Norfolk Island Foundation Day

Foundation Day

The Norfolk Island convict settlement today

Observed by| Norfolk Island
Type| Local
Significance| Date of landing of the first European settlers in 1788
Observances| re-enactment ceremony
Date| 6 March
Next time| 6 March 2025 (2025-03-06)
Frequency| Annual
Related to| Australia Day, Western Australia Day

Foundation Day is an annual public holiday in Norfolk Island commemorating the arrival of the original British settlers on 6 March 1788.[1]

## Background

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Because the United States stopped accepting convicts from Britain after gaining independence, Britain needed new penal colonies. London thus commissioned Captain Arthur Phillip to head a group of 11 ships, known as the First Fleet, to do just that and establish a new penal colony in New South Wales.

After the First Fleet's landing in New South Wales, Captain Phillip instructed Lieutenant Philip Gidley King to take a small team of convicts and free men to colonise Norfolk Island. They reached the uninhabited island on 6 March 1788.[1]

## Celebration

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Each year on Foundation Day, local residents gather at the beach in Kingston and re-enact the arrival of the First Fleeters. They put on costumes to dress up as British sailors and row boats.[2]

## References

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1. ^ a b "Key events and dates". Retrieved 3 February 2021.
2. ^ "NORFOLK ISLAND - FOUNDATION DAY 6TH MARCH 1788". www.norfolkonlinenews.com. Retrieved 3 February 2021.

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Public holidays in Norfolk Island

* New Year's Day
* Australia Day
* Norfolk Island Foundation Day
* Good Friday
* Easter Monday
* Anzac Day
* Bounty Day
* King's Birthday
* Norfolk Island Agricultural Show
* Thanksgiving
* Christmas Day
* Boxing Day

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Public holidays in Australia

* New Year's Day
* Australia Day
* Good Friday
* Easter Saturday
* Easter Monday
* Anzac Day
* King's Birthday
* Labour Day
* Christmas Day
* Boxing Day

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Public holidays in Oceania

Sovereign states|

* Australia
* Federated States of Micronesia
* Fiji
* Kiribati
* Marshall Islands
* Nauru
* New Zealand
* Palau
* Papua New Guinea
* Samoa
* Solomon Islands
* Tonga
* Tuvalu
* Vanuatu

Associated states
of New Zealand|

* Cook Islands
* Niue

Dependencies
and other territories|

* American Samoa
* Christmas Island
* Clipperton Island
* Cocos (Keeling) Islands
* Easter Island
* French Polynesia
* Guam
* Hawaii
* New Caledonia
* Norfolk Island
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Pitcairn Islands
* Tokelau
* Wallis and Futuna

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