History St Helena Island, Queensland, Australia

This Small Island Near Brisbane was an Early Convict Prison

Sep 6, 2009 Bruce Iliff

St Helena, a small island in Moreton Bay, was a prison during early European settlement in Brisbane, Queensland. Its convict ruins are now a tourist attraction.

St Helena Island has evolved from European settlement, when a prison was built on the island, to become a modern tourist attraction.

How Did St Helena Island Get its Name?

St Helena was originally known as one of the Green Islands stretching in a line from Wellington Point. It received its new name in a twist of fate. In 1828 a young Aboriginal man became a handful for the warders at the penal station on Stradbroke Island. To solve the problem, they exiled him to an island in Moreton Bay. His name was Napoleon, as he had a similar bearing and character to his namesake.

So what better name for the island than where the real Napoleon Bonaparte had been exiled: St Helena. However, the small island couldn't hold the resourceful Napoleon, he quickly built a canoe and made his escape.

St Helena Becomes a Prison

Construction of a quarantine station on St Helena started in 1865. Prisoners from the hulk Proserpine were used to quarry stone and then, with the supervision of tradesmen from the mainland, constructed the buildings.

With Brisbane jails overflowing it was decided a prison was needed more than a quarantine station, so in 1867 the St Helena Island Penal Establishment began service. The prison held up to 370 inmates guarded by 100 warders.

Life on St Helena Island Prison

Like Lady Elliot, all the natural vegetation was cleared on St Helena. This wasn't to reap the natural resources, but to remove possible hiding places for escaped prisoners.

In the first few years the prison labourers built cell blocks, warden's quarters, bakery, hospital, jetty and the other buildings for the small community. A mill for sugar cane grown on the island was built in 1869.

It was a long trip from the mainland so the prison had to be self-sufficient, an easy task with free labour and lush fields. From this self-sufficiency came profit for the young colony at Brisbane. At one time the prison was judged the best of its kind in the world.

In the workshops the troublesome inmates made shoes, boots, saddles, and other products. Prisoners that could be trusted worked in the fields growing crops and tending the cattle. These activities were so successful that goods from the island were entered in competitions. Olive oil won awards in Italy, while Ayrshire dairy cattle from the island collected many prizes at the Brisbane Royal National Association show.

Closure of St Helena Island Prison

In 1932, upkeep costs, administration problems and the isolation for the warders combined to force the closure of the prison. The final job for the inmates was to demolish many of the buildings for useful items.

After the last prisoner left, the lush pastures were used for farming. In 1960, Charles Carroll bought the lease for his 100 diary cattle. During his wanderings on the island he found reminders of the previous occupants: the stone jetty, the decayed buildings, the crosses in the prisoner's graveyard.

Walking through the ruins of this history of penal suffering and achievement, Carroll found himself delving deeper into that history. In 1980 he began guiding tours of the ruins. This gave him a meagre amount to help preserve the penal colony and brought the historic significance of the island to public attention.

Preservation of St Helena Island History

Also in 1980 the island was gazetted a National Park, but this alone couldn't restore the ruins; large funds were needed. Leading up to the 1988 Bicentennial celebrations the island was considered to have historic importance and attracted a grant for the restoration. In an ironic twist prison labourers from Boggo Road jail in Brisbane spent a year restoring the ruins.

St Helena Island is now a tourist attraction out of Brisbane. Day tours and even Ghost Tours of the island and its prison ruins are available.

Some other stories of early Australian life are:

The copyright of the article History St Helena Island, Queensland, Australia in South Pacific History is owned by Bruce Iliff. Permission to republish History St Helena Island, Queensland, Australia in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.