Commissariat Store Museum

Tucked away from the city’s thoroughfares, the convict-built Commissariat Stores are one of only two buildings that survived from the penal settlement, the other being the infamous Windmill on Wickham Tce and today it houses the fascinating Commissariat Store Museum.

Built in 1828-29 under the watchful eye of feared Commandant Patrick Logan (who was murdered less than 2 years later) the stores are made of locally quarried hand cut porphyry and as such were the centre for storage, supply and distributing food, clothing, tools and weapons that arrived via the nearby wharf. As a kind of early centrepoint, prisoners and guards would pass by the building on their way to other buildings in the settlement.

Once the penal colony was closed and free settlement declared the other convict buildings were demolished while this was retained for use as a government stores building, the only reason it survives today.

Upon the state of Queensland being created it became known as the Colonial Store, playing a pivotal role in supplying the nearby immigration depots until they moved to Yungaba at Kangaroo Point in 1887. Between then and 1976 little changed other than its name and the addition of a third storey in 1923 as part of an expansion at the request of the Storekeeper.

Then after the Royal Historical Society took over, extensive renovations occurred and the adjacent park was created and named Miller Park after the first Commandant of the Moreton Bay Penal Colony, Captain Miller.

Commissriat Store Museum is open Tue-Fri from 10am-4pm with a permanent exhibition of colonial life as well as periodic related exhibitions.