The 'Horrors of Moreton Bay' and Commandant Logan's Death

The Moreton Bay Penal Settlement was set up as a place for convicts who had re-offended, a place of exile and punishment. In September of 1824, the first European settlement in what would become Queensland was established here by a group of convicts and soldiers under Captain Henry Miller. They initially settled at what is now called Redcliffe. The original inhabitants named that specific area Humpybong, meaning "empty shelters," after the strangers moved to a more suitable location on the north bank of the Brisbane River, which is now the heart of Brisbane.

This settlement was meant to be a harsh penalty for those who had committed another crime after already being transported for a serious illegal act. The idea was for this prison community to be self-supporting.

Between 1828 and 1829, the settlement faced a real test when a combination of factors led to what one convict called "the horrors of Moreton Bay." There was a drought, poor and insufficient water, too many convicts, a diet that lacked basic nutrients, and a severe punishment schedule. This combination caused a tenth of the convicts to die. Commandant Patrick Logan was killed in 1830. After this, steps were taken to fix the terrible situation, as a sentence to Moreton Bay wasn't meant to be a death sentence.

Transportation to Moreton Bay officially ended in 1840, but the convict issue wasn't entirely over. From 1846 to 1850, convicts, now called "exiles," were reintroduced. Squatters wanted cheap convict labor, but free settlers who arrived after 1842 saw convicts as a threat to their livelihoods. The British government decided to send these exiles directly to Moreton Bay. The ships Mountstuart Elphinstone and Bangalore brought the first direct shipments, and other exiles came in smaller groups from other vessels that arrived in Sydney. These convicts were given a ticket-of-leave and mostly moved west to work for the squatters. Resistance from free settlers stopped the importation of new convicts in 1850.