Figure 1: Brisbane penal colony c.1831

The very first frontier conflict of Queensland consisted of Aboriginal attempts to starve out the fledgling colony. The penal colony was originally established at Redcliffe (near today’s Humpybong Park) in 1824. This was abandoned due to Aboriginal hostility, but no details survive of what exactly occurred.

Three years later (1827-1828), the same hostilities threatened the colony at its new location (today’s Brisbane CBD). This consisted of repeated plundering and destruction of the maize fields on which the colony depended for food, at South Brisbane and Kangaroo Point.