The World Heritage List’s Australian Convict Sites inscription received the addition of Norfolk Island’s Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area in 2010. This announcement by the World Heritage Committee was welcomed by the Australian Federal Environment Protection and Heritage Minister, Peter Garrett, and Norfolk Island Chief Minister, David Buffett.

“Norfolk Island’s convict site is a rich historical landscape, where lessons from the past are relevant to the whole world,” said Mr Garrett.

“It holds a visual record of harsh and brutal conditions endured by forced penal migrants for more than 60 years from 1788, but it is also associated with innovative developments in the rehabilitation of criminals, that were later modelled to the rest of the world in the 1840s.

“The Norfolk Island story is part of a phenomenon in world history, the forced migration of prisoners to far-flung places, and their subsequent role in developing the cultural life and the economy of the places they were sent to.”

Mr Buffett welcomed the decision as being important for Norfolk Island.

“The Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area had a reputation as one of the harshest and cruelest of Australia’s penal settlements. A convict settlement spanning 1788-1855, it today comprises a large group of buildings from the convict era, some of which have been modified during the Pitcairn period (from 1856 to the present), substantial ruins and standing structures, archaeological remains, landform and landscape elements.

“The process involved lengthy consultations and much hard work on the part of property managers and the community. I am extremely proud of the Island for getting this site onto the list,” Mr Buffett said.