LOGAN, Patrick ED 518893 Death
Age at Death: 34
Index Year: 1830
Reg Year: 1830 Reg State: New South Wales
Ref Number: V1830341 14 Parish: Sydney, St James', Church of England
The circumstances of his death have always remained controversial. It is almost certain that he was killed by
Aborigines, angered by the intrusions into their hunting grounds, but some people (both then and now)
preferred to think that he was killed by an escaped convict in revenge for Logan’s harsh discipline.
Logan’s wife and children accompanied the body to Sydney and on a depressing rainy day, a funeral service
was held at St James Church, followed by an interment with military honours at the Protestant Burial Ground.The
profuse praise given to Logan for his zeal and his discoveries did not extend to concern for his widow. Letitia
was forced to pay her own passage home to England, in spite of the fact that she had been left with very little
money. She petitioned the Government for a military pension but this was refused and she was given only a
small “royal bounty allowance”. She continued to petition unsuccessfully for many years.
He served in the Peninsular war, the America war of 1812 and with Wellington's army of occupation. He was promoted lieutenant in March 1813 but placed on half-pay in 1815. He rejoined his regiment in 1819 and in Ireland in 1823 was promoted captain
The 57th Regiment was ordered to New South Wales and Logan in Sydney on Next November 1825 he was appointed by Governor Sir Thomas Brisbane to command of the convict settlement at Moreton Bay, which had been opened by Lieutenant Henry Miller in September 1824. As little had been done when Logan arrived in March 1826 he immediately started to develop the station by planting the flats (New Farm and Bulimba) with maize and carrying out an important programme of public works. Two of his buildings were still in use after 140 years: his commissariat store in William Street which became the lower floor of the State Stores, and his windmill, later the State Observatory. In 1827 he also established a branch station, a site that was later used as the Ipswich race-course.
Logan led several expedition which added to geographical knowledge. In August 1826 he discovered the Logan River and next May the Albert River. In 1828, with Allen Cunningham and Charles Fraser , he succeeded in climbing Mount Barney, 4449 feet (1356 m), then the highest altitude attained by a white man in Australia. In July 1830 he led an expedition to the headwaters of the Richmond River and on his return, since the regiment was due for transfer to India, he attempted to chart the windings of the upper Brisbane River. He never succeeded for, he was killed by Aboriginals on 17 October in the region of Mount Beppo.
Captain Logan is regarded by many historians as the true founder of Queensland, as he was an important explorer and the first to make any practical development. During his 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, the settlement was in continuous unrest and uprisings were frequent under his command. It has been claimed that his death was due to the convicts persuading the Aboriginals to avenge their wrongs, but according to Lieutenant G. Edwards of the 57th Regiment the Aboriginals themselves wanted to catch Logan on the expedition.
(N>L) National Library Canberra
Historical Records of Australia, series 1, vols 13-16; G. J. N. Logan Home, History of the Logan Family (Edinb, 1934);