QUEENSLAND'S OLDEST BUILDING 150 YEARS OF HISTORY + GHOST STORIES

[ THINGS TO DO ] QUEENSLAND'S OLDEST BUILDING AND A SET OF HIDDEN UNDERGROUND CHAMBERS ARE SITTING SIDE BY SIDE ABOVE THE CITY On Wickham Terrace, two of Brisbane's most significant heritage sites sit just metres apart. The Old Windmill has stood since 1828, making it the oldest surviving building in Queensland and the oldest windmill tower left in Australia, built by convicts during the Moreton Bay penal settlement. Buried right behind it are the Spring Hill Reservoirs, two brick water chambers from the 1870s that most people walk straight past. Together they pack nearly 200 years of the city's history into one small pocket of parkland. THE 1828 WINDMILL 🏛️ Oldest in the state: Queensland's oldest surviving building, on the highest point above the early settlement for nearly 200 years. 🌬️ Too windless to work: the site rarely caught enough wind to turn the sails, so the mill never really did its job. 👣 The convict treadmill: convicts were forced onto a treadmill by hand to keep the millstones turning, some for up to 14 hours at a time in leg irons. 🔭 Later life: it went on to serve as a signal station and a public observatory, with a time ball on the mast that dropped at 1pm each day. THE HIDDEN RESERVOIRS 💧 Underground water store: two brick reservoirs built in 1871 and 1882, buried just behind the windmill, holding water piped in from the Enoggera Dam. 🧱 One of a kind: the only inground reservoirs in Queensland known to be built from brick with arched baffle walls instead of concrete. 🚰 Almost a century of service: they helped supply Brisbane's water until 1962, then sat quiet underground. 🎶 A second act: since 2014 the chambers have reopened as a performance space, hosting sold out underground opera seasons. GOOD TO KNOW 🆓 The parkland and the outside of the windmill are free to visit and open year round. 🚶 Both sit in Wickham Park on Wickham Terrace, a short walk up from the CBD and Central Station. 🐦 Keep an eye out for the resident ibis around the base of the tower. 📍 The Old Windmill and Spring Hill Reservoirs are located on Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill, in Wickham Park Have you seen this spot? Repost to share the love 🫶🏻