Qibla direction in Kingston, Norfolk Island

How to face the Qibla in Kingston, Norfolk Island

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 3.1° towards north: the result is the bearing of 273.1°. The direction is close to due west, which makes it easy to remember.

Scholars agree that someone who can see the Kaaba must face it exactly, while someone far away faces its direction (jihat al-Ka‘bah) as precisely as reasonably possible. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. At home, mark the direction once with tape or a small arrow so the whole family prays the same way.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from Kingston, Norfolk Island to Mecca points to 292.2° (west), a full 19.1° away from the true Qibla of 273.1° (west). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 76 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Kingston, Norfolk Island first heads west, and that is the direction to face.

The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 29.0546° S, 167.9663° E to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). It is the method used by mosque architects and by every serious Qibla calculator, and it gives one exact answer for each point on Earth.

Distance from Kingston, Norfolk Island to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 14,771 km from Kingston, Norfolk Island as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 14,902 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 17 h 53 min, although most pilgrims from Kingston, Norfolk Island connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Kingston, Norfolk Island run 9 hours ahead of Mecca in winter and 8 hours ahead of Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Kingston, Norfolk Island rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Kingston, Norfolk Island

On 184 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Kingston, Norfolk Island while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in January (31 days); for example, on 1 January 2027 it happens at 15:08 local time.

On 155 days the sun stands exactly opposite the Qibla: then the shadow of any vertical object, a pole, a door frame or a plumb line, points straight towards Mecca. This is most frequent in January (31 days), for instance on 1 January 2027 at 09:44.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Kingston, Norfolk Island (20:18 and 20:27 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 14 January 2027 at 09:29 and 29 November 2027 at 09:09 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in Kingston, Norfolk Island points straight to Mecca.

Kingston, Norfolk Island compared with other cities

See all cities on the Qibla page for Norfolk Island.