0:00:13 > 0:00:17Rising out of the vast Pacific Ocean like an apparition
0:00:17 > 0:00:19is Norfolk Island.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24I'm standing on a green jewel in the blue ocean.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27But as well as beauty Norfolk Island has a dark side.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31There are sheer cliffs, treacherous reefs and a pounding sea,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35all of which makes it very hard to land here.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37But despite the lack of a safe harbour
0:00:37 > 0:00:40today around 1,600 people make their home here,
0:00:40 > 0:00:44all of 1,500 kilometres from the eastern seaboard of Australia.
0:00:46 > 0:00:47'Joining me on this journey,
0:00:47 > 0:00:51'Professor Tim Flannery tracks down one of the world's rarest birds...'
0:00:51 > 0:00:53This is so exciting,
0:00:53 > 0:00:57because there's only ten of these nests on the whole planet.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00'..Professor Emma Johnston uncovers a World War II mystery
0:01:00 > 0:01:03'fated to reveal the secrets of the universe...'
0:01:03 > 0:01:06So in a sense this was the birth of radio astronomy.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08It was the birth of radio astronomy.
0:01:08 > 0:01:13'..and I go looking for a fish said to cause LSD-like visions.'
0:01:13 > 0:01:17- And if we get one will you eat it as well?- No.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19- Simple as that!- Simple as that!
0:01:19 > 0:01:23This is Coast Australia.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55Beginning at Duncombe Bay, we're exploring Norfolk Island
0:01:55 > 0:01:57and across to nearby Phillip Island.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11In October 1774,
0:02:11 > 0:02:15Captain James Cook was on his second voyage in the southern hemisphere.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18He was aboard HMS Resolution out there
0:02:18 > 0:02:21when some of his crew spotted this island.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23Cook named it Norfolk Island.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28They landed here at Duncombe Bay.
0:02:30 > 0:02:35That evening, Cook wrote in his log the following.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39"We found it uninhabited.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43"We observed many trees and plants common at New Zealand.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46"But the chief produce is a sort of spruce pine
0:02:46 > 0:02:50"which grows in great abundance and to a large size."
0:02:53 > 0:02:57The Norfolk pines were of great interest to Arthur Phillip.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59As governor of the first settlement at Sydney,
0:02:59 > 0:03:04he saw Norfolk Island as a naval base and commercial hub, supplying
0:03:04 > 0:03:08the British fleet with masts and the colony with flax for cloth.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14But the Norfolk pine proved to be useless for masts.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18You can see in this section through a tree trunk these knots,
0:03:18 > 0:03:22which create fault lines that make the wood brittle.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26And if you put it under any kind of stress, it snaps like a carrot.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30And along with its isolation the island's treacherous coast
0:03:30 > 0:03:34made it too expensive to maintain as a sustainable base.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40So after 25-odd years of trying to establish a colony here
0:03:40 > 0:03:44every building was destroyed, every farm animal was shot,
0:03:44 > 0:03:48the last souls living here departed for elsewhere
0:03:48 > 0:03:50and Norfolk Island was abandoned.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03In New South Wales, the first settlement was flourishing, bringing
0:04:03 > 0:04:07rising crime that led for calls for more dire forms of punishment.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Once again, Norfolk Island became
0:04:11 > 0:04:14the focus for authoritarian attention.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19Given its isolation, and the impossibility of escape,
0:04:19 > 0:04:21the British government decided that Norfolk Island was
0:04:21 > 0:04:24the perfect place to send its very worst felons,
0:04:24 > 0:04:29forever to be excluded from all hope of return.
0:04:32 > 0:04:37The year was 1825 and this new convict colony was
0:04:37 > 0:04:39known as the Second Settlement.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45Deliberately designed as a hell on earth, in the 30 years it operated
0:04:45 > 0:04:50its name would strike terror into the hearts of would-be offenders.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53I'm here to meet London-based historian Tim Causer,
0:04:53 > 0:04:58who's spent years researching the Norfolk Island penal settlement.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02- Hi, Tim.- Hi, Neil, how are you? - I'm good, yeah.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05How bad was this place, this island?
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Erm, Norfolk Island was probably the most notorious penal settlement
0:05:08 > 0:05:12in the English-speaking world, after perhaps Macquarie Harbour.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16So it's all about instilling a fear that, if you don't behave and you
0:05:16 > 0:05:20don't toe the line, we won't kill you but we'll send you to a place...
0:05:20 > 0:05:24- Yes.- ..arguably worse than death. - Yes, you wouldn't want to come here.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29'For most of its bleak history, backbreaking labour was
0:05:29 > 0:05:33'the method of supposed rehabilitation.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37'6,500 prisoners suffered here, some enduring deliberate
0:05:37 > 0:05:39'and unspeakable cruelty.'
0:05:41 > 0:05:44Labour here at Norfolk Island was sunrise to sunset,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47designed to be deliberately punitive.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50There were no animals allowed for the agricultural work,
0:05:50 > 0:05:54all ploughing was done by hand, there was no mechanical plough.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57'This building housed the island's mill,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59'where, along with regular hard labour,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02'up to 100 men a day were clad in leg irons,
0:06:02 > 0:06:07'forced to turn the metal gears of the impossibly heavy stone mill.'
0:06:08 > 0:06:12I'm not really one for, you know, feeling spirits
0:06:12 > 0:06:17and ghosts in a place, but this... this building I particularly dislike.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21A recollection from a settler who visited here in 1844 describes
0:06:21 > 0:06:24the shrieking and the cries from this place - even though
0:06:24 > 0:06:27he's down by the water he can hear what's going on in here.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33'From the evidence that remains
0:06:33 > 0:06:35'of the Second Settlement's fearsome reputation,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39'two accounts stand out for their vivid expression.
0:06:42 > 0:06:47'One by a convict, the other from a reformist commandant.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50'Transported to New South Wales for stealing a bale of rope,
0:06:50 > 0:06:54'21-year-old Irish convict Laurence Frayne was sent to
0:06:54 > 0:06:59'Norfolk Island in 1830 for stealing two muskets and some brandy.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04'His cheeky mouth and irrepressible spirit immediately put him
0:07:04 > 0:07:07'at odds with the hardline prison authorities,
0:07:07 > 0:07:09'who consistently made an example of him.'
0:07:09 > 0:07:12The application of flogging was very methodical.
0:07:12 > 0:07:18It was done at a rhythmic pace, it was recorded in minute detail.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20You can often read of, say, 100 lashes
0:07:20 > 0:07:24being inflicted upon a prisoner, and that's quite easy to read
0:07:24 > 0:07:28but almost impossible to imagine the pain that's being inflicted.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32After seven or eight blows, then you'll be bleeding and if it's
0:07:32 > 0:07:35100 lashes then they'll be flogging onto open skin after a while.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39- So they were being flayed alive. - Essentially, yes.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41It's an extremely brutal punishment.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47The official record shows that Laurence Frayne survived
0:07:47 > 0:07:51a staggering 1,125 lashes on Norfolk Island.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55But it's his own handwritten account that gives
0:07:55 > 0:07:58a sense of his true suffering.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03"I was put in a cell, chained down.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06"I was under the necessity of making my water in my hand
0:08:06 > 0:08:10"and put it upon my mutilated back to keep my shirt from the sore.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13"I had no other bed but the cold, wet flags.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17"No heart can conceive or can write or tongue can tell
0:08:17 > 0:08:20"the poignant grief and the anguish
0:08:20 > 0:08:23"I have suffered both mental and otherwise.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27"These are trials which no heart can know of."
0:08:35 > 0:08:37This is the only scourge, or cat-o'-nine-tails,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40known to have survived from the times of the Second Settlement,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44and it's a cruel-looking thing, with these knots in the cord
0:08:44 > 0:08:48to make sure it does as much damage as possible.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54And you're left to wonder just how many backs it laid open to the bone.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59'Under the harsh prison authorities,
0:08:59 > 0:09:03'Frayne would never have been allowed to write his own convict memoir,
0:09:03 > 0:09:08'but in 1840 a new commandant, Alexander Maconochie, arrived,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12'with a philosophy for a more humanitarian approach
0:09:12 > 0:09:14'to the business of punishment.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17'A reformer way ahead of his time,
0:09:17 > 0:09:21'Maconochie introduced animal husbandry and vegetable gardens
0:09:21 > 0:09:23'to give prisoners more autonomy.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27'He instigated a library and provided pencils and paper
0:09:27 > 0:09:29'to encourage prisoners to write.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31'It's thanks to Maconochie
0:09:31 > 0:09:35'that Laurence Frayne's vivid memoir survives to this day
0:09:35 > 0:09:40'as the most defiant convict account of life in the Second Settlement.'
0:09:40 > 0:09:42- Hello, Sharn.- Hello, Neil.
0:09:42 > 0:09:47'Sharn White is Laurence Frayne's great-great-great-grandniece.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49'She's on Norfolk Island for the first time,
0:09:49 > 0:09:53'seeking a tangible connection to her audacious ancestor.'
0:09:53 > 0:09:58What sections within the manuscript jump out at you?
0:09:58 > 0:10:01The whole thing is very poignant to me, but particularly
0:10:01 > 0:10:06the parts where he's receiving... terrible, brutal treatment.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08You know, you can't help, as a descendant,
0:10:08 > 0:10:12to be quite moved by that and horrified by it.
0:10:12 > 0:10:18How does it feel to be in the vicinity of where those...
0:10:18 > 0:10:20acts took place?
0:10:20 > 0:10:23It's...very moving. Erm...
0:10:24 > 0:10:27Speaking out and his act of writing this document
0:10:27 > 0:10:29was his way of saying that, "I'm still a human.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31"Doesn't matter what you do to me,
0:10:31 > 0:10:35"doesn't matter how you treat me, I'm still here and I still matter."
0:10:41 > 0:10:45'One of Maconochie's great reforms was to allow convicts
0:10:45 > 0:10:48'the dignity of burial with a proper headstone.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51'In her research,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54'Sharn discovered that Laurence Frayne carved the gravestone
0:10:54 > 0:10:58'for convict friend William Storey, signing it with his own name.'
0:10:58 > 0:11:01I think we're looking for a fairly substantial...
0:11:01 > 0:11:05- There's Irishmen there. - ..headstone.- County Tipperary.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08'Sharn's here today to see if she can find
0:11:08 > 0:11:10'this remnant of Laurence's legacy.'
0:11:10 > 0:11:14I'm assuming it will have where he's from. Ah, look, there it is.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17- William Storey, city of Dublin.- William Storey.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20I've wanted to see this for a long time.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27"To the memory of William Storey, native of the city of Dublin,
0:11:27 > 0:11:30"who departed this life January the 9th, 1838.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35"This stone was erected by Laurence Frayne to commemorate his memory."
0:11:35 > 0:11:38Do we know what happened to Frayne?
0:11:38 > 0:11:40He was released under Maconochie,
0:11:40 > 0:11:44and he was given a ticket of leave
0:11:44 > 0:11:48for the Maitland area in the Hunter Valley, so, er...
0:11:48 > 0:11:51He disappears in about 1848.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55And I like to think he got away.
0:11:55 > 0:11:56- Finally.- Finally!
0:11:58 > 0:12:00I'm quite glad that he didn't end up here.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11That cemetery's a very moving place.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14So many men, so many names were sent here
0:12:14 > 0:12:18to be lost and forgotten in every conceivable way.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23And yet among the few that are remembered are two names,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26Laurence Frayne and Alexander Maconochie,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28the one who refused to buckle and submit
0:12:28 > 0:12:31and the other who recognised the right of a human being
0:12:31 > 0:12:35to stand up and look out at the world with an unblinking gaze.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39So now an indelible part of the story of Norfolk Island
0:12:39 > 0:12:44is the name of a man who, although he was sent here to vanish,
0:12:44 > 0:12:50is still demanding to be noticed and to count, defiant to the last -
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Laurence Frayne.
0:13:05 > 0:13:10In 1855, the grisly penal colony on Norfolk Island was shut down,
0:13:10 > 0:13:15but it wasn't long before Laurence Frayne's rebellious legacy was emulated.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20One year later a new group arrived, descendants of lawbreakers,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23the ancestors of many living here today.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26It's the remarkable tale of the famous mutineers
0:13:26 > 0:13:29from Her Majesty's Ship the Bounty,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31as Dr Alice Garner's about to discover.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37In April 1789, while sailing home from Tahiti,
0:13:37 > 0:13:41Captain William Bligh awoke to a rude shock.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45His master's mate, Fletcher Christian, was taking him prisoner.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50The Bounty crew had spent five months in Tahiti
0:13:50 > 0:13:54and had fallen under the spell of the island, the local women
0:13:54 > 0:13:56and their relaxed sexual mores.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02When the ship set sail for England, Captain Bligh's tight rein
0:14:02 > 0:14:06and intemperate rages soon had crew members longing to resume
0:14:06 > 0:14:08their licentious sabbatical.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13Led by first mate Fletcher Christian, half the crew mutinied,
0:14:13 > 0:14:17casting Bligh and those loyal to him adrift in a longboat.
0:14:18 > 0:14:2224 mutineers eventually returned to Tahiti.
0:14:22 > 0:14:27Of them, nine lured a dozen local women and six men aboard
0:14:27 > 0:14:29and in a legendary maritime journey
0:14:29 > 0:14:33fled for the safety of tiny, isolated Pitcairn Island.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40'Ken Christian is a descendant of head mutineer Fletcher Christian
0:14:40 > 0:14:42'and his Tahitian wife, Mauatua.'
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Ken, I'd love to hear about the history of your family
0:14:48 > 0:14:52and know a bit about your connection to Fletcher Christian.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56Yeah, well, I'm a seventh-generation descendant from Fletcher.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59As this...chart here will show.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02There I am.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06I'm curious about the stories that you have heard
0:15:06 > 0:15:08passed down through your family.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11A lot of it was not talked about for a long time.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15- Because I think a lot of people are a little bit embarrassed, to be perfectly frank.- Mm.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18I think it just comes from a sense of having probably
0:15:18 > 0:15:21done the wrong thing by the mother country.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24But I read that he was only 24 when he did it.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28I thought, "My God," you know, "what a..." It's just amazing what he did.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33I mean, it was a hanging offence, to mutiny.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36And Fletcher Christian changed the course of maritime history,
0:15:36 > 0:15:40because of the treatment that everybody had been receiving
0:15:40 > 0:15:42at the hands of Captain Bligh.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46On Pitcairn Island, wild and free,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49the exiles gave birth to a community of descendants.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53But violence begat violence and the original mutineers
0:15:53 > 0:15:57and the Polynesian men eventually killed one another off.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03Over the ensuing decades the mutineers' families
0:16:03 > 0:16:07found solace in religion and reports of the Pitcairners' piety
0:16:07 > 0:16:11trickled back to a fascinated England.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14When their population grew too large for tiny Pitcairn,
0:16:14 > 0:16:18they petitioned Queen Victoria for relocation.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22Unexpectedly, the request was met with favour.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26The mutiny, whilst not forgotten, was forgiven.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30So Queen Victoria actually granted blocks of land on Norfolk Island
0:16:30 > 0:16:34to all the Pitcairn people that came to Norfolk at that time.
0:16:36 > 0:16:41And so in 1856, 67 years after the mutiny,
0:16:41 > 0:16:47194 Pitcairners sailed the perilous 6,000 kilometres to their new home.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52They landed on June 8th,
0:16:52 > 0:16:56now celebrated annually as Bounty Day by the island community,
0:16:56 > 0:17:00one third of whom are direct descendants of the mutineers.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04Everyone turns out for a symbolic re-enactment
0:17:04 > 0:17:06of the Pitcairners' landing.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09- Thank you very much.- Welcome. Welcome.- Good voyage?
0:17:11 > 0:17:15'Direct descendants of the original mutineers dress all in white
0:17:15 > 0:17:18'and are given pride of place in the parade.'
0:17:19 > 0:17:20Hi! I'm Alice.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22'Chelsea Evans is one of these.'
0:17:22 > 0:17:24This is a beautiful day.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28Yeah, it is, isn't it? It's a very special day here on Norfolk.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32- What does it mean to you personally? - Erm, to me I guess it's...
0:17:32 > 0:17:34You know, it's our national day.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37It's a day that we celebrate all that we are, all that we've done
0:17:37 > 0:17:40in the past and... a bit of hope for the future,
0:17:40 > 0:17:45so Bounty Day is all about community and who we are as a people, I guess.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Tell me about the foremothers in your family.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50Is it possible to find out as much about them
0:17:50 > 0:17:53as it is about the men, because there's a lot of talk of the men?
0:17:53 > 0:17:58Yeah, there is. It's, erm... My mother, erm,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01she can actually go right back to the Tahitian foremothers.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03She knows all of their names.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06I think if we didn't have the Tahitian women there,
0:18:06 > 0:18:08Pitcairn probably wouldn't have survived.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10They knew so much
0:18:10 > 0:18:13and they passed that on to all of the children there.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15You can see it with our language,
0:18:15 > 0:18:17with our traditional cooking, erm,
0:18:17 > 0:18:20with our sense of humour, with the people that we have, you know.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22It's very strong to us
0:18:22 > 0:18:26and it's a powerful thing that we really hang on to so much.
0:18:31 > 0:18:36- Ken.- Oh!- Hello!- Hello, Alice, how are you?- Good to see you again.
0:18:36 > 0:18:37And you too. Welcome.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41What do you think Fletcher Christian would make of this?
0:18:41 > 0:18:45- I don't think he'd believe it.- No!- I don't think he'd believe it at all.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47Probably think we're all traitors.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49Coming away from that beautiful island of theirs.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56'The past few decades have seen a passionate revival
0:18:56 > 0:19:00'of the island's Polynesian heritage.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03'It's great to see them embrace it and to be here with them
0:19:03 > 0:19:05'to celebrate Bounty Day.'
0:19:07 > 0:19:11# We got the palm tree, we got the pine
0:19:11 > 0:19:14# We got wahines and very good wine
0:19:14 > 0:19:18# We got everything Tahiti got
0:19:18 > 0:19:21# We only no got the coconut
0:19:21 > 0:19:25# Whoo! Whoo! Whoo... #
0:19:25 > 0:19:29APPLAUSE AND WHISTLING
0:19:38 > 0:19:41The Bounty descendants spoke their own unique language,
0:19:41 > 0:19:44a blend of English and Tahitian now known as Norfuk.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12As a young boy we used to go mainly at night.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16You'd go out in the dark and have a torch and slip and slide.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18It was like an adventure.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23It's a real traditional thing. We love it.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25That's our McDonald's!
0:20:28 > 0:20:32I like picking them off the rocks. I don't like eating them.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35I hate them. They're like black snot.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38THEY SPEAK NORFUK
0:20:38 > 0:20:41We're going to take them down to Ruth and Foxy.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43They're elder people of Norfolk Island.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Just boil them up, get a pen and pick them out
0:20:46 > 0:20:49and just get straight into them.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52You can put them in white sauce
0:20:52 > 0:20:55or you can put them into pastry and make a pie.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57They're nice any of those ways.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12Bolstered by the Bounty descendants,
0:21:12 > 0:21:15the community on Norfolk Island grew.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17But domestication saw the introduction of animals
0:21:17 > 0:21:22like cats and rabbits taking a heavy toll on the island's birdlife.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27Many species found nowhere else on earth are sadly now extinct.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32Professor Tim Flannery has come to witness the race to save
0:21:32 > 0:21:35one of Australia's most endangered birds.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41The green parakeet was once found everywhere
0:21:41 > 0:21:44but today it teeters on the brink of extinction.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51- So, Abi, is it a parrot or a parakeet?- Well, you can use either.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54They're known locally as green parrots.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58'Abi Smith is a faunal ecologist for Parks Australia on Norfolk Island.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03'She heads the green parrot conservation project at Mt Pitt National Park.'
0:22:03 > 0:22:06It was once quite common and widespread across Norfolk Island
0:22:06 > 0:22:11and Phillip Island and its population has now reduced.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13Recent surveys have shown that
0:22:13 > 0:22:16there's only about 46 to 92 birds remaining
0:22:16 > 0:22:19and there's a really big sex bias in the population
0:22:19 > 0:22:23so, of that, we believe there's only around ten breeding females.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27- Wow, so it's one of the world's rarest birds.- Yeah, Tim, it is.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32'Heading deeper into the forest, I'm acutely aware that this is
0:22:32 > 0:22:36'a rare chance to see one of only ten active green parrot nests on earth.'
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Can you hear the birds? That's the birds.
0:22:40 > 0:22:41Wow, OK.
0:22:44 > 0:22:45Fantastic.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51- So the nest site's just up ahead here, Tim.- Oh, wow, yes, yeah.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54- Fantastic.- We'll just be very quiet until we can see
0:22:54 > 0:22:57- if the female's sitting on the nest. - Sure.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02I can hear Mum flying around.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05I think it's safe to say Mum's not there.
0:23:06 > 0:23:11We've put in these little inspection accesses into all of the nest sites.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15'This combination of natural and artificial elements
0:23:15 > 0:23:17'help make the nest predator-resistant.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21'It's all about protecting the last remaining green parrots.'
0:23:21 > 0:23:24In this nest site we've got two males and a female.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27That's pretty standard what we see in the nest sites,
0:23:27 > 0:23:30there's always more males than females.
0:23:31 > 0:23:32This is so exciting,
0:23:32 > 0:23:36because there's only ten of these nests on the whole planet.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38This is such a privilege.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45Oh, wow, my goodness. Look at them, they're quite well grown.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48Yeah, these ones are not too far off fledging.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50So, I'll just grab one out.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52BIRD SQUAWKS
0:23:54 > 0:23:57- OK.- Oh, fantastic.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01- What a beautiful little thing. - So that's one of the males.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05- Wow.- Tim, I might get you to hold him while I put the door back on.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09- Yeah, sure.- Two fingers over each side of his head, like that.- Right.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13- Hold him firm but not tight. - There he is. I'll get his legs.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18- There he is.- And we'll just put this back on for now.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21I can't believe it, I'm holding one of the world's rarest birds.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24- It's quite amazing, isn't it?- It is.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26You'll be all right, little fella.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29We're not going to hurt you, don't worry.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32- Now, we've got to do a measurement.- We do.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35So we just measure their wings,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38make sure that they're all growing healthy.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43A ruler like that. And then we measure their tail feathers.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45- Oh, right. - Which are growing really nice now.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48'Regular measurements are especially important
0:24:48 > 0:24:51'with precious females like this little one.'
0:24:51 > 0:24:54- So that's our little female. - Oh, fantastic.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57So she's really important to the future of the species.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59She's so important, yeah.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02'That's because the males often bully their way to getting more food.'
0:25:02 > 0:25:05- So she's just over 100 grams.- Right.
0:25:05 > 0:25:06So she's doing well
0:25:06 > 0:25:10- but we could probably give her a little bit of a feed.- OK.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15Oh, look at that, she is drinking it.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17Isn't that fantastic?
0:25:18 > 0:25:21Here you go, sweetie, you just get a bit of that.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25Isn't that great? She's a bit hungry, isn't she?
0:25:25 > 0:25:28She's probably getting a bit underfed, do you think?
0:25:28 > 0:25:31- Yeah, I think she...- Her brothers are beating her to the food.- Yeah.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36There you go, sweetheart, you go back home.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38It must be great for you, too.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41You know, often with the environment it's hard to know you're making
0:25:41 > 0:25:45a positive difference, but with this, you know, every bird you bring up is
0:25:45 > 0:25:48really making a material difference to the future of the whole species.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50- That's right.- That's fantastic.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53We've had 32 chicks fledge successfully from the nest
0:25:53 > 0:25:57- in the last six months.- So you've doubled the population virtually.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00- Yeah, and we've doubled the female population as well, so...- Wow.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02That's brilliant.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07A stone's throw from Norfolk Island, a distinctive red
0:26:07 > 0:26:10and purple outcrop emerges from the sea.
0:26:10 > 0:26:15This is Phillip Island, the "Uluru of the South Pacific".
0:26:15 > 0:26:17And, despite its barren isolation,
0:26:17 > 0:26:21it's set to play a key role in the green parrot conservation programme.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25- It's sort of a leap of faith a bit. - Yeah, no worries. Thanks, mate.
0:26:25 > 0:26:30Phillip Island has no feral cat or rat predators, so the plan is to
0:26:30 > 0:26:35relocate the green parrot here where they can breed in absolute safety.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38But it's a great irony that Phillip Island's
0:26:38 > 0:26:42suitability for conservation today is due to an historical
0:26:42 > 0:26:45environmental disaster, one that was man-made.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Soon after Norfolk Island was settled in 1788,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56this place here was conceived of as a living larder so that the
0:26:56 > 0:27:01officers could enjoy a bit of fresh meat and some Sunday hunting.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05The goats, pigs and rabbits that were released here soon proliferated
0:27:05 > 0:27:09and they grazed a tropical paradise into a lunar landscape.
0:27:12 > 0:27:17Without plants or trees to hold it, soil sloughed off into the sea
0:27:17 > 0:27:21exposing the stark, red volcanic bedrock of a dying island.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26But when the last rabbit was eliminated in the late 1980s,
0:27:26 > 0:27:29a massive regeneration process began
0:27:29 > 0:27:31to bring Phillip Island back to life.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38This is regenerating well, isn't it?
0:27:38 > 0:27:41Yeah, we're starting to enter the forest zone here
0:27:41 > 0:27:43and the nest site is just down in here.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45Ah! Very good. Right.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53Even though predators aren't an issue,
0:27:53 > 0:27:56the team is building artificial nests
0:27:56 > 0:27:58similar to those on Norfolk Island
0:27:58 > 0:28:01so that the green parrots can adapt as quickly as possible.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11That's great!
0:28:11 > 0:28:15So, 12 months from now, there might be baby parrots coming out of that.
0:28:15 > 0:28:16We certainly hope so.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18MANY baby parrots!
0:28:22 > 0:28:26A heartening coda to this tale of invasive predation is that
0:28:26 > 0:28:29Phillip Island is returning to its former glories.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31With human help,
0:28:31 > 0:28:35it's transforming from a living larder back to a safe haven.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37And Norfolk Island's most precious bird,
0:28:37 > 0:28:39the endangered green parakeet,
0:28:39 > 0:28:42may yet find its last island out here.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06For every grain of sand on every beach on earth,
0:29:06 > 0:29:10there are thousands of stars in the universe.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12Curiously, much of what we've learned about the cosmos
0:29:12 > 0:29:15in the last 70 years stems from a discovery made
0:29:15 > 0:29:18here on Norfolk Island near the end of the Second World War.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26In May 1943, the New Zealand Air Force base
0:29:26 > 0:29:31built a radar station on Mount Bates, Norfolk Island's tallest peak.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38- Hello, Ron.- Oh, hello, Emma!
0:29:38 > 0:29:41'CSIRO Fellow Ron Ekers is an eminent astronomer
0:29:41 > 0:29:46'who knows all about this radar station's place in history.'
0:29:46 > 0:29:48So, what is this here?
0:29:48 > 0:29:51Emma, this piece of junk is really very significant.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53This is part of the radar that was built
0:29:53 > 0:29:56in the Pacific Islands in the Second World War.
0:29:56 > 0:29:57So, this is the base
0:29:57 > 0:30:01and at the top there would have been a radar emitting radio waves?
0:30:01 > 0:30:02Yes, yes.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06It was a low frequency radar, 200 megahertz,
0:30:06 > 0:30:09and there was an antenna on top of it emitting the radio waves.
0:30:09 > 0:30:14It made a discovery which changed the way we understand the universe.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16Can we have a look at where it was positioned?
0:30:16 > 0:30:20Yes, let's go up on the hill behind us here and we can see the top.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24'I'm keen to know more about this revolutionary discovery.'
0:30:24 > 0:30:28This is where the radar station's antenna would have been mounted.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32'But, first, I need to understand how this particular radar operated.'
0:30:32 > 0:30:34So, what was unique about this position?
0:30:34 > 0:30:36Well, in this position, look!
0:30:36 > 0:30:41You can see the horizon for 360 degrees all the way around.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43So, you would send a radio pulse out from the antenna
0:30:43 > 0:30:47and if that bounces off anything - an aircraft or a ship -
0:30:47 > 0:30:50you can time how long it takes for the pulse to come back
0:30:50 > 0:30:52and so you can find the range.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54So you can find the distance.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57And by having the 360 degrees, they, of course,
0:30:57 > 0:31:00could scan a huge area of the Pacific.
0:31:03 > 0:31:08'In March 1945, the war was coming to an end.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12'Flying officer Les Hepburn was manning the Norfolk Island radar
0:31:12 > 0:31:15'when he noticed increased bursts of radio noise.'
0:31:17 > 0:31:23'Isolated surges that occurred just after sunrise or just before sunset.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27'On the radar oscilloscope, these strange pulses
0:31:27 > 0:31:29'look like blades of grass.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32'Having no idea what they were, Hepburn dubbed them
0:31:32 > 0:31:34'the Norfolk Island Effect.'
0:31:35 > 0:31:39What they were doing as part of the radar operations was
0:31:39 > 0:31:43looking for the signals being reflected from any aircraft.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46But what they discovered was every time the sun
0:31:46 > 0:31:50was in the direction they were pointing, they saw additional noise,
0:31:50 > 0:31:53"grass" they called it, on their oscilloscope.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57Hepburn's mysterious readings were sent to a top-secret
0:31:57 > 0:32:03radar research unit in New Zealand headed up by Dr Elizabeth Alexander.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06When the Norfolk effect readings came in,
0:32:06 > 0:32:09Dr Alexander coordinated a programme of tests
0:32:09 > 0:32:13at various other radar stations, also at sunrise and sunset,
0:32:13 > 0:32:16to see if they got the same result.
0:32:16 > 0:32:17All of them did.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23What they had actually seen was a storm on the surface
0:32:23 > 0:32:27of the sun which had generated the extra radio emission.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31This was the discovery of the fact that the sun is also
0:32:31 > 0:32:34a source of radio noise.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37'Ron has created a mini radar receiver
0:32:37 > 0:32:41'to demonstrate the Norfolk Island Effect.'
0:32:41 > 0:32:43OK, so it's quiet now.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45Try pointing it at the sun.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50ELECTRICAL HISSING
0:32:50 > 0:32:52Oh! That's huge. It's like a forest.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54They're radio signals coming from the sun
0:32:54 > 0:32:57and that's exactly what the radar operators reported.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00How the "grass" had filled the whole screen
0:33:00 > 0:33:03when the sun came into the beam of the telescope.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06So, in a sense, this was the birth of radio astronomy.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08It was the birth of radio astronomy.
0:33:10 > 0:33:14Radio astronomy is the science of observing the cosmos through
0:33:14 > 0:33:18radio telescopes rather than optical telescopes.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21The Norfolk Island Effect had recorded radio waves from
0:33:21 > 0:33:26solar flares - intense, magnetic storms breaking through sunspots
0:33:26 > 0:33:30on the sun's surface and omitting all kinds of radiation,
0:33:30 > 0:33:32including radio waves.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36This phenomenon was the key that opened the door to explorations
0:33:36 > 0:33:41of the universe way beyond the range of optical telescopes.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44So, we were suddenly able to hear the rest of the universe?
0:33:44 > 0:33:47Yes, and these were some of the brightest things in the sky.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50Bigger telescopes were built.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54The CSIR went on and built the Parkes radio telescope
0:33:54 > 0:33:56which then made many discoveries -
0:33:56 > 0:33:59the discovery of what are called quasars,
0:33:59 > 0:34:04and suddenly we were able to explore the whole cosmos using radio waves.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06And it all started here on Norfolk Island.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13The Norfolk Island Effect kick-started radio astronomy,
0:34:13 > 0:34:17allowing us to see a thrillingly expanded universe -
0:34:17 > 0:34:23one that includes supernovae, black holes, and faraway galaxies.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38Notwithstanding Norfolk Island's contribution
0:34:38 > 0:34:41as a window on the universe, those who live on this
0:34:41 > 0:34:45tiny island have mostly preferred to keep themselves to themselves.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50This is a 1970s brochure about Norfolk Island
0:34:50 > 0:34:53from the tourist bureau and it says right on the front cover,
0:34:53 > 0:34:56"The most boring place in the whole wide world."
0:34:56 > 0:34:58Now, you know what that is, don't you?
0:34:58 > 0:35:02That's what people say when they know that they live somewhere good.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04It's a bluff.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07In here, lots of stuff about the prettiness and things to see.
0:35:07 > 0:35:10They talk about eating a lot of fish.
0:35:10 > 0:35:11"But if it's night-time,
0:35:11 > 0:35:16"it might be wise to avoid the one known as the dream fish.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20"It is said to give LSD-type hallucinations during sleep.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23"But then again, at least it's legal."
0:35:23 > 0:35:25Dream fish. That's the one for me!
0:35:27 > 0:35:30I've heard the two most seasoned fisherman on the island can
0:35:30 > 0:35:32help me find this fish.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34Their names - Puss and Pelly.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37And, apparently, they're in the phone book.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40Right, let's see if there's a phone book. Phone book!
0:35:41 > 0:35:44Norfolk Island telephone directory.
0:35:44 > 0:35:45How does this work?
0:35:48 > 0:35:51Look! Look! "Find a person by their nickname."
0:35:51 > 0:35:54Have you ever seen that before? Look at that! Brilliant.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59Look at them! Nippa, Noon, Onion.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02Petal. Ha! Pooh!
0:36:02 > 0:36:04I wouldn't answer to that myself, but it takes all sorts.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06Puss!
0:36:06 > 0:36:07Right.
0:36:09 > 0:36:10See if this works.
0:36:14 > 0:36:21Hello. Puss? Is that Puss? Hi. Hi, it's Neil Oliver here.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26Yeah, I'm looking to catch dream fish.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31Before the war, boats on Norfolk Island were scarce
0:36:31 > 0:36:33so dream fish became popular
0:36:33 > 0:36:35because they were easy to catch from the rocks,
0:36:35 > 0:36:39speared traditionally with a bamboo pole.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46Fishing skills have always been vital to survival
0:36:46 > 0:36:50and locals Puss and Pelly are keen to show off theirs
0:36:50 > 0:36:52by catching a dream fish for me.
0:36:57 > 0:36:58It's a blue!
0:36:58 > 0:37:00Got a net?
0:37:00 > 0:37:01Yeah, net here.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03They are gorgeous fish.
0:37:05 > 0:37:06You don't catch anything
0:37:06 > 0:37:08that looks like that in Scotland, I can tell you!
0:37:09 > 0:37:14It's easy fishing here, isn't it? They're everywhere.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17It's a blue one.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21'As awesome as these bluefish are, they're not why we are here.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23'I'm keen for my first look at a dream fish...
0:37:24 > 0:37:27'..considered a delicacy by older islanders...
0:37:27 > 0:37:30'if they're brave enough to eat it.'
0:37:30 > 0:37:32So what does a dream fish look like?
0:37:32 > 0:37:36- Brown. It's brown.- Big? Small?
0:37:36 > 0:37:42Oh, you can get it from about that size, but we call that a dot.
0:37:42 > 0:37:43It's a small dream fish.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45That won't make you dream, it's only a small one.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48The bigger ones, you can get them with light grey spots on them.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51And, if we get one, will you eat it as well?
0:37:51 > 0:37:52No.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54- As simple as that? - As simple as that.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56My mind is made up.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00Yeah, you're no advert for dream fish, I tell you now!
0:38:00 > 0:38:02No, no, but I love it. It's nice.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05Yeah, but it comes at a price.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07It paralyses me.
0:38:07 > 0:38:13I've had dream fish for dinner, go to bed and within half an hour,
0:38:13 > 0:38:15I can't move. I get scared...
0:38:15 > 0:38:18there's somebody in the room with me,
0:38:18 > 0:38:20I want to push them away,
0:38:20 > 0:38:24I can't lift my hand, I break into a cold sweat...
0:38:24 > 0:38:28- Are you aware, though, that it's a dream?- Yes.- You know it's happening?
0:38:28 > 0:38:33- I know it's happening. But I can't move.- This sounds rubbish.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36I tell you what, I hope we catch a big one to let you have a go at it.
0:38:36 > 0:38:37Right.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43- I'm not so sure about this now. - There! Keep it!
0:38:43 > 0:38:45When they said it was a dream fish,
0:38:45 > 0:38:48I was thinking maybe good dreams, but they say it's only bad dreams.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50- Catch one of those, go on!- Oh!
0:38:50 > 0:38:52So this seems a bit eccentric really.
0:38:52 > 0:38:56Fishing for nightmares. It's asking for trouble, literally.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59- Why didn't you catch one of those? There's...- Don't ask me, ask the fish!
0:39:00 > 0:39:02There's plenty there.
0:39:05 > 0:39:09- You got it? That's a dream fish?- Yeah.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14Ah, the white whale! Here we go!
0:39:15 > 0:39:21Oh, yeah. Look at that! There's the dream fish. Look at that.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23That will send you on a mission.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26- You reckon?- I bloody guarantee it!
0:39:27 > 0:39:28LAUGHTER
0:39:28 > 0:39:31You'll come back looking for more.
0:39:31 > 0:39:33Aye! Any time now we'll all be dancing!
0:39:35 > 0:39:36Job done!
0:39:38 > 0:39:42'Hallucinogenic fish inebriation is a known phenomenon.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44'The powerful vision is probably caused
0:39:44 > 0:39:46'by naturally occurring hallucinogens
0:39:46 > 0:39:50'passed into the fish's flesh from seaweed in their diet.'
0:39:50 > 0:39:52That'll make your hair curly!
0:39:52 > 0:39:54I'm looking forward to it.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59You see, I'm interested in this because I never dream.
0:39:59 > 0:40:00I just don't dream.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03- You just don't dream? - No. I go to sleep. I wake up.
0:40:03 > 0:40:07There's nothing happens in between. So, if this makes me dream...
0:40:08 > 0:40:10..I'll be impressed.
0:40:11 > 0:40:15While they've been eating dream fish here for 150 years,
0:40:15 > 0:40:17I've heard it's an acquired taste.
0:40:18 > 0:40:23Just a little bit of cream poured over the top and just left to simmer.
0:40:23 > 0:40:24Just smell it.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28- It's like mackerel. It's... - It's beautiful.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30OK. Dream fish, eh?
0:40:32 > 0:40:34I'll be the judge of that.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40I suppose nowadays there's not a lot of people eating this,
0:40:40 > 0:40:43certainly not outsiders, but, you know, you live once.
0:40:47 > 0:40:48Oh, it's strong!
0:40:48 > 0:40:50- Yum!- It's nice.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54I would never know there's anything suspicious about this.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57- It seems like a perfectly decent fish dish.- Well, it is.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00I could get to like that.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02And happy dreaming!
0:41:13 > 0:41:15Well, there you go.
0:41:15 > 0:41:16I've had my dose of dream fish.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19I'm going to try and go to sleep now.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22I remain sceptical, but we will see what happens.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24So, good night!
0:41:33 > 0:41:35Oh, God!
0:41:37 > 0:41:39Eugh!
0:41:39 > 0:41:41Oh, that was awful.
0:41:44 > 0:41:49The room was dark but there was light...pale light.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52I could see the shapes of figures.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56And I didn't like that so much.
0:41:58 > 0:41:59I opened my mouth to speak...
0:42:01 > 0:42:05..but I just made a kind of a breath
0:42:05 > 0:42:10and a big face rushed towards me.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16And I woke up. That's when I woke up.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24I might read for a while.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27I don't like that at all.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30I think I'll read a book.
0:42:36 > 0:42:40When Governor Phillips sent Lieutenant King to establish
0:42:40 > 0:42:43the first settlement on Norfolk Island in 1788
0:42:43 > 0:42:47he instructed him to find "the best anchorage according to the season".
0:42:48 > 0:42:52History records that King found no safe anchorage
0:42:52 > 0:42:54and none has been discovered since.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59Brendan Moar has come to explore how this isolated community
0:42:59 > 0:43:01manages to cope.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07The steep cliffs that surround Norfolk Island means there is
0:43:07 > 0:43:12no harbour for any-sized boat to land safely or to drop anchor
0:43:12 > 0:43:15making it seemingly impossible to ship in supplies.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19But there is one seafaring skill that defies the geographical
0:43:19 > 0:43:21challenges of this place.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24Oh!
0:43:24 > 0:43:27It's been passed on from father to son for generations.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32In the Norfolk language it's called "work and ship".
0:43:32 > 0:43:35In English, "working the ship".
0:43:35 > 0:43:38Fraught with danger, it's a tradition
0:43:38 > 0:43:40going back as far as the Bounty mutineers.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50ANNOUNCEMENT: 'The unloading of the Southern Tiare is due to commence
0:43:50 > 0:43:52'at the Cascade Pier this morning at 7.30.'
0:43:54 > 0:43:57Without a natural harbour, cargo ships first anchor,
0:43:57 > 0:44:02a kilometre offshore, always at the mercy of the tides.
0:44:02 > 0:44:07So, when conditions allow, these 40 or so men have to drop everything and
0:44:07 > 0:44:11undertake the risky task of unloading the island's supplies.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16Basically, this is all about getting what's out there to here.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19You have to remember that Norfolk Island is more than just
0:44:19 > 0:44:21a collection of beautiful old buildings.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25It's hundreds of homes, shops, resorts, buses, cars, the lot...
0:44:25 > 0:44:29Every little bit of every little thing has come by these boats.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31My, these boys have been busy!
0:44:34 > 0:44:39Just getting to the cargo ship is cumbersome and time-consuming.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42One at a time, teams clamber into wooden boats, or lighters,
0:44:42 > 0:44:47which are lowered by crane and then towed out by launch.
0:44:47 > 0:44:48For Norfolk,
0:44:48 > 0:44:52arrival of supplies like this is a matter for the island's survival.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55With heavy cargoes swinging overhead,
0:44:55 > 0:44:58working a lighter is the most dangerous job.
0:44:58 > 0:45:01Crew need to be ready to jump into the water in a flash
0:45:01 > 0:45:03or risk serious injury.
0:45:04 > 0:45:1027-year-old Caine Henderson has been working ships since he was 14.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12What can go wrong about here?
0:45:13 > 0:45:14A lot of things.
0:45:15 > 0:45:20Unstable pallet, you can get a swell alongside it and, erm...
0:45:20 > 0:45:22one will fall and then the rest will fall,
0:45:22 > 0:45:24then you start taking on water...
0:45:24 > 0:45:28so there's been days out here where the boat has sunk.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30- These have sunk?- Yep.
0:45:31 > 0:45:35One of today's challenges is getting this 2,000 kilogram
0:45:35 > 0:45:38sedan into this tiny lighter.
0:46:01 > 0:46:02A little bit hairy, right?
0:46:02 > 0:46:03Ooh!
0:46:05 > 0:46:06By that much.
0:46:06 > 0:46:08Nice work!
0:46:09 > 0:46:13Each lighter can carry a gobsmacking nine-tonne load.
0:46:14 > 0:46:17A very good thing, because every sizeable object
0:46:17 > 0:46:20on Norfolk Island has arrived in one of these.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22Is it addictive?
0:46:22 > 0:46:25I think it is. I enjoy the rush.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27The bigger the better for me.
0:46:27 > 0:46:29Something more dangerous.
0:46:29 > 0:46:33- Right. - A bit of swell, a bit of challenge.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35'It really is a risky business.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39'The unpredictable swell makes unloading at the island...
0:46:41 > 0:46:42'..equally hairy.'
0:46:53 > 0:46:56Approaching the pier is a dance of timing between launch driver,
0:46:56 > 0:46:59lighter and swell.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02Once honed, the men's skills look and become automatic,
0:47:02 > 0:47:06but this belies their deep knowledge of the ocean and what you could
0:47:06 > 0:47:10call a kind of intergenerational memory of knowing the sea.
0:47:13 > 0:47:14This is classy!
0:47:19 > 0:47:21Righto! See you, fellas!
0:47:26 > 0:47:27Thanks, man!
0:47:28 > 0:47:31That's good. That is the way to fly!
0:47:31 > 0:47:34'Life here depends on one's ability to adapt
0:47:34 > 0:47:37'and outwit the volatile nature of the sea.'
0:47:52 > 0:47:56This sentinel, the lone pine, has stood here for 650 years,
0:47:56 > 0:48:00keeping watch - a silent witness to all that's been
0:48:00 > 0:48:03and to whatever is to come.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09The destinies of those who call this far-flung isle home
0:48:09 > 0:48:12have long been shaped by its notorious history -
0:48:12 > 0:48:15a pertinent reminder of nature's power
0:48:15 > 0:48:17and the transience of human endeavour.
0:48:20 > 0:48:24The Norfolk pines were a great incentive for European settlement,
0:48:24 > 0:48:28but they were useless for masts, which was good news for this giant.
0:48:28 > 0:48:30In the end, though, there's a very valuable lesson
0:48:30 > 0:48:33to be learnt from the tree like this one -
0:48:33 > 0:48:36that it takes time and perseverance to put down roots.
0:48:46 > 0:48:49'Next time, we're in southern New South Wales where
0:48:49 > 0:48:53'Dr Alice Garner visits a yacht race with life and death stakes...
0:48:54 > 0:48:59160-kilometre-hour winds with gusts to 200 kilometres an hour.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02'..Professor Tim Flannery explores a wartime mystery linking
0:49:02 > 0:49:05'Australia to a lost British treasure...
0:49:05 > 0:49:08Who actually is the owner of the ingot?
0:49:08 > 0:49:10I'm not prepared to go into that, Tim.
0:49:10 > 0:49:14'..and I meet a killer whale that helped men hunt other whales.'
0:49:14 > 0:49:17A seven metre long killing machine accustomed to
0:49:17 > 0:49:19consuming 50 kilos of meat a day.