Article written by Sera-Lyn Terare.
This week I ended up getting on the bus and headed into the city to visit the Brisbane Museum.
It was a particularly busy day at the museum, with the beginning of the first week of the school holidays.
The Brisbane museum is a family-friendly establishment with many exhibitions that involve the participation of the younger generation.
However, I was at the museum for one exhibition in particular; Life in Irons.
Life in Irons – Brisbane’s Convict Stories is an exhibition that’s presented with participation from the Queensland State Library with the support from Liquid Interactive. Without giving away too much of the exhibitions, I’d like to tell you about my experience and what I have learned from visiting the Life in Irons.
Life in Irons tells the stories of the convicts both Indigenous and European who were sent to the Penal Colony in Moreton Bay during the years of 1825 – 1839. How did the Penal Colony begin you ask? Continue below for a tiny history lesson.
In the year 1823, Sir Thomas Brisbane, who as the time was the New South Wales Governor gave instructions to locate suitable land to John Oxley in which a Penal Colony could be developed. This idea was a way to address the overcrowded prisons with the idea to reinstate the terror into the convicted. A plan of punishment that the Chief Justice Forbes thought would help solve the problem of overcrowding.
The Moreton Bay Penal Colony was created in 1824, in what we know now as Redcliffe. A year later, in 1825 Oxley’s originating plan ended up further up the river. This was because of many struggles that included lack of resources, bad anchorage and many continued battles with the Aboriginal people who defended their land. After which, they chose to abandon the site and relocated the colony to what we know as William and Queen Streets in the heart of Brisbane’s city.
The original purpose in creating a Penal Colony in Moreton Bay was to create a space where convicts who had a habit of re-offending while serving a sentence in Sydney. The colony had lasting effects on not only the convicts and soldiers who were sent there and having this colony present on the land changed many of the lives of the thousands of Aboriginal people who are the traditional custodians of the lands in which the Colony was settled on.
The entire colony was a prison in a remote location and harsh conditions formed to bring about fear into the convicts. It was a self-sufficient and a pastoral and construction work which was done by convict labour in the heat. Many tried to escape frequently, however, the punishments were severe.
The Moreton Bay Penal Colony was in operation for 15 years and housed around 3,000 convicts, 800 soldiers and three dozen civilians. Today, over 100 years later, there is only two buildings from this period time are the Windmill located on Wickham Terrace and the Commissariat Store in William Street.
The history lesson is not all that I learned today. I learned about the documents that have survived this time, the books, maps and plans of the Moreton Bay Penal Colony which gives a glimpse into what life was like for those who had not only lived and worked within the colony but for those who were convicts.
As you walk into the exhibition, you come to a wall on your left where you have the choice of five stories.
I chose to follow the story of Mary McAuley, a soldier’s wife at Moreton Bay 1824-1832. She was a Matron of the Female Factory 1831-1832.
Mary’s story follows the life of her and her husband Peter and his role as a soldier in the colony. After living within the colony for seven years, she became the Matron of the Female Factory where she was paid a daily salary of one shilling and sixpence and could negotiate extra rations. Mary eventually lost her job five months later after she was accused of ‘improper practices’, in layman’s terms, smuggling.
Walking around the dark and small room, I noticed the mannequin dressed in the attire, the British redcoat, a symbol of imperial presence. I also noticed the many documents that had survived the colony. The many books that contained detailed records of the convicts, the soldiers and the trade/factory work done by the convicts. There were also building plans of the factories, prison barracks for both men and women and the commanders housing plans.
Upon leaving the exhibition, I walked past a wall that had a map printed on it. This map contained the Moreton Bay Penal Colony and the locations of the buildings. On close inspection of the map, I noticed where they marked the burial grounds, swamps, corroboree and ceremonial grounds, rainforests etc.
Although this exhibition was smaller than I expected but it was more informative than I expected. I learned a lot about the history of Brisbane and what happened to the Aboriginal people and how they were forced out of their land to create this Penal Colony. I learned that history is more than just words in a book. It’s a real and living thing that not only this city but this country is learning to embrace. We have a lot of history that has the good, the bad and the ugly.
This free exhibition is open until 28 October and I, a lover of history, suggest that you should check it out before it closes. It is worth the time you take out of your busy life.
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