The island's history runs deeper than the ocean that surrounds it.
Norfolk Island has a population of around 2000 residents and has been self-governed since 1979, but their people have been governing much longer than that.
In 1856, 194 people arrived on Norfolk from the neighbouring Pitcairn Islands.
The Pitcairn Islanders were a genetic mix of Tahitian and English, the English part being direct descendants from the mutineers on the HMS Bounty - a bloodline that still runs strong today.
"We come from the East, Australian’s come from the West," says island resident Albert Buffett, who was "born and bred" on Norfolk.
"We came from Pitcairn Islands to here. If you have a look at the petition, (it's) now documented by academics that we are indigenous.
"In fact, over the years we’ve been here we have our own language, which is now recognised by UNESCO for many years, that was forbidden to be spoken in school.
"They attempted to eradicate it, but they have failed."
Buffet says there was previously a solid relationship with Australia, but over time that has changed dramatically.
"They used to be very helpful, but in the last five years, it’s deteriorated rapidly.
"To the extent that they’re telling us what will happen, without any real consideration, when this is affecting the community as a whole.
"We’ve recently been told we’re fishing illegally in our own waters, so what does that tell you?
"We're about to lose everything."
When the Global Financial Crisis hit in 2010, tourist numbers dropped from around 40,000 to 24,000 per year and with rounghly 41 per cent of the economy derived from tourism, money soon dried up.
That's when they asked Australia for funds.
"We’ve recently been told we’re fishing illegally in our own waters, so what does that tell you?"
The catch was Norfolk Island had to sign over all rights to self-governance, effectively dissolving the Norfolk government and giving all control of the island to Australia from that point on.
"Australia really held us by the neck there because we can't get funding from anywhere else other than through the Australian government," says Andre Nobbs, former chief minister of Norfolk Island.
Australian Government Administrator of Norfolk Island Gary Hardgrave couldn't disagree more.
"The mess that we now know Norfolk Island is in financially was a long time coming and the Global Financial Crisis simply exposed what was already there," he says.
"They were running out of money and to expect a town of about 1800 people to finance three levels of government without further assistance was just an experiment that failed."
A referendum last year found 68 per cent of Norfolk Islanders were against Australian intervention. It's almost a certainty that Norfolk Island will fall back into the Australian fold on the first of July.
Nobbs was the chief minister of Norfolk Island for three years and is deeply opposed to the imminent take over by Australia.
"In terms of the community's view of what is happening here with the imposed changes, there has been very little information and because the Australian government has gone against the wishes of the majority of people of Norfolk Island," he says.
With the decision for the Australian Government to come into the island, people are divided, pitting families against families and mates against mates.
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