The first white settlement of Norfolk Island took place shortly after the arrival of the First Fleet in Australia in 1788, when it was used solely as a British penal settlement. The present Norfolk Island Cemetery is believed to have been established during the Island's second settlement in the 1820s. Before then burials occurred in various places on the island and the cemeteries used during the first settlement are no longer evident. Nevertheless, headstones and their inscriptions dating from 1792 are to found here, the early ones probably removed from their original locations and remounted on the current cemetery site. Other headstones from the original cemeteries are believed to have been re-used.
The causes of death recorded on many of the stones reflect the harsh life of the colonial days, including many drownings, accidents and even executions. Amongst them are the graves of many of the descendants of the Bounty mutineers who moved from Pitcairn Islands to Norfolk Island in 1856. Considerable restoration of many of the older stones has obviously taken place in recent years.
Judy Brodie has contributed her images of inscriptions that she made during her holiday at Norfolk Island in November 2009. These were kindly listed by Roma Waldron. In compiling that list, reference was made to the Australian War Memorial online military rolls for additional information in respect of several persons who served in the Australian services during both world wars. Judy's images may be downloaded from the list of inscriptions for this cemetery.