Our Brand
We chose our name because Norfolk Island represents fierce independence, it connects Australia with the Pacific region, and it is emblematic of Australia’s security challenges.
Our logo depicts a Norfolk Island Pine from above, with five limbs to indicate many directions, and a southern star at its centre. The logo is also reminiscent of a flower. These things are intended to represent our sense of perspective, purpose, and place, and of a desire for shared prosperity.
Our motto ‘secure the same’ quotes from the original instructions to take possession of the island: ‘you are, as soon as circumstances will admit of it, to send a small establishment thither to secure the same to us, and prevent it being occupied by the subjects of any other European power.’
Our motto represents our efforts towards a just, free, and open world that helps us prosper together.
Our Inspiration
Norfolk Island is an Australian external territory in the South Pacific Ocean. The territory comprises Norfolk Island and the lesser Phillip and Nepean Islands off its coast. The island group is situated approximately 1,700 km northeast of Sydney. Norfolk Island is approximately 37 km² and is formed from an oceanic volcano. As such, Norfolk Island has major environmental importance because of its unique flora and fauna. Captain Cook is recognised as the first European to have found the island in 1774. Norfolk Island has a population of approximately 2,000 persons. About 25 percent of Norfolk Islanders have Pitcairn Island ancestry. The 8th of June is Bounty Day, which commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders in 1856 to repopulate Norfolk Island.
In 1914, Norfolk Island became an Australian territory, though the precise constitutional arrangement was not clear at the time. Consequently, in 1976, a royal commission tasked with clarifying its status recommended that Norfolk Island be fully incorporated into Australia. In any event, that same year, the Australian High Court decided in the Berwick case that Norfolk Island is part of Australia. In 1979, the Australian Parliament legislated to allow Norfolk Islanders a form of self-government. However, by 2014, Norfolk Island’s financial situation had become parlous. Consequently, in 2015, the Australian government assumed full responsibility for Norfolk Island’s governance. Since 2023, Norfolk Islanders have been increasingly involved again in their own administration.
Norfolk Island’s place in the Australian federal system reflects the complex situation of all its external territories. Norfolk Island has a New South Wales postcode, but it is not part of that State. Norfolk Island’s laws are drawn from many sources, including old English law. Some government functions are provided by the federal government, while, since 2021, social services are primarily provided by Queensland. Norfolk Island is also part of the Queensland regional council system. However, Norfolk Islanders vote in federal elections through a single electorate in the Australian Capital Territory. In addition, Norfolk Islanders consider themselves ethnoculturally distinct from mainland Australia. There remains considerable scope for the Australian government to draw its external territories together.