Captain Patrick LoganPrint Page

The monument commemorates Captain Patrick Logan, who was an explorer in Southern Queensland.  He was also the Commandant of the settlement at Moreton Bay.

He died in 1830, after setting out on 9 October to explore and chart the headwaters of the Brisbane River with a small party of one private (his servant), and three convicts. The party was several times confronted by large armed groups of Aborigines. The first meeting was when they were making a river crossing.  A large group of Aboriginal men brandished weapons, rolled boulders down a hill at the group, and shouted 'Commidy Water' which was thought to mean that Logan should go back across the water.

There were other confrontations and sightings. Logan had the habit of riding ahead of the group and during the return journey, on 17 October, they lost track of him, although they thought they could hear him shout.  Searches eventually led to first his saddle, then his dead horse, hidden by boughs in a stream bed, then his body, buried in a shallow grave.  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. However, contemporary news reports were emphatic that he was killed by native weapons, which was proved by the settlement's surgeon, Mr Cowper, at an inquest.

Captain Logan is regarded by many as the true founder of Queensland, as he was an important explorer and the first to make any practical development. During Logan's term as commandant of the convict settlement he showed a fine sense of duty, and no thought of personal gain in any of his activities. He was, however, reputed to be cruelly harsh to the convicts, and the settlement was in continuous unrest and uprisings were frequent under his command.

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