Dunwich Public Reserve is a heritage-listed archaeological site at Junner Street, Dunwich, North Stradbroke Island in the City of Redland, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1827 to 1828. It is also known as Privy Pit, Convict Barracks, and Convict Store within the Moreton Bay penal settlement. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 25 February 2000.
History
The Dunwich public reserve site includes an area upon which a privy pit, convict barracks and store were constructed in 1827 as part of a military and stores depot servicing the recently established Moreton Bay penal settlement.
In 1823 John Oxley discovered the Brisbane River and a recommendation was made that a settlement should be established on its banks. In June the following year colonial administration proclaimed an intention to establish a settlement at Moreton Bay or in the near vicinity. There was general indecision regarding the type of settlement that should take place following Oxley's glowing report of the area. However, New South Wales Governor Thomas Brisbane proceeded with his original instructions to establish a penal settlement at Moreton Bay, hopeful that one day the area might be opened up to free settlement. Moreton Bay was one of four such penal settlements to be established in Australia in the 1820s.
On 1 September 1824 the Government vessel, "Amity", departed from Sydney bound for Moreton Bay. The ship included Lieutenant Henry Miller, Commandant of the settlement; John Oxley, Commanding Officer and Chief of the expedition; Lieutenant Butler, assistant Surveyor; Allan Cunningham, Botanist; general troops and 29 convicts. Approximately half of the convicts had volunteered in the hope they may gain a ticket of leave for their efforts in establishing the first settlement. The convicts were from varied backgrounds including quarrymen, lime burners, bricklayers, marble polishers, stone cutters, brick makers, plasterers and labourers.
On 10 September 1824 the "Amity" arrived in Moreton Bay and following an inspection of St Helena Island, Redcliffe was selected as the site for settlement as originally recommended by John Oxley in 1823. Redcliffe proved unsatisfactory, however, and the settlement was short lived. In late September 1824, the Amity was nearly driven ashore by a fierce storm, prompting Oxley to declare the site an unsafe place to anchor. Following further exploration of the surrounding waters Oxley discovered a safer point of entry into the bay through the south passage between Stradbroke Island and Moreton Island.
In October 1824 Governor Brisbane visited the Moreton Bay settlement and following a journey some up the Brisbane River endorsed Oxley's earlier recommendations for settlement. It appears that the settlement was officially relocated from Redcliffe to Brisbane in May 1825; however the dates are unconfirmed. Lieutenant Miller established the settlement on the high ground overlooking the Brisbane River, near the current Victoria Bridge location.
Before the move from Redcliffe to Brisbane, John Gray, Pilot of Port Jackson, received orders to survey and buoy the south passage as discovered by Oxley. To maintain the buoys, a pilot was posted at Amity Point on Stradbroke Island. A sandbar at the mouth of the Brisbane River prevented large ships from entering the river and Amity Point became a pilot station at which large vessels unloaded and distributed their cargo to smaller craft capable of navigating the bar and transporting goods into Brisbane. The Amity Point pilot station was the first in the Moreton Bay penal settlement and continued to operate till the wreck of the Sovereign in 1848, when it was relocated to Moreton Island and shipping then used the northern entrance to the bay via Cape Moreton.
In 1827, Governor Ralph Darling visited the settlement and amongst other concerns, expressed a dissatisfaction with the inability of large ships to navigate the sandbar at the mouth of the Brisbane River. Captain Patrick Logan, Commandant of Brisbane, recommended the settlement be relocated to Green Point or Bird Island. On 29 November 1827, Governor Darling directed Captain Logan to establish a military post and stores depot at Dunwich, formerly known as Green Point. Plans and materials were sent from Sydney with instructions to establish a warehouse and accommodation for convict labourers, boatmen and soldiers. The plans were drawn by William Dumaresq, Acting Civil Engineer for New South Wales. In May 1828 Logan reported that the magazine at Dunwich was roofed and nearly completed and the military and prisoner barracks at Dunwich were finished and occupied.