Patrick Logan (1791 - 1830)

Born 1791 in Coldingham, Berwickshire, Scotland

Husband of Letitia Ann (O'Bierne) Logan — married 1823 in Ireland

Died 23 Oct 1830 at about age 39 in Queensland, Australia

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Biography

Patrick Logan is Notable.

Captain Patrick Logan

Patrick Logan was born in 1791 at Temple Hall, Coldingham, Berwickshire.(Citation needed - Temple Hall was his mother's father's house.^[1]) He was the youngest son of Scottish landowner and farmer of East Renton, Abraham Logan and his second wife, Janet Johnston, who had nine children. The Logans were descended from an ancient Scottish family—the Logans of Burncastle, who trace their ancestry back to the 14th century. Patrick was christened with his twin sister Mary on 15th November 1791 at Coldingham, Berwickshire.^[2] Strangely, he was baptised with the name Peter, although records in his adult life refer to him as Patrick. He signed "P. Logan" in official documents. The entry in the baptismal register reads: "Abraham Logan, tenant of East Renton, and Janet Johnston, his wife, had twin children baptd, their names Peter and Mary. Wit. Thomas and Peter Johnston."^[3]

early military career

On 13th December 1810 Logan joined the 57th Regiment of Foot as an Ensign and served in the Peninsular War. He took part in the battles of Salamanca with the retreat from Salamanca; Vittoria; Nivelle and Toulouse. Logan's regiment was sent to Canada in 1814 where he stayed for a year before joining Wellington's army of occupation in Paris. With peace restricting promotional opportunities, he left the army and returned to Ireland to take up farming. Deciding that life as a farmer was not for him, he re-purchased his commission in 1819 and re-joined the 57th Regiment, then garrisoned in Ireland.^[2]

marriage

In 1823, Logan married Letitia O'Beirne and they had two children:^[2]

1. Robert Abraham Logan (1824-)
2. Letitia Bingham Logan (1826-)

latter military career

The 57th Regiment of Foot was ordered to the Colony of New South Wales, leaving Cork, Ireland on 5th January 1825 aboard the Hooghly. From their arrival in Sydney on 22nd April 1825 most of Logan's time was spent guarding convicts. In November, Governor Thomas Brisbane appointed Logan as commandant of the convict settlement at Moreton Bay (Queensland). He arrived in the northern penal settlement in March 1826, aboard the Amity.^[2]

Finding the settlement 'quite primitive', Logan embarked on a building program, including designing and overseeing construction of a hospital, gaol, and windmill. He also saw to the planting of maize and wheat. Logan was a firm believer in the settlement being a place to punish convicts, forcing them to work by hand from sunrise to sunset (they were all secondary offenders). He ordered up to 150 lashes for further offences on several occasions. Over the next four and a half years as commandant, the convict population there increased from 77 to over 1,000.^[2]

Logan is arguably best remembered for his systematic exploration of south-east Queensland. He discovered the southern entrance to Moreton Bay, now known as the Gold Coast Broadwater, and was the first European explorer to visit the upper reaches of the Brisbane River and the mountain rainforests of Lamington National Park and Mount Barney National Park. He was the first European to explore the Bremer River, where he discovered deposits of limestone at a point later to become known as Ipswich. He named the McPherson Range, Birnam Range, Teviot Brook and Wilsons Peak.^[2]

Patrick Logan plaque

Setting out on 9th October 1830 to explore and chart the headwaters of the Brisbane River with a small party of one private (his servant) and three convicts, the party was confronted several times by large armed groups of Aborigines. Logan had the habit of riding ahead of the group and during the return journey, on 17th October, they lost track of him. Searches revealed, firstly, his saddle, then his dead horse, hidden by boughs in a stream bed, and then his body, buried in a shallow grave. An inquest founded that he died at the hands of Aboriginals who, it is presumed, objected to him exploring 'their' lands.^[2]

Logan's body was conveyed to Sydney in the Isabella. His wife and family, accompanied by Dr Murray, sailed there in the Governor Phillip.^[3] After a procession from the Barrack Square, the burial service was read at St James's Church and the procession continued to the Devonshire Street Cemetery where he was laid to rest in a brick vault near that of Major Ovens, the escort discharging three rounds of musketry.^[4]

legacy

During Logan's term as commandant of the convict settlement he showed a fine sense of duty, with no thought of personal gain in any of his activities. Even for an era which is seen to be harsh, he was reputed to border on cruelty to the convicts, most of whom were incorrigible – the very reason for their having been sent there – and lay 'the blame' for their incarceration and treatment at another's feet.

Patrick Logan is widely regarded as the 'founder of Queensland'. Many geographic features in South East Queensland bear his name, including Logan City, Logan Motorway, Logan Road, Logan River, Logan Village, Logan Reserve, Loganholme, Loganlea and Logan's Ridge. A commemorative plaque stands beside the Mount Lindesay Highway just north of Beaudesert.^[5]

The ballad, Moreton Bay, represents Logan as a bloody tyrant: "Captain Logan, he had us mangled, on the triangles of Moreton Bay".

Sources

1. ↑ Logan Home, G. J. N. History of the Logan family. Edinburgh, George Waterston & Son Ltd, 1934. p.139.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6} Cranfield, Louis R. Logan, Patrick (1791–1830), Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1967; accessed online 28 Sep 2019
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Bateson, Charles. Patrick Logan : Tyrant of Brisbane Town. Sydney, Ure Smith, 1966.
4. ↑ FUNERAL OF CAPTAIN LOGAN. (1830, November 25). The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), p. 2. Retrieved December 19, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2196604
5. ↑ Wikipedia profile: Patrick Logan; accessed 28 Sep 2019