Brisbane Commissariat established 1829, William Street entrance across a gangway to the oldest occupied building in Queensland Australia

            The Commissariat Store is the oldest occupied building in Queensland: it is occupied by the Royal Historical Society of Queensland (RHSQ), with a museum and the Welsby Library.

In 1824, the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Thomas Brisbane, gave instructions to establish a new penal settlement in Moreton Bay. Re-offending convicts from New South Wales were sent to remote stations to do the most menial labour on a rigidly-set, monotonous and minimum diet. Punishment was the focus of the new, secondary penal stations.

Acting Civil Engineer, William Dumaresq, drew up plans for the Commissariat Store. In 
April 1828 the New South Wales Colonial Secretary, Alexander Macleay, sent Dumaresq’s 
plans to Captain Patrick Logan, the Commandant of the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement. 
The supervisor of the construction of the Commissariat Store was a career soldier, 
Lieutenant Thomas Bainbrigge. The supervisor of the goal gang working on the site was 
Peter Spicer. He reported that, on 9 July 1828, sixteen men in the gaol gang started work 
on the Commissariat Store foundations. Preparation for the retaining wall and the 
foundations of the Commissariat Store took almost four months to complete.

The Commissariat’s primary role was to procure, store and distribute provisions to the military, convicts and colonists. The Commissariat also controlled the supply of hospital requisites and equipment, customs and banking. This stone building commissioned by Commandant Patrick Logan was completed in 1829.

In 1839 the costly penal settlement was effectively closed and the bulk of the convict population removed. 

The Store became a land sales office and then a depot for immigrants unable to be accommodated in the former Military Barracks. A separate kitchen building was constructed in the yard.

In 1860 the building was renamed the Colonial Stores. The first floor was converted into a police barracks, while the ground floor remained a storeroom. An inventory of supplies listed items such as cutlery, paper, candles, police clothing, saddlery and blankets for the Aborigines. Later, a brick storekeeper’s cottage, saddle store, stables and stationery annex were constructed in the yard.

From the mid-1880s the building was converted into sundry government offices and renamed the Government Stores. Various additions were constructed to provide more workspace. A third storey, approached by a gangway from William Street, was added in 1913.

Following renovations in 1978, the building became the headquarters of The Royal Historical Society of Queensland in 1981.

Ref: The Royal Historical Society of Queensland

Taken on: August 7, 2019

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Camera: Nikon D7100, f/8.0, 1/250 sec, 18mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D7100
Lens:	18.0-105.0 mm f/3.5-5.6
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.004 sec (1/250)
Focal Length:	18mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 22.2 (Windows)
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