The Brisbane region has been home to the Yagara (Yuggera), Turrbal, and Quandamooka peoples for more than 22,000 years. The Brisbane River, known as Maiwar, was central to cultural, economic, and ceremonial life, with major camps at Barambin (York’s Hollow), Woolloon-cappem (Kurilpa), and Musgrave Park. The peninsula now forming Brisbane’s central business district was traditionally known as Meeanjin.

European exploration began in 1799 when Matthew Flinders charted parts of Moreton Bay, followed by John Oxley in 1823, who identified the Brisbane River with guidance from castaways. Oxley recommended the area for a penal settlement, leading to the establishment of the Moreton Bay outpost at Redcliffe in 1824, which moved to North Quay in 1825. Under Captain Patrick Logan, the penal settlement became known as one of the harshest in New South Wales. Conflicts between settlers and local Indigenous groups, including maize-field raids and broader confrontations across Moreton Bay islands, marked the early decades. The penal settlement closed in 1842, opening the region to free settlement and pastoral expansion.

Throughout the mid-19th century, the Brisbane district witnessed coordinated resistance from Yuggera and Turrbal peoples, supported by neighbouring Ningy Ningy groups, during the War of Southern Queensland (1843–1855). Leaders such as Dundalli, Yilbung, and the Duke of York led raids and ambushes across areas like Breakfast Creek, South Brisbane, Sandgate, and the Pine Rivers. British forces, including detachments of the 99th and later the 11th regiment, conducted several military operations through York’s Hollow between 1846 and 1848 in response.

Brisbane’s early history, marked by millennia of Indigenous culture and turbulent colonial expansion, laid the foundations for the modern city—a place where ancient heritage and urban growth coexist along the banks of the Brisbane River.