Prior to European settlement in 1824, Brisbane was home to the Jagera and Turrbal Aboriginal clans. The initial settlement in the Brisbane region was formed in Redcliff, Moreton Bay, and north of where the city of Brisbane is presently. This was the initial desire of Surveyor General John Oxley when he was surveying the region on board his ship the ‘Mermaid’ in late 1823. The ship was anchored off Bribie Island when the crew noticed a group of Aborigines and one who seemed larger sized than the rest on the shore. This was an ex-convict named Thomas Pamphlett, one among four men who had left Sydney early that year on an ill-fated journey to sail south in order to purchase Cedar wood. Pamphlett and another comrade survivor, Finnegan, had been living with the Aboriginals for many months until they were noticed. They told Oxley that there was a massive river in the vicinity and interested Oxley set off in a whaleboat to investigate, with a small crew and Finnegan as a guide. He found the river the next day and named it in attribution of the Governor of New South Wales at the time, Sir Thomas Brisbane. He thought the red cliffs at the north of the river was the most ideal location for a new penal settlement, however in 1825, less than a year after the convicts arrived the Redcliffe site was deserted mainly because Brisbane had a more dependable water supply and was surrounded by a bend in the river, suggesting escape was a lot more complicated. Continue reading →