Tuesday, September 28th, 2010
Well, today I didn’t have that much planned but I didn't let them be derailed by the rain. Yes, there was a ton of rain today and it kind of made me want to stay inside. Before I could do that however, I had to make my way over to the Commissariat Store, a place I have been attempting to visit all week but couldn’t due to their short trading hours. (Trading hours......that's how they describe the hours that they are open.)
As I made the short walk from my hotel to the Commissariat Store I made a few stops at a couple other places. The first was ANZAC Square.
This is the Shrine of Remembrance and the Eternal Flame of Remembrance. The Eternal Flame...... sadly not lit when I was there (maybe the rain put it out). You will find some sort of ANZAC tribute in pretty much every Australian city or town you visit (just like you will find a tribute to Canadian troops or American troops in every Canadian and American city and town). In case you don't remember my post from a couple years ago when I visited ANZAC Cove in Turkey, ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corp. Originally a tribute to those who served and died during the 8 month Battle of Gallipoli during World War I, it is now stands as a memorial to all men and women who have served in overseas wars.
ANZAC Square. The statue you see is that of a Boer War Mounted Trooper a memorial to Queenslanders lost in that war. The Shrine of Remembrance can barely be seen in behind the trees. The building in the background is Central Station.
I also made a quick stop in at the Cathedral of St. Stephen. Built in 3 stages, construction started in 1863 but was not completed until 1988 with the addition of the front chapel.
The inside of the Cathedral. Pretty basic in my mind compared to some, but I did find something more interesting next door.
This is inside St. Stephen's Chapel, the original cathedral. It was very small (probably wouldn't hold more than 30 people) but it is home to this wooden sculpture of Saint Mary Mackillop. She is said to have worshipped here when she briefly lived at Kangaroo Point. Saint Mary Mackillop was a very hot topic of discussion here in Australia lately because it was only last month that she became Australia's first catholic saint. The Chapel was surprisingly inviting. The smell of wood and candles filled the air. If I was a church goer (I mean for a reason other than to check out the architecture), I think I would much prefer to spend my time in this small chapel than the giant cathedral next door.
The stain glass window in the chapel. The 1998 addition to the chapel depicts aspects of St. Stephen's life.
My next stop was at the Commissariat Store, which is now home to the Royal Historical Society of Queensland and a small museum. People always joke that all Australians are the decedents of criminals because Britain use to send their criminals here. That is only partially true though. Of course many cities, including Brisbane, were originally settled as a penal colony but they didn't just ship criminals here and let them fend for themselves. The army and guards came with them. And many of these penal colonies were opened after other areas of the country had already been settled.
Often considered "a prison within a prison", this penal settlement was built far enough away from Sydney, so that the worst criminals and re-offenders could be sent here as punishment. Convicts were forced to do the most menial labour on a rigidly set, monotonous and minimum diet. It was considered one of the harshest penal settlements in all of New South Wales.
On a side note, do you know where Britain sent a large number of it's criminals before Australia? The United States. Of course after the American Revolution and the loss in the War of Independence, they needed to find a new location. Australia fit perfectly. About 160,000 criminals were eventually sent here.
Anyway, back to the store. It is one of the 2 remaining convict built buildings in Brisbane (of course the previously mention Windmill is the other). It was built by convicts in 1824 (when the penal settlement was started) and used as a spot to get....well everything. It really was a store. It's primary role was to procure, store and disburse provisions to the military, convicts and colonists. It also controlled the supply of hospital requisites and equipment, customs and banking.
The backside of the building. The walkway wasn't always there, because the top floor wasn't always there. You can see the original 2 storey structure with the top floor being added in 1913. The bars on the windows.....not there to keep people in but to keep people out.
Eventually the inflow of convicts to the area decreased and so did the population so in 1838 the area was openned to settlement by others. The store and the prison were closed in 1839 after it was deemed too expensive and the convicts shipped elsewhere. Over the years the other convict built buildings belonging to the colony (which included things like the jail itself, barracks for the soldiers and a house from the Commandant) have been destroyed leaving just the store and the windmill.
The museum has a few artifacts left over from the prison and they offer a very nice tour (for a very cheap $5, I might add) that can provide you with all kinds of little tidbits of information. Here are a few items from the museum.
We've come a long way when it comes to artificial limbs. As you can see this is a wooden foot and ankle joint that would have belonged to one of the convicts.
This is a cat-o-nines tail, used for flogging prisoners who could be given anywhere from 50 to 250 lashes. Flogging could only take place in the presence of the Commandant. It is noted that many prisoners had to be hospitalized and several even died after severe floggings.
Yes, that is a straight jacket. There are sleeves down the inside that the prisoner's arms would be put into before the jacket would be tied down the back.
Apparently this is one of the most popular things in the museum. Any ideas? These are the famous "Convict fingers". The old story goes that some convicts would be so desperate to avoid the back-breaking labour that they would cut off their own fingers. Historians however have cast doubt on this saying that convicts would be quickly patched up and sent back to work so it was unlikely they would attempt it. Where the fingers came from is also not known. They were found with a collection from an old labour farm in the area but there is now proof that they belonged there. The only thing that has been confirmed is that this small jar contains at least one finger, a finger nail and the bone of the last section of a finger. Personally I'm going to go with the first story that they belong to some poor convict, willing to do anything to get out of a hard days work.
It won't take you very long to get through it so if you find yourself in Brisbane with a few extra moments, you should stop by.
Once I left the museum I had hoped to just relax and enjoy the rest of my day but the weather had a different plan. I got caught....along with a lot of other people in a torrential rain storm. It actually knocked out the power in the mall I was in and we were all forced to make our way outside in the rain. I spent the rest of the day buying an umbrella, sipping on a latte and repacking my bag. The next day I would head North.
Julie
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