Arched Building, Rocky Point Rd, Longridge, Norfolk Island.
S 29° 02.805 E 167° 56.535
58J E 786512 N 6783261
The ruined building known as The Arches, at Longridge, dates from the 1840s and is historically highly significant. It is directly associated with the Second Settlement of Norfolk Island, when the Island became a prison for re-offending convicts.
Waymark Code: WMVFYD
Location: Norfolk Island
Date Posted: 04/13/2017
Views: 2
The building, with its substantial stone walling and its ten large arches and other openings, is of a scale and design which is intriguing as it reflects a level of extravagance not often seen in penal settlements.
Settlements: The first settlement by Europeans took place on 5 March 1788, forty days after the settlement of Port Jackson. The Second Settlement of Norfolk Island (1825-1855) was of an entirely different character to the First Settlement, and it was during this period that the arched building was constructed. Regarding Longridge more specifically, this settlement was established about nine months after the beginning of the Second Settlement in 1825. The lands here were used for corn and wheat growing and pig-raising, and had been used for some farming during the First Settlement period. Longridge became a complex of farm buildings, barracks, barns and yards, and by 1846 there were 35 structures here. The arched building, called by some The Arches, was erected after 1846 because it is not shown on the map by Mountney. It was built near the Prisoners' Barracks No 2. In 1966 the Commonwealth obtained the portion on which the building stands from members of the Brancher Nobbs family.
DESCRIPTION:
The surviving sections of the building consist of stone walling, the main wall having ten arches, with another series of openings above the arches. The rest of the structure is understood to have been constructed of timber. On the southern side there was a hipped roof, with eaves a little above the window heads. Internal floor levels, and the way in which rooms were arranged, is not known. Although the building is said by some to have been a prisoners' barrack, this is not confirmed, and may be a confusion with the Prisoners' Barracks No 2. There is a possibility that the building was used to store or load carts with farm produce, was used as stables, or that grain may have been stored in the building. There is a large drain at one end, and this is seen as evidence for the building's agricultural purposes.
The scale and design of the building are intriguing as they reflect a level of extravagance not often seen in penal settlements (Port Arthur being the primary exception). The building commands a view of a lush valley which evidently was the site of an old garden. Other surviving Longridge buildings (outside the boundary of this record, but like The Arches contained in RNE 13638) include a former cookhouse and a ration store and bakehouse, and Branka House. Also in the area can be found plants introduced during the First and Second Settlement periods. These include red cedar, citrus trees, banana trees and a Moreton Bay Fig.
Source: Australian Heritage Database.
Listed as Arched Building, Longridge, Rocky Point Rd, Longridge, EXT, Australia
Register of the National Estate (Non-statutory archive)
Class Historic
Legal Status Registered (21/10/1980)
Place ID 103909
Place File No 9/00/001/0003
List: Register of the National Estate
Place ID: 103909
Place File No: 9/00/001/0003
URL database reference: [Web Link]
Status:
Registered
Year built: 1846
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