Conrad Martens’s Brisbane

Established in 1825, Brisbane developed as a penal settlement around present-day William and Queen Streets. The first buildings were temporary, constructed of slabs, and were subsequently replaced by larger structures of brick and stone. When Brisbane was surveyed to prepare for free settlement in 1842, the largest structure, the convict-built Prisoner’s Barracks, determined the position of Queen Street and the layout of the future city. Many early arrivals were temporarily accommodated there and in the former Military Barracks, another major convict structure (on the present Treasury Casino site). Other convict buildings were also recycled.
Dixon, Robert
Plan of Brisbane Town c.1840
Collection: Museum of Lands, Mapping and Surveying, Brisbane
Wade, Henry
Map of Brisbane 1844
63.5 x 68.5cm
Collection: Museum of Lands, Mapping and Surveying, Brisbane

Settlement initially spread in areas closest to, or with easy access to, the former penal station site and the river. North Brisbane, South Brisbane and Kangaroo Point, all linked by ferries, vied for leadership. By 1851 North Brisbane had asserted its supremacy. With shipping as the main means of access and communication for Brisbane and the settlements inland, Brisbane gradually developed as a port.
Pictorial map of Brisbane 1886
51 x 68.5cm
Collection: Museum of Lands, Mapping and Surveying, Brisbane
Pictorial Map of Brisbane 1881
61 x 91.5cm
Collection: Museum of Lands, Mapping and Surveying, Brisbane

Early buildings were small and inexpensive, on small allotments, built of readily available materials in a simple, easily constructed style – bark huts could be built in a day. More comfortable was the slab and shingle structure, cheaply erected of local timber (possibly with a timber floor), and later the sawn timber buildings. Generally, modest houses were built in lower lying areas, with more substantial structures on higher ground.
Diggles, Silvester
England/Australia QLD 1817–80
View from Kangaroo Point 1858
Pencil
21.6 x 26.7cm
Collection: Queensland Art Gallery
Acquired before 1959
Diggles, Silvester
England/Australia QLD 1817–80
Fortitude Valley 1858
Pencil
21.5 x 26.7cm
Collection: Queensland Art Gallery
Acquired before 1959
Diggles, Silvester
England/Australia QLD 1817–80
Kangaroo Point 1858
Pencil
21.6 x 26.7cm
Collection: Queensland Art Gallery
Acquired before 1959
Diggles, Silvester
England/Australia QLD 1817–80
North Brisbane from the south side 1858
Pencil
21.6 x 26.8cm
Collection: Queensland Art Gallery
Acquired before 1959
Silvester Diggles, painter, professional photographer, musician and naturalist, moved to Brisbane from Sydney in November 1854, after emigrating from England in 1853. He taught art and music, and was drawing master at the Brisbane Grammar School in 1869–70 and at All Hallows School in 1870. Diggles took an active part in the cultural life of Brisbane, helping to found its musical societies, its first scientific society (the Queensland Philosophical Society) and the Queensland Museum.

Edited extract from: Kerr, Joan (ed.). Dictionary of Australian Artists. Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1992, pp.211–12.


Later buildings reflected – in size, style, ornamentation, materials and position – the extent of their owners’ success and their faith in the future of the new northern settlement. Generally there was some adaptation to the local climate. Larger and more ornate homes set in spacious grounds and in the best locations began to appear. These included David McConnel’s Bulimba (1849–50) and Patrick Leslie’s Newstead (1845–46), both stone riverfront residences with large and impressive grounds.
Martens, Conrad
England/Australia 1801–78
Bulimba House 1851
Pencil
28.5 x 17cm
Collection: John Oxley Library
Meanwhile, other penal settlement sites became neglected. These included the Windmill (1828) on a nearby hill, which had ground grain to feed the convict settlement, and the former Government Garden fronting the river (now City Botanic Gardens site).

Janet Hogan, Queensland Art Gallery

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Printed from: http://www.qag.qld.gov.au
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