Convicts & Colonials: Labour & Work

The life of a convict in the earliest days of Moreton Bay was extremely harsh. The day book of the Brisbane Penal Settlement records hard work for each gang of convicts and appallingly severe floggings for breaches of discipline. Many convicts worked in leg irons in "chain gangs" guarded by soldiers. Tom Petrie recalled seeing the chain gangs:

"The chains were some two feet long between the legs, and in the middle of each was a small ring with a string through it, which, being connected to the prisoner's belt, kept the irons from dragging on the ground during motion. Prisoners wearing chains had a peculiar way of walking, and you would see the poor fellows just released after six months or so, going along as through they still wore them. Heavily-chained men always dragged their feet along in a weary fashion - life to them could not have been much joy. Ordinary trousers would not go over a man's irons, so the chain gang all wore these garments opened right down the outside seams, and buttoned them with big black buttons."

Captain Logan, the Commandant of the Penal Settlement, found hummocks of limestone while exploring the Bremer River. Lime was urgently needed to put in mortar to make it more durable; without lime, brick and stone buildings were put together with a mortar consisting of clay or mud, sometimes reinforced with grass or hair. Summer rains could wash such a weak mortar away and cause the building to collapse. Several months after Logan's discovery, a kiln was built and a party of convicts consisting of an overseer with some experience of tunnelling and mining and five men, was sent to Limestone to begin lime-burning. Shortly after their arrival, wandering aborigines visited the Station, threatened the men and stole their tools. To protect the lime burners, a corporal and three privates were then sent there.

Cunningham estimated that about 8 tonnes of lime were burnt each week and sent to Brisbane Town by boat for use in buildings. He also reported that seams of coal had been seen along the river bank, and that, judging by the vegetable garden cultivated by the soldiers, the soil was excellent.

Shortly after the limeburning started, flocks of Government sheep and cattle were sent to Limestone, and later still, an area of land known as "the Ploughed Station" was cultivated (this is now the area of land bounded by Wildey, Cascade and Raceview Streets and Robinson Road.) The convicts of Limestone were engaged in lime burning, looking after the sheep and cattle, and working at the Ploughed Station.