Lord Howe Island - Culture and History

If you are looking for a modern, unspoilt paradise this is probably it. The island was totally uninhabited when, on 17 February 1788, Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball, who at the time was the commander of the HMS Supply, discovered it. Ball was on his way from the infant colony of Port Jackson to Norfolk Island when he sighted the island. He named it after Richard Howe, a British Admiral.

The first settlers arrived in 1834. The group, taken to the island on a whaler, comprised three Europeans from New Zealand accompanied by a small group of Maoris. The 'settlers' returned to New Zealand when they were offered money to leave by a couple of Sydney businessmen named Dawson and Poole.

Dawson and Poole tried to set up a settlement. Dawson became disenchanted and left. Poole persisted and by 1851 the island had a population of 16 all of whom lived off the produce of the sea and what they could grow in their gardens. The appearance of the community meant that it was visited periodically by trading and whaling vessels and a small trading business emerged. In 1182 the whole island was declared a Botanic Reserve. By 1900 there were about 100 people living on the island. The economy was a mixture of subsistence, a small trade in palm seeds and some trading with passing boats. It was until the 1940s that the island really started to develop. A regular flying boat service from Sydney brought tourists to the island. The flying boat was replaced in 1974 when a small airstrip was built. In 1982 the island was World Heritage listed. It is currently administered by a board which ensure that World Heritage values are sustained.