Recounts the human history of St Helena through the use of government documentation and those personal family papers that have survived the years. This lavishly illustrated book brings to life the island’s rich history, from the early days of Aboriginal occupation and the European invasion, through to St Helena’s current status as a popular Queensland tourist destination.

An illustrated history of colonial Queensland's island prison in Moreton Bay. Several kilometres from the mouth of the Brisbane River lies St Helena Island. For more than 60 years from 1867, St Helena was home to thousands of society's outcasts, for here was located colonial Queensland's foremost prison for men. During those years, and in the decades following its closure in 1933, the lovely little island gained a fearful reputation as 'the hell hole of the Pacific' and 'Queensland's own Devil's Island', where men were reputedly 'kept chained by day and night', 'flogged to death' and 'hurried under the sod while their oppressors turned on those still living'. It was a place to dread for the colony's murderers, rapists, bushrangers, rebels, thieves and men of like violence and mayhem. They were subjected to the lash, the dreaded black hole, the gag and straight-jacket, and energy-sapping shot drill. Life could be tough on St Helena. It was a secure prison - but dozens of men were desperate enough to attempt escape. Few succeeded. But St Helena also gained a reputation as a self-sufficient model prison, held in high regard by visiting interstate and overseas penologists, churchmen and journalists, for here men could be rehabilitated through learning such trades as tailoring, bootmaking, tinsmithing, saddlemaking, and farming pursuits. Indeed, it was claimed that the prison was for the inmates 'a perfect paradise... In fact they often want to get back there'. Where does the truth reside? Was the St Helena Island Penal Establishment 'living hell' for society's miserable outcasts or was it 'a remnant of old Eden'? Of interest to historians, general readers, students and visitors to the island, this profusely illustrated and well-presented 300-page full-colour book, referenced and with index, has 18 chapters.

The St Helena Penal Establishment was situated on a small Island in Moreton Bay, some 5 km from the mouth of the Brisbane River, covered approximately 88 hectares above the high water line and was one of the loveliest islands in the bay. The elevated tableland on which the prison was built looked like a large rugged block of ruby and emerald rising out of the sea. Its steep chocolate brown patches of rich soil, bordered with green fields of cultivation and bases of grass and shimmering sand provided a striking first picture of the island. It has had a fascinating history from the time it was first discovered; but its most important period began when it became a high-security colonial prison in 1867. The overcrowding of Brisbane's gaols resulted in the conversion of buildings originally intended for a quarantine station on St. Helena Island, into accommodations for prisoners convicted for a wide variety of crimes.

Extract from paper published in Australian Archaeology, q.v. for annotation.

The south-east Queensland region is currently experiencing the most rapid urbanisation in Australia. This growth in human population, industry and infrastructure puts pressure on the unique and diverse natural environment of Moreton Bay. Much loved by locals and holiday-goers, Moreton Bay is also an important biogeographic region because its coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves and saltmarshes provide a supportive environment for both tropical and temperate species. The bay supports a large number of species of global conservation significance, including marine turtles, dugongs, dolphins, whales and migratory shorebirds, which use the area for feeding or breeding. Environmental History and Ecology of Moreton Bay provides an interdisciplinary examination of Moreton Bay, increasing understanding of existing and emerging pressures on the region and how these may be mitigated and managed. With chapters on the bay's human uses by Aboriginal peoples and later settlers, its geology, water quality, marine habitats and animal communities, and commercial and recreational fisheries, this book will be of value to students in the marine sciences, environmental consultants, policy-makers and recreational fishers.