Sketch of Moreton Bay penal settlement, 1835 - item 1

Educational value

• This is one of the earliest views of Brisbane from the east and forms, with other surviving drawings also attributed to Bowerman, an almost complete picture of the penal settlement in 1835. Named after the governor of New South Wales in 1824, it housed secondary offenders - those who had re-offended while serving their original sentence at Port Macquarie, NSW. Moreton Bay was opened for free settlement in 1842, three years after the penal settlement closed.
• The river was crucial in the final selection of the site for the penal settlement as it provided a means of transport, safe anchorage and reliable fresh water. The drawing portrays part of the town, which was located on a pocket of land with the river on three sides, so that anyone crossing the river could easily be sighted and stock contained. In addition, Indigenous groups, who had been a constant concern at the earlier sites at Redcliffe and Breakfast Creek, were not apparent. The windmill on the hill at the right was built with convict labour in 1828 and is the oldest surviving windmill in Australia today. It ground wheat and maize for flour, but there were problems with the engineering of the sails and so the windmill was converted to be powered by a treadmill worked by convicts. It became used as a signal station and observation tower towards the end of the 19th century.
• The buildings depicted indicated that the authorities intended the settlement to be self-supporting. The first buildings were of slab and shingle, but the addition of a blacksmith's forge, carpenter's shop, sawpit, quarry and brick kiln resulted in more permanent brick and stone structures from 1826 under the direction of Commandant Logan (1791-1830). Seeds, trees, livestock and some skilled convicts had also been sent in the first cargo to establish farming.
• Although the settlement is depicted as pleasant and pastoral, it was in fact notorious for excessive punishment and disease, particularly at the time of Captain Logan, who was murdered in 1830. The isolation of Moreton Bay was intended to control re-offending convicts and reform them through strict discipline, hard labour and harsh living conditions, but drought and increasing numbers of arriving convicts made difficulties for the settlement.
• Henry Boucher Bowerman (1789-1840), to whom the drawing is attributed, served as deputy-assistant commissary-general at the Moreton Bay convict settlement from 1831 to 1835. His detailed and precise artwork was often used to accompany official reports. The commissariat store, which still exists today, was used for the procurement, supply and distribution of essential goods and was sited by the Brisbane River to allow for the easy transfer of goods.

Year level

F; 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12

Topics Colonies Penal colonies Primary schools