Norfolk Island
In 1794, King suggested closing Norfolk Island as a penal colony. It was too far away from New South Wales, it was hard for ships to land there, and it cost too much to keep it going. In 1803, the Secretary of State, Lord Hobart, called for the moving everyone to Van Diemen's Land, because of the cost and the difficulties of travel between Norfolk Island and Sydney. The settlers did not want to move, they had worked hard to clear the land and set up their farms. They wanted the government to pay them for having to move. King, now Governor of New South Wales, did not want everyone moved, he thought it would make a good prison for bad convicts from New South Wales. It could also be a place to supply whaling ships, or grow coffee.