St Helena Island has cultural and historical significance for the Quandamooka Peoples and was known as Noogoon, home of flying fox. For many thousands of years before European colonisation, Quandamooka men hunted dugongs and women gathered from the surrounding land and seas. The island was covered in Moreton Bay fig trees filled with flying fox, one of the food sources.
St Helena, located in Moreton Bay, is approximately 5 km from the mouth of the Brisbane River and 8km north-east of Manly, has a fascinating history. Its most significant period was when it functioned as a high-security colonial prison from 1867. The overcrowding in Brisbane's gaols resulted in the conversion of the buildings, originally intended for a quarantine station, into accommodation for prisoners. Prison labour was used for all activities on the island, from the construction of buildings and roadways to growing, processing and cooking of food.
The first few years were devoted to construction of the two cell blocks, kitchen, bakehouse, hospital, underground tanks, stables, boathouse, storehouse, jetty and Superintendents home. This formed the base of a building program which continued until the prisons last years. In 1869, the lime kiln and sugar mill were added. Sugar cane growing and processing kept the prisoners busy until the workshops were well enough established to take over as the main source of work on the Island. These trades included boot making, sail-making, tailoring, saddle making, tin-smithing, candle making, bookbinding and carpentry. The long termers were occupied in these workshops inside the prison stockade and the trustees engaged in animal husbandry and agriculture.
Some of the buildings were made from beach rock quarried on the island, or from bricks made on site from clay found at the northern end of the island. Others were constructed of timber imported from the mainland. Tradesmen employed as prison warders supervised this work, maintaining a high standard of workmanship and productivity. While the prison layout and organisation was based essentially on the English penal system, the prison architecture was largely a reflection of the late 19th Century trend to a colonial style of architecture. Once a place of isolation and hardship for prisoners, the island is now a heritage-listed site that preserves the stories of prisoners, wardens, and the families who lived and worked there.
The historic and picturesque St Helena Island National Park offers students a chance to step back in time and walk among the evocative ruins of Queensland's first penal settlement, established in 1867. Arriving aboard our 12-metre catamaran, Inspiration, students are immersed in the island's dramatic history through storytelling, role-play, and exploration of the surviving prison structures. They gain a powerful sense of what life was like for those who lived within the walls, from daily routines and punishments to tales of resilience and escape attempts.
Beyond its rich cultural history, St Helena Island also provides an ideal setting for science and geography programs. Surrounded by the diverse ecosystems of Moreton Bay Marine Park, students investigate the island's flora and fauna, coastal processes, and environmental management strategies, making meaningful connections between the past and present. The unique combination of heritage and natural landscapes makes St Helena Island a truly cross-curricular learning environment, where history, science, and geography converge in a real-world context.
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