, and there is a fine swell coming in on the nearby shore.
After lunch I visit the Cyclorama, a 360 degree visual rendering of Norfolk history. Can't see why, but you aren't allowed to take photographs. Bloody silly, if you ask me.
Wednesday afternoon, it's Emily Bay again, and the pasta is duly prepared for a dinner party that night. We head up to the Bond, and I grab a bottle of the island's trademark "Bloody Bridge" gin to bring home with me and a Babich's white for dinner. It has travelled superbly.
This week is disappearing fast. Thursday we are doing one of the Kingston walks, and we head down there fairly early so as to miss the late morning heat.
Wild chooks are a feature of the island. Here we can see a restored building alongside an original as it remains. A lot of work has gone into the restorations and many of them fill present day purposes.
Just to the right is the Kingston Jetty. There is a proposal - there is always a proposal of some sort being mooted on Norfolk - to build an extension onto the Kingston Jetty that would enable cruise ships to dock. It would be extremely vulnerable to weather conditions, and the prospect of the island's population almost doubling periodically would likely make huge demands on its infrastructure.
With water an uncertain commodity for starters, it is unlikely to proceed much further at present, even if the finance was available.
On the other hand, a chain of public, composting-toilets for tourists could conceivably contribute something valuable to the island economy...
We'd probably have to start by cleaning up this lot, though. Can't have tourists dodging chicken shit. There would need to be regulations....
Anyway, we make our way to the bottom of the hill.
There are information boards at regular intervals
For those who are happy just to sit, well, you can do just that. There's something about just looking at the sea, anyway, especially when it shows the myriad shades of blue that suround the island.
Over to the right are various other buildings in various stages of restoration
Let's go...
It's a steady climb, and bearing in mind the average age of the typical visitor, some attention has been given to seats for catching the breath on.
Nicknames (nikniems) are, as I have mentioned, a feature of the island.
Onwards
What was I saying about the need for regulation...?
What else do they envisage that I am likely to do on the walkway provided?
At intervals there are lookouts, and another opportunity for a break.
More nikniems
and
