Queen Street, Brisbane 1859

Not long before this photograph was taken the Moreton Bay Courier was describing the streets of Brisbane as “a standing grievance for even the most patient and enduring of the inhabitants.  In the most favourable weather the traveller on a dark night has long incurred the risk of broken limbs and in rainy seasons the danger is increased in a manifold degree.  Ruts and elevations, bogs, pools, and quagmires meet the unhappy pedestrian at every step”.

This view is as seen from above the corner of Queen and Edward Streets, looking south. The building occupied by Perry Brothers in June 1860 is under construction at left, next door to E.B. Southerden. The Perry building later became the Oxford Hotel.

E.B. Southerden, Draper, was amongst the leading traders of the town and is today remembered in name by Southerden Street, Sandgate where Southerden built his residence.  The tallest of the buildings half way up Queen Street on the right is the old Prisoners’ Barracks, which by the time this photograph was taken, was being sublet to tenants for business purposes.