[1] Dunwich convict causeway was constructed in 1827 as part of a military and stores depot servicing the recently established Moreton Bay penal settlement.

Today the causeway is an integral part of the barge and water taxi landing facilities and has established Dunwich as the gateway to North Stradbroke Island.

Redcliffe was suggested as the site for the first establishment due to its proximity to the river entry, central bay location and favourable landing at all tide times.

However, Oxley maintained that the banks of the Brisbane River were better suited to a permanent settlement while Redcliffe should be seen as a military post and depot store.

The decision proved frustrating as the British government later confirmed in January 1825 that they intended Norfolk Island to be reoccupied by convicts with Moreton Bay seeming more appropriate for colonisation.

Whilst desirable, the directive arrived too late and with an increasing demand for places to send convicts Governor Brisbane had no other option but to establish Moreton Bay as penal settlement.

The convicts were from varied backgrounds including quarrymen, lime burners, bricklayers, marble polishers, stone cutters, brick makers, plasterers and labourers.

[1] On 10 September 1824 the "Amity" arrived in Moreton Bay and following an inspection of St Helena Island, Redcliffe was selected as the site for settlement as originally recommended in 1823.

In late September 1824 the Amity was nearly driven a shore by a fierce storm prompting Oxley to declare the site an unsafe place to anchor.

[1] Proceeding the movement from Redcliffe to Brisbane John Gray, Pilot of Port Jackson received orders to survey and buoy the south passage as discovered by Oxley.

[1] In 1827 Governor Ralph Darling visited the settlement and amongst other concerns expressed a dissatisfaction with the inability of large ships to navigate the sandbar at the Brisbane River mouth.

Captain Logan wrote to Governor Darling,[1] "......it appears to me that Green Point is not only the most eligible situation but likewise possesses every requisite for a penal settlement.

"[1] In response to Captain Logan's recommendations Governor Darling wrote to Viscount Goderich, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies,[1] 'With respect to the Settlement at Moreton Bay, its local situation appears to me highly objectionable.

From the entrance of the Bay to the mouth of the Brisbane, on the left bank of which the settlement is situated is about fifteen miles, the intermediate space being in general so extremely shoal as to interrupt the Communication.

'[1] On 29 November 1827 Governor Darling directed Captain Logan to establish a military post and stores depot at Dunwich formerly known as Green Point.

Clunie confirmed cargoes were still being lost over board during unloading in rough weather, local aboriginals were proving hostile and had killed a convict in the garden and the issue of smuggling had not been eliminated.

[1] The development of North Stradbroke island as a popular holiday retreat and rich mineral sand mining resource has meant the barge landing facilities at Dunwich have undergone continual change since 1947.

Whilst not significant and sometimes destructive, the physical layers of growth do help to illustrate the development of Dunwich and the importance of the causeway site as an entry to North Stradbroke Island.

On arrival at Dunwich the causeway is not visibly obvious as it forms the northern extent of the landing area which is obscured from view.

Recent community landscape projects have assisted in establishing a native vegetated boundary between the vehicular traffic area and the causeway thus helping to delineate between the old and the new.

The heavily vegetated, lower section of headland on the northern side of Junner Street was once the location of the military post and stores depot established by Captain Logan at the same time as the causeway.

Whilst the area has undergone significant change the causeway has remained constant and played an important role in establishing Dunwich as the point of entry to North Stradbroke Island as well as influencing the resultant town structure.

From this location the extent of the causeway can be fully appreciated and the role it played as part of the military post and later Benevolent Asylum becomes more obvious.

A number of weathered wooden piles along the northern face of the causeway are all that remain of the protective frame constructed during the Benevolent Asylum period.

These areas of repair are most easily identified as infills of irregularly shaped, sandy coloured stone, quarried from a different location on the island.

Constructed as part of a convict outstation and the primary landing place for all vessels coming into Moreton Bay and Brisbane the causeway has historical significance for its valuable role in the early colonial settlement of Queensland.

The causeway has social significance for community groups involved with the Catholic Mission, Quarantine Station, Benevolent Asylum, residents and tourists as the point of landing on North Stradbroke Island.