The Moreton Bay Penal Settlement was established on the
Redcliffe Peninsula on
Moreton Bay in September 1824, under the instructions of
John Oxley that a suitable location would be "easy of access, difficult to escape from, and hard to attack; furthermore, it should be near fresh water and contain three hundred acres for cultivation". The group of convicts and soldiers were led by Captain Henry Miller, the first commandant, who established the first European settlement in what later became the colony of Queensland. The specific area of that settlement was named Humpybong (empty shelters) by the original inhabitants when the strangers decamped to a more suitable place on the north bank of the Brisbane River, now the heart of Brisbane. After less than one year after settlement, the inadequacy of Redcliffe's water supply became apparent and in May 1825 the commandant Lieutenant
Henry Miller decided to relocate the settlement to the current
Brisbane CBD. Located on the north bank of the
Brisbane River, the new site allowed the collection of water from a freshwater creek and a chain of water holes near the present
Roma Street railway station, the first substantial water supply within of the mouth of the Brisbane River. This prison community was intended to be self-supporting. The settlers faced hardship and privation and the paucity of resources combined with thick sub-tropical vegetation made settlement difficult. Between 1826 and 1829, the number of prisoners in the settlement rose from 200 to 1000 and the plight of the convicts whose labour was to establish the settlement was dire. Despite the continued uncertainty about the future of Brisbane Town, building had continued under Commandant Logan, who is given credit for laying out the earliest permanent foundations. Logan was responsible for the building of
Brisbane's only surviving convict-constructed buildings: the
Commissariat Store and the
Old Windmill. A line of buildings ran from the Commandant's house to the first military barracks along present-day
William Street. These buildings included the Engineer's cottage on the corner of William and
Elizabeth Streets in what is now known as
Queens Gardens. The cottage was associated with the first lumber yard on this block, which also contained engineer's stores and workshops. A hospital was completed in 1827, after much government bungling over plans and approvals, on the block bounded by North Quay,
Adelaide, George and
Ann Streets, with the buildings extending into the current alignment of Adelaide Street. The
windmill tower which still stands on
Wickham Terrace was likely completed in late 1828, with a
treadmill added before September 1829. Beside the Prisoners' Barracks, along the Queen Street alignment towards the river, a row of single-story brick buildings were erected. The functions of the six apartments of these buildings changed over time including use as the Commissariat Officer's residence, school room, guard house, Superintendent of Convicts' residence, gaol room, solitary cells, married soldiers' residences, and a military school. Additional features depicted in these plans include a well situated in what is now George Street, near the intersection with Burnett Lane; a flagstaff in the centre of what is now William Street, close to the northwest boundary of Miller Park; and a range of gardens. The garden areas included military gardens and Dixon's garden behind the Military Barracks in the block bounded by Queen, George, Elizabeth and Albert Streets; Whyte's garden to the northwest of the Prisoners' Barracks, through which Burnett Lane now runs; Handt's garden and Kent's garden to the rear of the Chaplain's house and Commandant's house, today overlain by parts of Elizabeth, George and Charlotte Streets; the Commandant's garden adjacent to the Commissariat Store along William Street and down towards Alice Street; and Paget's garden and Dr Ballard's garden adjacent to the Hospital, in the location of George and Ann Streets. Barns and a piggery indicated on Dixon's 1840 plan appear to have been situated within the current alignment of
Charlotte Street. == Heritage listings ==