A Brief History of the Founding of Queensland - Convicts

Australian history originated from the founding of a convict colony by the British government on the 26th of January 1788 into a formal nation on the 1st of January 1901.

Since then, Australia developed its own unique identity. Artefacts date back from the early-19th century, through the second Boer War, First World War and into the end of the 20th century and the 21st century.  

Historical artefacts remain with us in museums and libraries, detailing our harsh beginnings as a collection of penal colonies and the struggle that comes with the progression of a developed state.

In 1824 Moreton Bay was settled as a penal settlement in Eastern Australia. What is gleaned from the illustrations and journals of British officers documents the life of the convicted. The rough and tumble nature of penal colonies points towards the heavy use of manual labour. Male convicts were forced to construct, work, and maintain labour camps - working in conditions considered harsh and unfair compared with today’s work practices.

They were provided with only the bare necessities such as clothes, food, and drink, and only the most privileged were given a wage. A pittance wage was still a welcome comfort in their otherwise strict and rigid lifestyle, however. Said wages were spent during market days under the careful watch of British marines.

They worked from sunup until sundown and breaks were considered a luxury. The iron chains around their ankles hindered movement preventing escape. The chains only allowed for movement to only just beyond shoulder width. They broke rocks, cut down forests and built the first settlements of Queensland. They were vital for critical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and public buildings such as the town hall, hospitals and military barracks, lumber yards, and farmhouses.

Convict Leg Irons at the Commissariat Store Museum. Osia, J. (2024)

The punishment of male convicts often included time on a pseudo-treadmill. Groups of men were forced to power the device that ground grain into flour. The most severe punishments were reserved for significant crimes. Sentencing by a particularly harsh judge was met with the whip that ranged from a single tail to several. The whips were made of long strips of leather with some possessing knots of leather or metal on their ends for a more brutal punishment. 

Female convicts were often used for domestic labour with their hair shorn short or shaved completely as a punishment. They were servants and housekeepers to officers and women were punished with the same work details as the male convicts when they infringed on the settlement’s rules.

The punishments themselves lessened and then fell out of fashion. Journals, illustrations, diagrams, and artefacts themselves such the iron chains and the whips detail life from the beginning until the end of Australia’s convict period.

Reconstruction Cat o' Nine Tails at the Commissariat Store. Osia, J. (2024)

Article by: Joseph Osia
Editors: Ruth Kerr, Helen Best, Jan Freemantle