Public Reserve incorporating the Privy Pit and Site of Convict Barracks and Store

To the east of the barge landing zone at Dunwich on North Stradbroke Island is the Ron Stark Oval. From the 1860s when the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum operated, this was the village green. Prior to that, it was the site of the 1828 convict barracks and store, of the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement. The buildings here were designed as a walled compound, with the privy pit (toilet) in the southern corner. The drop from the privy would have been 2.2m leading to a 3m long sandstone lined tunnel. The outlet for the privy pit is at the base of the south-western bank of the headland. It overlooks the convict causeway which retains the water-taxi landing. The privy pit and the causeway are the only tangible reminders of the early convict built structures at Dunwich. The 1828 buildings would have deteriorated too much to have been used for the 1850 quarantine station, and would have been derelict by 1865 when the Benevolent Asylum was established. In 1947 the institution was officially closed and in 1949 the area was declared public reserve. The physical remains of the convict privy pit and causeway are subtle reminders of the historical importance of the place.