Mapping living heritage in Kingston and Arthur's Vale Historic Area, Norfolk Island : routes, customary practices and emotions

In heritage management plans, maps have long been used to draw boundaries around regions and plot natural and cultural sites, trails and routes. Attention to participatory mapping and counter-mapping has increased alongside trends towards bottom-up approaches to heritage that recognise local communities as experts in their own heritage. This article reflects on participatory mapping activities undertaken on Norfolk Island, home to the UNESCO World Heritage listed Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area. Since the production of the first management plan in 1980, heritage management of Kingston has overwhelmingly privileged the preservation and interpretation of its convict heritage, with historically little attention paid to the island’s past Polynesian settlement and the ongoing Pitcairn settlement since 1856. The article presents findings from collaborative mapping exercises centred on routes, customary practices, and emotions undertaken with Pitcairn Settler descendants and others with long and deep connections to Norfolk Island. In particular, we focus on participants’ commentaries on Kingston’s heritage management. Our analysis highlights the importance of protecting heritage in ways that account for everyday and contemporary experiences, emotional resonances, and unbounded uses of this living heritage site.