The Old Windmill, Brisbane

The Old Windmill is located in Wickham Park, on Wickham Terrace in Spring Hill, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. According to the heritage notice (shown at left), it is the oldest surviving building in Queensland.

The Old Windmill was built in 1824Campbell Newman, "bmag", 3 November, 2009 during colonial times by convicts for grinding grains, such as wheat and maize. The Old Windmill originally had wind-powered sails. The grinding of the grains was done by treadmill from October, 1828, with the wind-powered sails being used from December, 1828.

After the murder of two members of a surveying party near Mount Lindesay in May 1840, three Aboriginal men were apprehended and tried for the crimes. In July 1841, the two surviving Aborigines were hanged from a beam from an upper window of the windmill.

On 20 January 1862, the Old Windmill became the first home of the Queensland Museum.

The Old Windmill was later used as a signal tower, and is now used as a weather observatory. Towards the end of the 19th century, the tower was encased in a cement render to protect the brick and masonry from rainwater damage. The current render dates from a 1988 refurbishment, and is scored to imitate the stone blocks it covers.

From 1922 to 1926 the tower served the Institute of Radio Engineers for meetings and experiments, Gympie Radio Pioneer A. E. Dillon 4CH, was the first...
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