St Helena Island

Today we drove across the city to the resort suburb of Manly to catch a ferry to St Helena Island. We headed across town to the coast, with me reading the map and trying to direct Colin to the boat docks in Manly. There was plenty of time to go when we arrived at the harbor, so we parked the car and ate breakfast at The Fish Cafe before walking to the pier and boarding the catamaran "Cat-O'Nine-Tails" for the 30 minute journey to St Helena Island. The boat and island tours are organized and managed by A B Sea Cruises, who also arrange trips down the Brisbane River and Ghost Tours of St Helena.

No sooner had we left the docks and exited the channel out of the harbor on the way to the island, than it started to rain on the mainland. A big black cloud hovered over the city and poured rain on the center of Brisbane and then moved north up the coast.



The island is now a national park, but from 1867 to 1933 was a prison island, the guide referred to it as Australia's Alcatraz, though the island, at 166 hectares (410 acres)is much larger than Alcatraz (and has much better weather). The tour was excellent, conducted by a person masquerading as a convict. (that's the guy dressed in white in this photo)



We walked for some way across the island and around the ruins of the prison listening to a commentary on the buildings, the people in the prison, the warders, the food and the prisoner activities and escape attempts. fascinating stuff. A picnic lunch was served during the tour.

Only about 7% of the building structures are left. When the island was closed as a prison, anything movable (tin roofs, wooden supports or beams etc) were moved to the mainland for use in constructing government buildings in and around Brisbane. This picture shows the remains of a cell block in which 56 prisoners were held in four tiny cells. The walls of the block are constructed entirely of stone so the block could be used to house any prisoner who might be able to start a fire in a cell with wood in it. The warders were particularly scared of Aborigine prisoners who were thought able to light a fire by rubbing two sticks together.



This picture shows a mural etched onto the wall by a prisoner who was required - as a punishment - to guard the bags of lime quarried and fired by the prisoners.



The prisoners grew all their own food and kept sheep and cows to provide meat and milk. This is what is left of the prison kitchen and bakery.



After the tour we again rested in Manly before driving home. Stopped for coffee and a scone at the Cafe da Vinci, walked around The Manly Gallery and looked at paintings of Queensland and Brisbane by local artists