Using scattered colonial evidence (journals, musters, victualling/off‑stores lists, later baptisms, and other administrative records), Beneath the Pines Norfolk Island Marriages November 1791 reconstructs which couples were married by Johnson and questions the often‑repeated claim of a single “mass marriage” on 5 November 1791. It also shows that some couples long assumed to have married in 1791 were actually married later (e.g., by Rev Marsden 1795) or appear to have remained in recognised defacto relationships rather than formal marriages.

Immerse yourself in Norfolk Island heritage for the history lovers tour and holiday on Norfolk Island March 2027 including Norfolk Island 1788 Foundation Day. Join Australian History Research and step back in time and discover the life of your Norfolk Island ancestors.

Publication with the primary records relating to all land ownership, grants and leases from 1794 to 1807 for Norfolk Island’s colonial settlement. May 2026 Book of the Month: all orders will also receive an electronic copy of Norfolk Island’s Land Allotments Dec 1791: Norfolk Island land lots were undersized, boundaries were out of place and some lots were even crossing each other. Norfolk Island, Commandant Philip Gidley King proposed replotting the fronts of the settlers lots along each side and the Phillipsburgh and  Queensborough roads, leaving the proper government lots, which could be then could be occupied by settlers or convict settlers’ leases in the future. Includes a copy of the earliest lot map of lands on Norfolk Island.