Marking 40 years of Norfolk Island National Park 

Norfolk Island National Park and Botanic Garden is celebrating its 40th anniversary on Saturday 31 January, the date that it was officially proclaimed under Commonwealth law.

The botanic garden began its life in the 1950s as the private sanctuary of local resident, Annie Moore, who was passionate about growing Norfolk Island’s native plant species.

When Mrs Moore returned to New Zealand in 1975, she donated her six-hectare plot to the Norfolk Island Administration, and it formed the basis of the public gardens we see today.

The national park started with the creation of the Mount Pitt Reserve in 1936, and has expanded over time, so that it now covers one-sixth of Norfolk Island and also takes in nearby Phillip Island.

The park and botanic garden are essential to protecting and rehabilitating Norfolk Island’s unique native species, ranging from the beloved Norfolk green parrot to mountain Procris, one of the rarest plants in the world, and the tiny Campbell’s keeled glass-snail, once believed to be extinct and now the subject of an Australian-first snail breeding and translocation project.

The park and botanic garden are also vital to the island’s cultural heritage, with the park home to a number of historical and archaeological sites, and the botanic garden helping to maintain community traditions such as the growing and sharing of produce and making local classics like guava jelly.

Norfolk Island National Park Manager, Zoe Knapp said the greatest strength of the national park and botanic garden was its staff, volunteers and supporters.

“We have so many passionate, engaged people in the community taking part in such a variety of ecological projects, like our wonderful Friends of Norfolk Island National Park who work so tirelessly every week on weeding and planting, the staff and private landowners who have cleared hectares of woody weeds and replanted thousands of native plants through the Restoring the Bounty project, and the community members who recently joined our annual morepork owl survey,” she said.

“These are just some of the wonderful things that we have underway. I could not be prouder of what has been accomplished at the national park, in the botanic garden, and across the island through partnership, collaboration and dedication.

“Forty years is a wonderful milestone for us, and a strong foundation that we will continue to build on into the future.”

Anniversary celebrations will take place throughout 2026, beginning with an evening event at the botanic garden, and continuing with the launch of a commemorative booklet, community planting days, and exciting new ways for people of all ages to become involved in environmental projects.

Follow Norfolk Island National Park on Facebook and Instagram to join the anniversary celebrations.