Andrew Petrie (1798 - 20 February 1872) was a pioneer, architect and builder in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia.

Early life

Andrew Petrie was born in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He trained as a builder in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. He married Mary Cuthbertson in 1821.

Career in New South Wales

John Dunmore Lang John Dunmore Lang (25 August 1799 – 8 August 1878) was a Scottish-born Australian Presbyterian minister, writer, historian, politician and activist. He was the first prominent advocate of an independent Australian nation and of Australian re ...

brought Petrie, his wife and four sons to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1831 with other Scottish mechanics (tradespeople) to form the nucleus of a force of free workers to construct the Australian College, which was located in Jamison Street in The Rocks. Petrie along with the other mechanics, constructed the Australian College to repay the voyage from the United Kingdom funded by Lang. After construction finished, Petrie went into partnership with George Ferguson as building contractors in Sydney. This partnership lasted for two years when Petrie went into business on his own. Petrie won numerous projects and was favoured by the Government to construct many of their projects. Constructing government projects at the time, meant utilising convict labour and so their training and supervision was a key component in the construction process.

Career in Queensland

The quality of his work impressed his superiors so much that, when in 1837 there was an urgent appeal from the

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

Settlement of New South Wales for a competent builder to repair crumbling structures, Petrie was sent there as Superintendent of Works. StateLibQld 1 110816 Andrew Petrie's house at the corner of Queen and Wharf Streets, Brisbane, ca

StateLibQld 1 110816 Andrew Petrie's house at the corner of Queen and Wharf Streets, Brisbane, ca

Andrew Petrie and his family, the first free-

settler A settler is a person who has human migration, migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a ...

s to move to the area, travelled to

Dunwich Dunwich is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB around north-east of London, south of Southwold and north of Leiston, on the North Sea coast. In the Anglo-Saxon period, Dunwich was t ...

aboard the ''James Watt'' and were then transferred in a pilot boat, manned by convicts that landed at King's Jetty, the only landing place that then existed, now known as North Quay. A year after arriving in the colony Petrie and his family moved into a stone house he built at what is now known as

Petrie Bight Petrie Bight is a reach (geography), reach of the Brisbane River in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The land to the north of the bight, centred on the area under the Story Bridge's northern point and around the Brisbane River to Customs House, B ...

. His first important task was to repair the mechanism of the windmill which had never worked. His general duty was the supervision of prisoners engaged in making such necessities as soap and nails, and in building. He also made inspections of government owned sheep and cattle and placed a number of beacons on navigational hazards in the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...

. Petrie's charge took him to several convict outposts and gave him a taste for travel and exploration. His private journeys soon added to knowledge of the immediate environs of the settlement. In the new surroundings he was able to pursue two main interests: as builder and architect he was responsible for most of the important structures that arose; and he made many more journeys. He was the first European to climb Mount Beerwah, one of the

Glass House Mountains The Glass House Mountains are a cluster of thirteen hills that rise abruptly from the coastal plain on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. The highest hill is Mount Beerwah at 556 metres above sea level, but the most identifiable of al ...

seen by

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

, and he was also the first to bring back samples of the

Bunya pine ''Araucaria bidwillii'', commonly known as the bunya pine and sometimes referred to as the false monkey puzzle tree, is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the plant family Araucariaceae. It is found naturally in south-east Queensland Austral ...

. In 1842 with a small party in a boat he discovered the Mary River and brought back to the settlement two 'wild white men', James Davis or 'Duramboi' and David Bracewell or 'Wandi'. He was the first to discover coal at

Redbank Redbank may refer to: Places ;In Australia *Redbank, Queensland, a suburb in Ipswich *Redbank, Victoria *Redbanks, South Australia ;In the United States *Redbank Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania *Redbank Township, Clarion County, Pennsylv ...

in around 1837. He explored and named the

Maroochy River The Maroochy River is a river in South East Queensland, Australia. The river rises from the eastern slopes of the Blackall Range and flows east through Eumundi, before entering the sea at Cotton Tree, Maroochydore. Other populated centres in t ...

. The break-up of the

Moreton Bay Penal Colony The Moreton Bay Penal Settlement operated from 1825 to 1842. It became the city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. History The Moreton Bay Penal Settlement was established on the Redcliffe Peninsula on Moreton Bay in 1824, under the instruct ...

began in 1839, but it was not until 1842 that it was well advanced and that the district was declared open for settlement. During this time in 1840, Andrew founded the

Petrie Petrie is a surname of Scottish origin which may refer to: People * Alexander Petrie (died 1662), Scottish minister * Alistair Petrie (born 1970), English actor * Andrew Petrie (1798–1872), Scottish-born builder, architect and first free settle ...

business and when the convict station was removed in 1842 Petrie saw the opportunity at last of a free community, and with his family remained to contribute to its formation and is acknowledged as the first free settler of Queensland From 1849 to 1850 Petrie and his construction firm built

Bulimba House Bulimba House is a heritage-listed detached house at 34 Kenbury Street, Bulimba, Queensland, Australia. It was designed and built by Andrew Petrie from 1849 to 1850. It is also known as Toogoolawah. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Regis ...

Later life

In 1848 he lost his eyesight because of inefficient surgery after an attack of

sandy blight Trachoma is an infectious disease caused by bacterium ''Chlamydia trachomatis''. The infection causes a roughening of the inner surface of the eyelids. This roughening can lead to pain in the eyes, breakdown of the outer surface or cornea of ...

. Despite this condition he still was able to design ferry landings, floating public baths and a bridge over

Breakfast Creek The Breakfast Creek ( Aboriginal: ''Barrambin'') is a small urban stream that is a tributary of the Brisbane River, located in suburban Brisbane in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. Course and features Rising as the Enoggera Cre ...

. Such was his courage that he still kept control over his business: when plans were explained to him he ordered the necessary quantities of material and was even able to check the performance of his building workers; he used his cane if not satisfied. The Petries had nine sons and a daughter. With advancing years Petrie handed over more and more control to his eldest son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, who became first mayor of

. His third son,

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, gained much knowledge of the Aboriginal tribes and their customs and languages. Their house was one of the social centres of Brisbane and readily offered accommodation to

squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

s coming from the

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

, especially in the days before Brisbane had a few inns. Petrie was also always being willing to help with food and work to the poor.

Legacy

Petrie's work as an architect, stonemason and builder is reflected in a number of public buildings in Brisbane in particular

Newstead House Newstead House is Brisbane's oldest surviving residence and is located on the Breakfast Creek, Queensland, Breakfast Creek bank of the Brisbane River, in the northern Brisbane suburb of Newstead, Queensland, Newstead, in Queensland, Australia.T ...

References