Visit by Lady Josephine

Last weekend we had a very special, if brief, visitor to the island. Lady Josephine White came to talk to our Norfolk Island Museum Trust about donating a very special book to our museum, if they were interested.

Lady Josephine comes from Dartmoor; a place where a dear in the garden can do as much damage as a clutch of feral hens do over here.

Her husband died 9 years ago and they had quite an extensive library. Josephone took up a course in repairing books so the collection could be restored to its former glory. She has been gradually going through their library, reading many of the volumes as she progressed.

One of the books that captivated her was 'Mutiny on the Bounty', written in 1871 by Lady Belcher. As she began restoring it, she read the story within. Lady Belcher’s version is different from many other versions, as it contains correspondence sent to Admiral Moresby from George Hunn Nobbs and the women of Pitcairn. These highlight a different side to the story that has been more ‘romanticised’ by other authors.

After arriving on Friday’s plane, Josephine had a lovely afternoon tea with the NI Museum Trust ladies, Merv and Clare,

as well as myself. We then went over to the Norfolk Island Museum, so she could see where this cherished book will be displayed once she has finished repairing it. Clare took her out for her evening meal.

Saturday saw Josephine and I doing a semi tour of the island, exploring Merv and Clare’s gardens

and other family properties and then on to Arthur Evan’s museum. We had a lovely lunch prepared by Trish, Danny took her for a tour of his immaculate garden and we sat admiring the view for a shawt letl.

After that, it was down to the cemetery, to locate some of the headstones Josephine was interested in. Unfortunately, it began to rain, so we moved on.

Josephine had asked to meet with some of George Hunn Nobbs’ descendants, so we headed out to Rocky Point for afternoon tea with the Nobbs’ brothers, Jan, Merv and Clare, Chris and myself. It was an entertaining time and Josephine regaled us with some of her stories, while showing us excerpts from her books.

After we had dragged ourselves away from the table, complete with leftovers, we drove around the other side of the island, before I took her back to her accommodation.

On Sunday, Arthur took her to St Barnabas Chapel for the service, then after booking her in for her flight, they went to his home for lunch, and then dropped her to the airport.

What a whirlwind of a stay she had here and I’m sure she will personally bring back the book once it has been restored.