But far too few travellers give it a second thought when planning a holiday.

They don’t know about the stunning beauty of the Australian territory, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

Certainly many are unaware of the history of the island, where the families of the perpetrators of the infamous Mutiny on the Bounty finally settled.

And as for its role as a British penal colony ... most are blissfully unaware of the beauty of the ruins of this hell-hole of incarceration.

This is probably because would-be tourists don’t get a chance to whet their appetites by first checking it out with a one-day stopover by one of the many giant cruise ships that ply the sea lanes of the Pacific.

Instead they end up in such places as Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga and Samoa.

Captain James Cook, who discovered the then-uninhabited Norfolk Island on his second voyage to the Pacific in 1774, was at first delighted with his find.

He found plenty of fine pine trees and an abundance of flax. The former was ideal for ships’ masts and the other to make sails.

But there was one major problem – the lack of a suitable harbour.

And, to this day, that is what keeps the seafaring tourists away.

But word of mouth is a wonderful thing.

Enraptured travellers return to their homes in Australia and New Zealand and shout its praises.

The locals also look for other ways to publicise Norfolk Island.

Last week they got a boost when Australia Post released a new $5 postage stamp featuring the local golf course.

One of only a handful in the world located within a UNESCO World Heritage listed site.

Even when you fluff a shot you still feel good at the view around you!

And there is a special link with Port Macquarie.

The original name of the course honoured the father of Port’s longest-serving mayor, Alban ‘Bull’ Elliot.

No one is quite sure whether Charles Sinclair Elliot actually ever played golf, let alone on Norfolk Island.

But he was an important figure in this tiny speck of paradise east of Australia, and, in those days, that is the way names of buildings and natural features were usually chosen.

From a respected family of diplomats and naval chiefs, Elliot was a captain in Britain’s Royal Navy.

He was appointed Chief Magistrate of Norfolk Island – the equivalent of a governor – in 1907 and remained there for six and a half years before moving to Sydney.

The golf course, the Elliot Links, was named after him (previously it was known as Garrison Farm during the convict days).

The Australia Post stamp also remembers Lottie Stephenson.

Lottie was the first person to drive a ball down the first fairway on the Elliott Links in 1913. It was during Captain Elliot’s final year on Norfolk Island.

The name of the course was later changed by local residents because of widespread anger over a few unpopular decisions made by Captain Elliot at the behest of the British colonial authorities.

These days all that has been forgotten.

Although tourists should be warned there is a bit of resentment to Australia’s decision to repeal the last vestiges of self-government three years ago.

Fore!