Upon returning to Australia at the beginning of the Covid era we were quarantined in Brisbane for two weeks. My daily escape was Game Of Thrones, window photography and a lot of people watching. One day I zoomed in on a windmill at the corner of the street.
As it so happened, this windmill perched atop Wickham Terrace is the oldest surviving architectural monument in Queensland, like a silent witness to Brisbane’s evolution from a harsh penal colony to the vibrant metropolis it is today.
The Old Windmill In Brisbane
Constructed by convict labor in 1828, this historic sandstone tower was originally built to mill grain for the Moreton Bay settlement. There are stories of its many uses—from a mill to a signal tower, from a fire lookout to a time observatory. The Old Windmill’s varied past even includes a brief period when it served as a grim makeshift gallows. Today, it is heritage-listed as a testament to the city’s early days and the resilience of those who lived through them.
As time passed, the windmill’s sails ceased to turn, but its significance to the city of Brisbane remains. In the 1860s, it was repurposed as a signal station, and by the 1890s, it had taken on a new life as an observatory, playing a critical role in ensuring the precise time for the rapidly flourishing region’s maritime navigation. The Old Windmill’s preservation as a historical site allows it to continue to educate and fascinate the curious with its stories of yesteryear. Though surrounded by modernity, the structure also harbors mysteries, with ghost stories and legends adding yet another layer to its history.
