Helena Island (Pacific)

Saint Helena

Geography
Location	Pacific Ocean
Administration
United Kingdom

Saint Helena is a small island in Moreton Bay. In the past, it served as a prison during the early European settlement in Brisbane, Queensland. The ruins are now part of a National Park.

History

Saint Helena was first discovered, uninhabited by the Portuguese in 1502. They found that it to contain ample fresh water and trees, and imported goats, fruit trees, and vegetables for farming. Rather than permanent colonization of the island, they used it as a rest stop and rendezvous point for those travelling east from the Middle East or East Asia. The trade winds pass right through the islands, making the location ideal for sailing ships. For over a century, Portugal was able to keep the location of the island secret.

In the late 1590s, the English discovered the location of the island, and began to attack Portuguese trade ships in the area. Then, the Portuguese gave up their claim to the island as English and Dutch sailors began to kill all their livestock and desecrate their chapels. By 1658, the British's East India Company, laid claim to the island, making it the second British colony after Bermuda. From then until 1981, the island was a colony of the United Kingdom, administered through a governor and used as a trade and military base. After 1981, Saint Helena officially became a British Dependent Territory and the island's residents lost their entitlement to a UK citizenship.

Saint Helena, located in Moreton Bay, was originally known as one of the Green Islands stretching in a line from Wellington Point. In 1828, France exiled Napoleon Bonaparte to this island. The small island could not hold the resourceful Napoleon; he quickly built a canoe and escaped the island.

All the vegetation on Saint Helena was cleared so that it would be more difficult for prisoners to hide and escape. In the beginning years, the prison laborers built cell blocks, warden's quarters, bakery, hospital, jetty, and other buildings to serve the small community. In 1869, a mill for sugar cane grown on the island. Because of the great distance from the mainland, the prison had to be self-sufficient, an easy task with free labor and lush fields. This self-sufficiency brought about profit for the young colony at Brisbane.

In total, more than 5,000 Boer prisoners, Dutch, French, and German settlers from South Africa were sent here for exile. Inmates who worked at the workshops, produced shoes, boots, saddles, and other products. They were trusted to work in the fields growing crops and tending cattle. Because these activities became so successful, goods from the island were entered in competitions. Saint Helena's olive oil won awards in Italy, while Ayrshire dairy cattle from the island, collected many prices at the Brisbane Royal National Association Show.

Closure of Saint Helena Island Prison

In 1932, maintenance costs, adminstration problems, and isolation for the warders caused the closure of the prison. The inmates' final work was to demolish many of the buildings to secure useful resources. After the last prisoner left, the lush pastures were used for farming. In 1960, Charles Carroll bought the lease for his 100 dairy cattle. During his wanderings on the island, he found reminders of the previous occupants: the stone jetty, the decayed buildings, and the grosses in the prisoners' graveyard. Walking through the ruins of this history of penal suffering and achievement, Carroll found himself delving deeper into that history. In 1980, he began guiding tours of the ruins. This gave him meager capital to help preserve the penal colony and brought the historic significance of the island to public attention.

Preservation

In 1980, the island was established as a National Park. Leading up to the 1988 Bicentennial celebrations, the island was considered to have historical importance and attracted a grant for the restoration. In an ironic twist, prison laborers from Boggo Road jail in Brisbane spent a year restoring the ruins.

Today

Saint Helena Island is now a tourist attraction out of Brisbane. Day tours and even Ghost Tours of the island and its prison ruins are available.