Product Code Database
Captain Patrick Logan (baptised 15 November 1791 – 17 October 1830) was a Scottish army officer who was the commandant of the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement from 1826 until his death in 1830 at the hands of Aboriginal Australians. As he had been hated by convicts, there were rumours that escaped convicts living in the bush had attacked him, The Courier Mail Extras . but there is no evidence of this.
Logan had a distinguished military career. He was known as a strict commandant of the penal colony to the point of cruelty. Logan made significant explorations of what was to become known as South East Queensland. He was the first European to discover the area which became Ipswich, Queensland and some consider him to be the founder of Queensland.
Deciding that life as a farmer was not for him, he rejoined the 57th Foot Regiment in 1819. On 5 September 1823 he married Letitia Anna O'Beirne and they had two children, Robert Abraham Logan (1824 – ?) and Letitia Bingham Logan (1826 – ?). His regiment was ordered to New South Wales, leaving Cork on 5 January 1825.
Logan arrived in Sydney, New South Wales, with his regiment on 22 April 1825 aboard the Hooghly. Most of his time in Sydney was spent guarding convicts. In November, Governor Thomas Brisbane appointed Logan as commandant of the convict settlement at Moreton Bay, Queensland. It was March 1826 by the time he reached the settlement, aboard the Amity ship.
He designed and oversaw the construction of a hospital, a jail and a windmill. He also built a surgeon's quarters, barracks and a number of houses in his first year as Commandant. He administered crops of wheat and maize at various locations. He believed that the settlement was a place to punish the convicts, forcing them to work by hand from sunrise to sunset. In 1827 the Attorney General noted that Logan had in multiple situations ordered that convicts be subject to 150 lashes, justifying the extreme criticism bestowed on him in the contemporary ballad Moreton Bay.
Logan was the first European explorer to visit the upper reaches of the Brisbane River and other places in the vicinity including the areas now known as Esk and the mountain of Lamington National Park and Mount Barney National Park. He was the first European to explore the Bremer River, where he discovered deposits of limestone at a point later to become known as Ipswich.Buchanan, Robyn (2009). The Bremer River. Ipswich City Council. p. 10. .
Captain Logan unsuccessfully attempted to climb Mount Barney on 13 and 14 June 1827.Rankin, Robert. (1992) Secrets of the Scenic Rim. Rankin Publishers p. 18. On a return journey, Logan, Allan Cunningham, Charles Fraser and a small party attempted to ascend the peak, believing they were climbing Mount Warning, which was first identified by James Cook. A determined Logan carried on while the rest were too fearful of the hazardous and difficult climb. From atop the summit, which was at the time the highest point reached in Australia, Logan was able to see the true Mount Warning. Together with Cunningham they decided to call this range the McPherson Range. He named the peak he had just ascended, Mount Hooker, but because his map was lost, the mountain was later given another name, Mount Barney. He also originally named the current Mount Lindesay, Mount Hooker.
As the horse had evidently failed to leap over the creek resulting in its death, it has been conjectured that the injuries and death of Captain Logan may have been accidental.Steel, J.G. (1972). The Explorers of the Moreton Bay District 1770-1830. University of Queensland Press, Queensland (1972) p.360. However, contemporary news reports are emphatic that he was murdered with native weapons, as proved by the settlement's surgeon, Mr Cowper, at an inquest.
In November 1830, Logan was buried in the Protestant burial ground in Surry Hills, Sydney.
Many geographic features in South East Queensland bear his name. These include Logan City, the Logan Motorway and Logan Road, Logan River, Logan Central, Logan Village, Logan Reserve, Loganholme, Loganlea and Logans Ridge. A commemorative plaque to one of Logan's expeditions can be found in Tully Memorial Park by the Logan River at North Maclean. The Queensland state electorate of Logan is also named for him.
The Commandant (1975) is a historical fiction novel by Jessica Anderson which describes the Moreton Bay penal settlement under Logan's command and the events surrounding his death from the viewpoint of his wife's sister Frances (a fictional character), who lives with the Logan family at the penal colony.
|
|
