Saint Helena Island National Park
St Helena Island, Redlands

This picturesque island in Moreton Bay has a turbulent past, as the site of Queensland's first penal settlement (following the State's establishment in 1859). Ruins remain from the 65 years it was home to prisoners and their warders (1867 to 1932). Remnants of beautifully landscaped gardens and food crops, such as olive trees, still grow among native vine thickets.

Imagine life as a prisoner or warder while on a guided tour of the prison's stone ruins. Become absorbed in prison artefacts and photos in the restored Chief Warder's quarters. At the island's southern end, take your own walk into history, among the cemeteries, the old quarry, the jetty and Queensland's first tramway. Watch for shorebirds, dugong and turtles in the surrounding Moreton Bay Marine Park.